FLYNLO

My speculation is not gonna be popular. And as someone who is about to take delivery of a 2014 car, I guess I am just preparing myself.

I was reading the current Car and Driver and the "Cars worth waiting for" article. There are a lot of cars(some of them quite pedestrian) coming out that will be sporting horsepower numbers very near the Stingray and some of them surpassing it. Case and point....I will use the Upcoming Mustang GT350 as an example. They had that car coming In over 500hp and even said 550 was possible!!! The question is at what price point will it come in at. Will it slot between the GT and GT500 or will they blow it(like GM did with the Z28) and price it above their halo car? If it comes in between the two other Mustangs, then GM will feel the pressure...and so will we as Corvette owners. C&D has it coming in around $50k and I think they will be close. I realize the Mustang is not a Corvette and all of the dynamics related to it. They say the engine that will come in it will have a flat plane crankshaft capable of revving past 8000rpm....hell, I'm a car guy and that is pretty damn awesome. I also realize people buy certain cars for certain reasons. But take a look at that list and the cars that will be packing big power. I don't think GM has a choice.

We all know it is not uncommon for a car like this to see a mid production horsepower increase. It happened nominally in the C5 and more so in the C6. I just think it will happen sooner rather then later with this generation. The 2001 owners of the C5 ZO6 felt this pain. We might be feeling it soon. And in the end.....it is all good because more power is a good thing!

PS....I think GM blew it with the Z28. That car should have been in the $50s where there is a market for that car. There is not a market for a $75k Camaro

Slappy3243

I don't think so personally. The current GT500 has 662 HP and costs less than the C7 and GM doesn't seem to mind. They are two totally different cars for different markets. There is a HP bump coming in 2015 and it's in the form of the Z06. The C6 got the bump when the LS3 came about. I don't see a replacement for the LT-1 anytime soon.

gthal

Maybe... I'm pretty happy with the power of the car as is but others may feel differently. Any more power is wasted for me at our local track as it is a shorter and more technical road course. I hope they do bump the HP because it will keep sales strong as many people like to have big HP numbers to brag about around the proverbial water cooler and others need the power for bigger tracks or the drag strip. If GM were smart, they would NOT introduce a power upgrade this early when demand is so high. Wait until 2016 or so when the newness wears off.

FLYNLO

I do agree with your point reference the GT500 and Stingray being two different cars. They also hit two different demographics. And while the GT500 sports more power, because of its architecture and mass, the Stingray will beat it around a track handily and that has been proven. BUT, the new platform Mustang is going to be a better car with the IRS and I think they are also losing weight with the new platform. How would you feel about a $50k Mustang that will match or even beat a Stingray around the track?

Anyway, my point here is not to compare the Vette to the Mustang. It was just to say that there are a lot of powerful cars coming out in the next year or two that makes the power of the Corvette seem somewhat....average! Also, I man to saying ditch the LT1. Very much like the LS6, just a couple of internal modifications within the same engine can score you 20-30 horsepower...especially with direct injection.

FLYNLO

Very good point!!!

Jimbob26

It seems like every year horsepower is on the increase. Just a few years ago 300 bhp was huge, and now 400 bhp seems to be found in many cars. At some point it becomes just a number for bragging rights. I have friends with Shelby GT500s with much more horsepower than the C7, but when they drove my C7 raved that the C7 was better in all respects.

The C7 has 460 bhp and probably will see close to 500 in the next couple of years, but I'm betting the performance won't be much different. I have what I like, and I like what I have.

arcticblast

Yeah, who would want more than 460 hp? Oh, wait.............that would be me.

Slappy3243

I know this is just not about the Mustang vs. Corvette. I was just trying to find a car that actually can come close to the Corvette price point with as much or more power. We can use the the ZL1 Camaro for the same argument. It makes more power, but due to other sacrifices, it is not as fast as the C7. As far as a $50k Mustang competing around a track with a C7 Z51, I just don't see that happening. The base Mustang is losing some weight, but throw in that supercharged 5.8L engine, all of the beefed up components plus the new IRS, and it will be heavy again. It's the nature of 4-seat cars with that much power.

My point is, I don't see any other car priced similarly to the Corvette that can actually beat it around a track. To me, this is what makes the Corvette so unique. Ford would need to build a Corvette competitor to even have a chance. More horsepower does not always equal a faster car beyond straight-line performance.

Also, the LS6 wasn't introduced until the C5's 2001 model year when the car itself debuted in 1997. In fact, the base C5's power was never really upgraded during the entire run. It used the LS1 for the whole generation.

jackhall99

Horsepower ain't everything.

As to the Z/28: GM has no intention of selling tens of thousands of the purpose-built Z/28. The few thousand they build will be readily snapped up at MSRP.

WKMCD

I just heard the 2040 vette is going to powered by cold fusion and make the equivalent of 9,500RWHP.

The point is, cars evolve just like everything else. Wait if you want for the 2040 model year or enjoy the car in 2014.

BlueOx

They been outselling the Mustang since they brought it back. I think they know what they're doing. People will pay for the Z28 but the real question is in what numbers are they really planning to sell them.

jackhall99

Bingo!!

FLYNLO

My point was that it does not take an entirely new engine to boost horsepower "significantly". And I used the LS6 as an example. They bumped horsepower by 20 without changing the engine by much. And the LS1 got a 5hp bump in 2000? It went from 345 to 350. That is why I used the term "nominal" in my original post.

Do we know the ZL1 is not as fast as the C7??? It is a fairly capable track car!

jackhall99

Babe, I seem to recall the number was 3,000. I could be wrong, but it was not a large number.

Slappy3243

The LS6 was significant enough for GM to designate it with a new engine code. It was a 55 increase over the LS1 (besides the 2001 LS6). Can GM tweak the LT-1 to have some more power? Probably. But don't expect it to be much, certainly not the 55 HP gained from going to the LS1 to the LS6. The Corvette did receive a slight 5 HP bump, but if I remember correctly, it was just a rating's game based on the dyno numbers. The engine itself didn't change.

FLYNLO

The LS1 was simply a different intake design that made the extra power. Again....2001 LS6 to 2002 LS6 was a 20hp boost...same engine and designation. Someone up top(may have been you) suggested that they didn't think GM would already change the engine out(LT1) for a new engine after only one year. I was using the LS6 as an example of them bumping the horsepower after only 1 year WITHOUT significantly changing the engine....or it's designation.

To me, 5hp is not a big deal. 20hp was painful for those that bought a 2001 ZO6. As we say in Texas, it put a burr under their saddle. I was just wondering if we are gonna be subject to that same pain!!!??!!

Zee51Vert

Absolutely! 465 HP this year or 475 in a couple of years makes no difference to me. I'll be driving my car NOW. Life is short indeed...

Slappy3243

I understand what you are saying. The 2001 LS6 was the bastard child of the LSx motors. It had other issues as well. The rest of the LS6 line through 2004 was 405 HP. In the meantime, the base LS1 was in the standard Corvette. And even the 2001 LS6 didn't come out until many years after the LS1 made it's debut in '97. In my opinion, I don't see a significant bump in horsepower for the base Stingray for several years out. The LT4 next year will be nice, but I don't see much interchangeability between the LT4 and LT1 which may trickle down and bump the power of the LT1.

Steve Snake Driver

Tadge J. is quoted as saying sometime in the recent past that he wished there was a truce declared in the horsepower wars.

I don't think you'll see a horsepower increase, or a Gran Sport equivalent until the Z06 has been out for a couple of years if then. You could make a pretty good argument that the base Z06 is your horsepower upgrade, the Z06 with Aero pack is the C6 Z06 equivalent, and the Z06 with Z07 package is the C6 ZR1/Carbon Z06 equivalent.

FLYNLO

I complete agree!!!! My car is built and sitting in BG waiting for a truck to bring it to me!!! I am extremely excited and plan on enjoying the car thoroughly!!!