Trackaholic

Almost got a C7 when it first came out, but some details bugged me about the looks and I ended up getting the GT350, which I will probably never get rid of. The engine on that car has a sound and feel as you rev it out that I think will be difficult to replicate.

The C8 design is looking very good so far, and I very likely will try to get a Grand Sport when the widebody versions arrive.

I think GM has done a great job with this car, but it will be interesting to see how it actually drives, how they handled the cooling, and how well the transmission is sorted.

I think the car is going to be pretty awesome. Love the cockpit style interior. And while I wish there was a manual option, if I keep the GT350 I’ll at least have one in that car.

i don’t think Ferrari/McLaren/Lamborghini have much to worry about, but I do wonder if the C8 will steal some Porsche sales. Especially Cayman sales now that it has a somewhat boring 4 cylinder engine.

-T

punky

A person who buys a $300,000 car to get laid or even worse tell the world that he can afford the car and you can't is very much a psychological loser and has little or no conception of what life really is. nauseating.

ssteve

Making that comparison is like saying a vette owner would be embarrassed losing to a built honda civic. If I am a supercar owner I am not in the least embarrassed losing to a Chevrolet cause I am too busy enjoying owning a truly well built piece of machinery. A vette has and will continue to be a performance bargain. A well built car with quality parts and craftsman ship its never been and with them building north of 40k units a year it will never be.. Nor should it. Anyone who says any different is just due to lacking experience with higher end cars.

C6ness

Nauseating maybe, but true. Why else would someone build a $10,000,000 mansion or have a huge luxury yacht or a collection of exotic cars just sitting in some fancy garage and hardly driven. Is any of that really needed or is it just ego stroking extravagance.

Suns_PSD

Buy a C6 Z06 and drop it off at Katech's place with a $40K check and you'll have a car faster around a track than any production car ever made. Yet people buy $300K+ cars all of the time and frankly I'd choose the $300K car if I could afford it.

There is something to how a car makes you feel, even if that feeling is "I have arrived and I'm a total douche about it!" Kidding.

punky

My God, I would hope that someone who buys a yacht or 10 million dollar house is doing so to enjoy them and not in an effort to validate himself or make others feel insignificant.

moon2605

I would say because they can afford it and want it. My first car had 98K miles on it. cost $1300.00 . had to finance it. I am in better shape now. I can afford and do buy nicer stuff. I cannot afford a 10 million dollar house but do not resent someone who can. If a man can afford such things then there is a good chance that he or his family own a business that employs a lot people. I have a few very wealthy customers who started out with very little and have built business's that employ hundreds of people. they buy equipment from my small business so we can employ people as well. also at some point you may as well spend some money . if you owned a business that does 50 mil a year in sales at decent margins you are making some big bucks. Most of the guys I know making big $$$ buy cool stuff, donate to worthy causes and enjoy life. thats cool. as far as needing these things none of us need a corvette , but we sure enjoy them. I am pro business and like to even see my competitors do well. if companies are doing well they adding fuel to the economy. It is not always about egos. the guys who buy these big ticket items also employ the people that build them to start with and service them through out it's life cycle. I never had a poor guy give me a job.

FLAGtr

Im 40 years old and own a GTR and a 09 Gallardo. I have been watching and following along waiting for the C8 for a few months now. I think the release is a huge win for the Vette crowd. I also do not think it will affect the sales of limited build exotics/performance cars at all. Sure the price is great. So was the price for the C7 for the performance you were buying. However.... I personally have held off for 1 very specific reason. Over saturation. There are about 4 GTR's in my area. I believe 2 other Lamborghini's. And more C7's then i can count. I don't want what every 50th car i see is. There's something to be said for having something that is rare, or just not often seen.

The HACK

How did ANY other brand respond when the C7 came out? Because the C7 was also a game changer, offering Porsche 911 level performance for 1/2 the price.

The problem with this premise, is that at this price range, and the fact it's a 2 seater only, for a high percentage of people this will be the second car in the garage. Or even THIRD car. If taken at that basic assumption, then it won't affect sales of other brands because, the difference between a $70K purchase vs a $90K purchase comes down to far more than just performance per dollar.

I'm sorry, but for anyone that thinks any other manufacturers are shaking in their boots because of the C8, thinking it's going to kill anyone's sales? Not going to happen. Not when what's killing the 2 seat sports car market is the shift of consumer buying towards cross overs and SUVs. Someone cross shopping the Corvette vs. a Ferrari 488, is going to buy the Corvette regardless, since there really is no point to cross shop the two. Someone looking to buy a Ferrari 488 or McLaren 570s, isn't likely to give the C8 a sniff unless it's a third car in the staple because they don't want to crash their precious McLaren on track.

Same with the Supra or the Ford 500GT/Cobra/Shelby whatevers. No one cross shops these cars with a Corvette, and those that do? Badge or practicality (i.e. the 2 unusable seats in the Ford) might be more of a determining factor than the C8's performance per dollar.

C8 might be a game changer for Corvette, but for the industry as a whole, it's not going to make as big a dent as you all think it will.

SingleTrackMinded

Either they are thinking hard about lowering their prices and/or upping their game, or the are targeting the non Chevrolet buying crowd.

Naturally Vain

C5 Z06 + Supercharger= Faster than GTR, Gallardo, NSX, C8, 911, Viper, Ferrari 488 and on and on.

See what I did there! LOL

LilNutSac

I'm talking more about the direct competition. Ford, Toyota, Dodge, budget Porches, NSX, R8 etc. Seems like one person mentioned Ferrari, McLaren, Lamborghinis and everyone is stuck on it. Obviously they will keep doing their thing. But you have to admit, the numbers just got a lot closer as far as performance and the price is unchanged. That's not nothing. I didn't say anything about what the people that buy GTs and NSXs think. The topic is how are the brands going to respond.


If you think a major change to the flagship car of a direct competitor isn't going to cause some type of response, you sir, are the delusional one. In fact, you could probably make a good argument that this is Chevy's response to the competition upping the ante over the last few car generations. Finally busting out the decades old dream for us all to enjoy.

FinsterforstFan

I think Ford and Dodge will be the most concerned. The C8 is much more attractive than anything they have now. It will be interesting to see how they respond. Dodge can bring back the Viper to compete, but Ford doesn’t really have anything. I don’t think anything they can do to the Mustang will put it in the same class. It would have to be a different platform.

It would be awesome if Ford came up with a new vehicle to compete though. Maybe a budget version of the GT?

torquenstein

there is no market conflict, no reason to respond, the barrier to entry is so low who can really compete? and why really? its super unbeatable cheap for the performance. how much could gm actually make per car? (not much).

the only opportunity, in my view, is the zr1 which is minimal profit increase considering warranty work..or a stripped version..ie scat pack competition level fully deleted with just race seats, and stripped to the bone for a premium and offer approx 10% or less production numbers for the best selling year. 3500 possibly or so.

guess we'll see. why not buy one and do what you want with it, its not like your going to hurt the value in our lifetimes, its not going to go through the roof, and how much damage can you do to it? the salad shooter wheels have done the most damage to the car already
in the end, its just a car that is prolly going to be cheaper than most td diesel duallys on the road. fantastic deal for modding.

torquenstein

yeah that's true.

torquenstein

Iker

Supercar world changed significantly in a nice way after Nissan came up with the GTR!

ssteve

I would take a nicely spec’ed 992 over a c8 all day. Just not for double the price.

Quinten33

This car is going to affect the Jaguar F-type, the Mercedes-AMG GT, the Porsche 718s, the NSX, the BMW 8-series, 4-series, and M2, the Challenger SRT and SRT Hellcats, the Shelby Mustangs, and the Camaro ZL1. The C8 will not steal many brand loyalists or those who are dead-set on getting a manual, but it is going to be the most attractive option for those who are open to multiple kinds of cars. It has the practicality of any modern Corvette, the interior quality of most new BMWs, the standard features of the 992, the acceleration of a C7 Z06, the driving dynamics of a 570s, and the comfort of a true grand-tourer. It's a no-compromise sports car with scarce drawbacks on paper. The C8 also has crazy exotic looks that aren't quite on Ferrari or Lamborghini's level, but this is a $60,000 car. You can even see the beautiful engine through the rear hatch!

But there are BMW fans out there who are just as passionate about M cars as we all are about Corvettes. There are dedicated Porsche fans and Mercedes fans and even some people who cling on to Jaguars. There are also less passionate people who have simply had long histories with their favorite brand and are not open to other cars. There are people who want a manual. There are people who simply don't want a Chevy or GM vehicle. All of these people will continue buying from other brands, but those brands will try harder to retain more customers. There's a shrinking performance car market, and that means that there is a huge fight for market share right now. Offering RHD will make the Corvette a truly global car, which increases its market share and public exposure.

Companies like Porsche and Mercedes-AMG may not care about market share as long as their profit margins are through the roof. They have a solid reputation and can charge a premium because of it. Most limited-production Porsche and Mercedes-AMG models have miniscule depreciation in value. The C8, on the other hand, is going to depreciate a lot due to its high production volume and lack of uniqueness.

The only way that the C8 Stingray will affect supercars is sales to rental companies. Exotic car rental companies charge a fortune to rent supercars because the cars cost so much to purchase, insure, and maintain. If these companies could buy a car with more features, more comfort, more practicality, more reliability, and near equal looks and performance for a quarter or a third of the price, they would. The C8 Stingray is that car. It is also far easier to get parts for in the case of an accident, which is huge when exotics will sit for weeks after a crash waiting on parts that take a long time to install.

jma242

Guys in this thread realize that Porsche announced a few weeks ago that the 718 models were moving back to a flat 6 this Fall right? Sales have been crap with the 4 cyl and it's almost like they knew what GM had coming, and I'm sure they did. The 718 and 911 models have always been Corvette's main competitors, not the Italian twins.

BTW, the C8 hits one box that a lot of Ferrari purists are still upset over, and that's having a NA V8 behind the driver.