Driving impressions: C6Z06 vs. Porsche Turbo S
 

Saturday, Andi was gracious enough to allow me to drive his C6Z. I'd sat admiring the car for about half an hour. The paint is incredible- yes there is minor OP (as there is but less so on my Turbo S), but the color is a phenom. This is what a yellow car should look like. Walking around the car reveals the many purposeful details that must be taken if a car is to push 200mph- flush foglamps, front and rear splitter/diffuser, wheel well softeners.

Andi says "Hop in." and I oblige. The seats are comfortable and well-bolstered. Instruments are intuitively present like in my Porsche- I can drive this car without missing a step. Once settled in and comfortable, I fire up the 427- the dash diagnostics urge me to shut down/restart 5-6 times, but for Andi I refrain. The engine, while a 427, sounds more like a 3-4 litre V8- responsive, almost edgy. We back out and I need to keep in mind that there is more car in front of me than in the Porsche. The interior is very nice- not fancy or pretentious- but nice. The torque pulls us at 15-20 mph through the parking lot at "idle". I advise Andi that I'm going to take it easy, but he insists that I get on it- at DE events, I'm advanced, and Andi is beyond that- neither of us is a bad driver.

Pulling onto the road, I notice a precision and tightness that is usually unique to German cars- if you've ever driven a high-powered, air/oil cooled 911, the C6Z has a similar feel with much better composure. I nail the throttle and the motor, with the help of TC/AH catapults me forward like nothing I've ever felt on four wheels. Over skitter bumps, the suspension is compliant. I hit a fast on ramp and the car's suspension transitions flawlessly without loadup launching me the other way. There are situations where I feel my Turbo S pulls harder, but a look at the speedo reveals second gear 95 instead of 77, third 125 instead of 110. In other words, similar pull, but time to speed and time to distance are warp speed compared to the Porsche in my garage, which is still one of the fastest cars you can buy.

Regarding suspension setup and road feel, motor responsiveness and seemingly endless power, comfort and layout, the C6Z is by far the best sportscar that I've ever driven, and I've driven lots, minus CGT, Ford GT or Enzo. It is balanced and a reflection of pinnacle-level engineering and design.

cool write up, thanks. I have a yellow 06 Z and i can only compare it to my 99 c5, which it is light years ahead in every possible category. The main thing i want to do is get some tires optimized for the dry, like kumho ecsta mx, because even with those wide tires on it now, it is so easy to break loose.. the kumhos will probably be significantly more sticky and allow me to corner and accelerate better and generally be more connected to the road. i love the yellow paint too... it is less orange than the millenium yellow.. more in the direction of ferrari fly yellow, but not quite as pastel and the corvette color adds a bit of neon/electric/energy.. or in other words "velocity" to it.

Nice write up.

There's no question you have a beautiful car.

You quote

"Regarding suspension setup and road feel, motor responsiveness and seemingly endless power, comfort and layout, the C6Z is by far the best sportscar that I've ever driven, and I've driven lots, minus CGT, Ford GT or Enzo."

Here's the million dollar question:

AND THIS IS NOT MEANT TO START A 'MY CAR IS BETTER THAN YOU CAR WAR so please nobody start that garbage. :nono:

Where you impressed enough to want to give up your 911 and/or if you had to do it all over again which one would you buy now? (I realize the 911TT is twice the price so leave money out of it) :bigears

THanks for the writeup.

MY friend has a 996 Turbo S. I hated porsches....till I drove that car...or rather beat the hell out of as instructed by my friend driving my Z. We're neck and neck till 5th gear but it's such a different feeling. Would you say the steering is a precise as the turbo? The steering and seats are my only complaints on the current Z.

:cheers:

Thanks for the write up bud... good seeing you again the other night.

Talk to you later...
:)
Andi
:thumbs:

Thanks for the comparo. Objective to say the least, and nice words for the Chevy from a Porsche owner. It is the competition that make the Corvette better and better with each model year intoduction and that's healthy. Hopefully Tom Wallace (New Chief to be) will up the ante regarding the interior, and please no flaming, Chevy can always make the upgrade an option should you choose not to pay for it.

:agree:
Should've done that a long time ago.

Perhaps...
 

A more representative comparison will be the C6Z and the 997 Turbo when it comes out next year.

I'm sure the 997 Turbo will bring the car up to the same quality as the C6 Z06 but it will still cost twice as much with twice as much markup....

Thanks for sharing! :cheers:

Short Throw: Comparing car to car, forgetting the sales/service/ownership experience, forgetting that my '05 Turbo S is one of 81 cars and uniquely optioned to make it one of a kind, taking off the badges and pure driving, yes, I'd take the C6Z over the 996 Turbo S. While the Porsche has very good midrange and top end power, the C6Z has power no matter where you are in the rev range. Regarding quality, interior, etc., I think some people complain just to hear themselves complain. I found the build quality of the C6Z to be on par with other expensive cars.

Phantasms: Again, some folks knock the Corvette for having a disconnected road feel, and having driven a C4 and C5, this complaint had some basis in fact. With the C6/C6Z, I find road feel to be excellent, but I only have street experience in these cars, not track experience. I have no reason to believe the C6 or C6Z would become a different, unpredictable animal on the track. I don't find the 996Turbos or 997S any easier to drive or any more connected than the C6Z, but maybe a little better than the C6 Z51

JSMDMD/PimpDadd: Porsches are great cars and that tradition will continue. When the 996Turbo came out, it was light years ahead of anything else- autorags said it did everything so well that it was boring. Release of the 996Turbo was supposed to occur in 1999, but development delays on the motor made it come out in 2000 as a 2001 model- when we compare new cars, we need to remember that the 996Turbo is nearly a seven year-old model. Still, the Ferrari 430 barely competes with a Turbo S and can't touch a GT2, much less a C6Z. I have about 30 minutes of seat time in a 997S, and I find the chassis/suspension a little better than the standard C6 but not quite on par with the C6Z. GM has clearly raised the bar in every way with the C6Z, and the challenge to Ferrari and Porsche is to strike the balance between comfort and visceral a little better and to find more motor, and the challenge to DC is to make the Viper more predictable and easy to live with- otherwise GM will have carved out a very nice niche with the C6Z. Team Corvette should be a model for the rest of GMs think tanks.

Oh, and BTW, I am getting the C6Z. I was #3 at Huffines in Plano, and am currently negotiating (read begging) my wife to let me get it and keep the Porsche. I have a project I'm working on, and if it goes well, I CAN HAVE both.

However, based on Andi's experience, I'll be buying from Classic even if it makes me wait a little longer (or buy Andi's car so he can get LeMans Blue). Andi's sales advisor went above and beyond the call of duty for him, and I like to reward good people with my business.

You are correct and it is nice to see a car enthusiast like yourself give the C6Z a thumbs up! Thanks for the response. :cheers:

Their good people at Classic. You instruct them how you want the delivery to be and they try hard to get that done.

Nice review.

I am a little unsure about the launch comparison though.

The 911 turbo S with AWD will cut 1.6-1.7 second 60' times on stock tires. The Corvette won't. The Porsche will launch much harder than the Corvette will (on street tires). The Corvette will catch it later, but saying the Corvette gets off the line quicker probably isn't true.

Actually it IS true, if you know how to drive. And he clearly stated that he and the other gentleman were skilled drivers! Very good review.Written in a purely unbiased manner.
:cheers:

Excuse me, but why would the DIC tell you to re-start the car 5-6 times ? What's up with that? :eek:

I have driven the Enzo and the C6Z but not at the same time so it is hard to compare. However, I think once you learn the paddle shift the Enzo will be faster. However, paddle shifting in traffic takes some getting acustom too! I much prefer the C6Z in traffic, which is what it is ment for. A used Enzo is about $940,000. A new C6Z is about $70,000. We all know which one we want!

You can drive the C6Z and leave it overnight in a hotel parking lot. If you leave the Enzo in a hotel parking lot it most likely will be gone.

Ok, and for us young performance nuts out there, can you answer this question for us?

How would a C6Z do against a Turbo S from a 60-160 punch?.. :D

One of AJ's friends has a 996TT with a chip to raise the boost level, a catback exhaust, etc... his car should be on par with or faster than a stock Turbo S. We all met up Saturday night. I can't talk about it or the moderators will delete this post... all I will say is.....

:flag: :thumbs:

Andi