The New C8 ZR1 LT5.... The 750 hp

[Paul Workman]

Originally Posted by Z51JEFF

I don't see anything wrong with a single cam 16 valve arraignment,GM has made it work while everybody else goes with the next phase in motor evolution which of course is DOHC. For years now all the Euro exotics have gone DOHC multi valve the General has been kicking their a$$es with 1 cam and 16 valves.

Well, looking into the crystal ball (aka24 hour Le Manns), we see the best of the best push-rod powered Corvettes struggling/failing to remain on top. Ford, after some hiatus, comes to the event with a new TT DOHC V6 in their mid-engine GT cars and sweeps with a 1, 2, and 4 win this year. The writing is on the wall.

Considering too, the fact that Camaro, Mustang GT, and the "Hellcat" have the horsepower and the state-of-the-art suspension/handling to now be nipping at Corvettes heels, both at the track and price range.

I don't see the Corvette distinguishing itself above that crowd UNLESS the brand puts aside the nostalgic "fuddy-duddy" past and moves to the next higher plateau: mid-engine, AWD possibly with hybrid electric drive, and the ultra-high performance capability the DOHC architecture has demonstrated.

However, to make a clean break to a mid-engine, FI, DOHC, AWD architecture would alienate most Corvette buyers. A strategy to ease into such an conceptual over-haul of the brand would be essential, or suffer the lessons of history, once again.

But, keeping in mind that GM only exists today at the expense of the bond holders and US taxpayers, producing a entire new assembly line for a vehicle that may struggle to be accepted for even a few years will take a serious commitment from GM's business community - which historically is seldom moved to taking such a risk.

Rock and a hard place. It may appear to some that Corvette has painted itself into a bit of a corner. By waiting as long as it has to make a mid-course correction, it is going to take significantly more effort, more of a course correction to remain relevant in the GT arena w/o loosing its base support.

But, in the end, history shows that customers follow the leaders on race day. The results of the Ford GT at Le Manns can't be easily dismissed. But, there is a certain amount of momentum that has to be overcome. So, IF in fact GM is going to make a move to a new platform - one to distinguish the Corvette above the Camaro, Mustang GT, and Hellcat crowd, the sooner the better they bring it out of "building 54" the easier the transition.

V8 vs. V6? The exhilaration of crossing the finish line first has a way of eroding the staunch preference for the number of cylinders it took to win... JMO. Seeing the V6 Nissan GT-Rs kicking butt in the WANNAGOFAST events proves that (to me).