MessyMarvin

I am curious if anyone has owned a Corvette 427 or Z06? I would be interested in just the 427, but they are new so I guess the Z06 would be the closest comparison. I did a search and all the subjects are on mostly regular corvettes.

I have narrowed my search at this point to New Boxster 981 S, 997.2 S/4S, and Possibly a Corvette. I like the look of all 3, performance of all 3 is way more than I can handle. It will not be tracked, street driven about 8000 miles a year or so. 981 to me has the nicest interior followed by the 997, then the Corvette, but all are functional. Outside is very close, they are all different, but to me I can not put one ahead of the other. Corvette would be the fastest for sure, but for street driving could that possibly be a negative? Could I even use that speed? I do not consider myself a Corvette guy, I am more of a Porsche type guy, but open to what even is more fun to drive.

The search has been fun, although some-what frustrating. I am looking forward to narrowing it down to one vehicle and moving forward. Good news is I am in no rush.

larrytrk

1967 390hp 427, it was a beast! Burnt rubber in any gear.
Sorry, I could not resist.

cairo94507

Wow three totally different cars - front, mid and rear engine, American muscle vs German design perfection/function. I too love the new Corvettes, and it would be a Z06 if I were to go that direction as I owned a '67 427 Corvette Stingray back when I was young- wish I still owned that car BTW. But alas I have been a Porsche owner since I was 19 years old and can't shake the addiction. Currently own 2- an original '71 914-6 which is undergoing complete restoration and our '10 C4S coupe, 6 speed. So....my answer would be to steer you towards the P-car.

yemenmocha

I would have purchased the Z06 if it had more headroom but I couldn't make it work with my height.

The new Corvette will debut in just a few weeks from now. Rumors I've read are that they're switching to a different platform, mid-engined possibly. There's so much performance for the dollar in these cars, and American car makers are improving the interiors too - see new Viper for instance.

PHX 911

In between my 2 Porsche's, I owned a 2006 Z06 for a year. I also had some driving instruction at Bondurant in their Z06's.
The car is an absolute beast, and there's no way you can approach it's capabilities on the street. Performance for the $, a Z06 wins hands down, but the interiors are crappy, although contrary to what someone mentioned, it is roomier, particularly in the footwells. For touring, it has more storage, and is much better for large items like golf clubs.
The 427 may have a flaw that you should investigate. Seems it has a tendency to gobble exhaust valves. Check out corvetteforumdot com for some interesting reading.
They're an absolute blast to drive, and out-perform all but the highest end Porsche's, but, it's still a Chevy.

wheeler

Have you driven a Z06 or even a newer c6? I think the difference is clear between a vette and a German car.

I drove a new Grand Sport back to back, within 1/2 hour, with an 05 C2 and 06 C2S. I have NOT driven a ZO6. But unless the Z06 has a completely different transmission, clutch, suspension and seating position, then I have to say, I was complete underwhelmed by the corvette. And I had my heart set on one! The cars could not be more different. I too was drawn to the new 427, I've always thought the look of the vert with top up was a little more sinister looking, like the C5 fixed roof coupe. But man, the complete lack of feel in the controls and the insane straight line power made me feel extremely uncomfortable. I could not get myself into what I felt was an aggressive driving position...just couldn't shake the sitting on the floor, reaching for the clutch, can't see for $hit feeling that car gave me. That said, if I owned one and took the time to drive one regularly and learn the car, take some DE classes and push it around a track with no penalty, I'm sure it would be a great car.

In contrast the 997 inspired confidence INSTANTLY. It was fun to drive everywhere...straight line hard, on the brakes hard, cornering hard, like a street legal shifter cart!

This is just my seat of the pants instant feel between the cars. And I was dead set I would end up with a corvette from the price standpoint, big v8, manual, what else did I need!? The 911 immediately changed my mind. I haven't been back to corvetteforum ONCE since my test drive. How magazines can even compare the cars is beyond me. Sure, can an experienced driver that's allowed to push the cars to the edge without penalty for breaking one go out and lay down amazing numbers in both cars? Absolutely! But from this spodes view the choice could not be clearer.

f4 plt

I have had 2 C6 Corvettes and got rid of them for the same reason, the seats are terrible. Nice car, handles well with lots of storage in the rear BUT the seats are cheap with little or no support. I have heard that they may correct that in the 2013 model. As for the Z06 probably the best of the lot. The lightest with a good engine and now that they have moved away from the runflats to good performance tires its even better. Good value for the money and much improved body finish, but did I mention the seats?

SteveFromMN

I have had 5 Corvettes and granted the last one was an 87. When I got my 996 I only missed the low end torque. But the rest of the car is so much fun and all around better. Now with my 997 I don't miss anything. I would never go back you have to drive both to understand what Porsche is all about. Not only wicked fast but nimble and fun to drive.

svt1

I had a 2007 Z06. Now just picked up a 2006 C2S (will start a picture thread at some point hopefully).

The Z06 delivers a very high level of performance as we all know, but what I'm not reading here is "how" it delivers it's performance is way more refined than a non-Z06 C6. The cars feature totally different construction throughout, and the overall steering and suspension feel in the Z06 is, in my view, way improved over a base C6 Vette. I test drove 2 base C6 Vettes, a 2005 997 non-S, and a 996 TT when I bought my 2007 Z06. The Z06 is in an elite league for a petormance/street car. I loved the drive, but wasn't very fond of the interior quality, or the seats. My wife hated it too and refused to ride in the car (something about gold chains and picking up high school girls, she thought I was having a mid life, lol).

On the other hand, I've had a couple of new mustangs in the time period since the Z06, including a 2012 Boss 302. The whole time I kept day dreaming of 911 ownership own day. Something about the Porsche mystique, the whirring rear engine, snorty exhaust, impeccable fit and finish, unworldly steering feel and brake balance, any other attributes drew me into the fold finally. On paper, the C6 Z delivers a KO to any 911 short of a GT2 or maybe even a GT3 on track, but the things that stimulate the sense the most, it lacks a few where the Porsche is overflowing with them.

mchi55

If it helps I had a 2006 C6 vette. Besides the engine everything else was crap. The Z06 and newer models will have more power but handling is no where near a Porsche Boxster, Cayman, or 911. The interior is also crap

Plus at least here in TX it is everywhere. I'd say stick with Porsche
__________________
2006 Maserati Gransport
2007 Porsche Cayman, manual, Tubi exhaust
2006 Porsche Cayenne Turbo S, twin turbo, 520hp/530 lb-ft torque
2013 Chevy Suburban
2008 Jeep Wrangler X

GregGH

Hi
I sold my 06 Vert ( had it for 5 years )... enjoyed the 3 day Spring Mountain race school ... solid car ... but the first time I test drove a 911 and the tranny anticipated the downshift ... ( love PDK's after a couple of days trying to master heel-toe shifting ) ...well ..that blew me away ...

Good value for the money ... but when you know you want something that just handles a bit better ...

On the other hand ... change plugs ..,, why - they last forever ... no IMS or water pump problems ... things easy to work on...

Greg

trumperZ06

This is a Porsche forum and if I were to choose one for the track...

a GT3 would be my choice.

I've tracked two C5 Z06's and an 07 C6 Z06.

Bang for the buck... the C6 Z06 wins.....

Do not modify anything on the engine that touches oil !!!

Brakes need help.. two piece rotors solves that problem.

Other than normal perishables... tires/brake pads/rotors...
all my Vettes have been trouble free.

Gumbys69

My nephew has a 06 Z06, being scared of the valve dropping issue he swapped out the heads and did a full exhaust etc. it sounds amazing and goes like hell but it still feels like your driving around in a Cavalier with 600hp, the interior quality sucks.

trumperZ06

I guess you are a little late with your post.,, and haven't tracked any Z06 Vette.

Everyone is now talking about the NEW C7 Vette with two threads on Rennlist, and looking at lap times at VIR.

When you "catch up" let us know your opinion.

Gumbys69

How can I catch up when nobody has even driven the C7 yet?