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Motor Trend ZR1 vs. 911 Turbo

7K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  RFenton1 
#1 · (Edited)
New Motor Trend comparison:

1st place: ZR1
"We're still red-eyed, white-knuckeled, and blue in the face over GM's most powerful super-duper car."
2nd place: 911 Turbo
"The thinking man's supercar and dragstrip missile fails to tug at our heartstrings. It's flawless to a fault."

Edit: Just discovered I reversed the numbers. The 911 actually won the straight line stats. (Hint: 4 wheel drive)

Corrected numbers:

0-60: 911 ---3.0 sec
ZR1 ---3.5 sec

0-100 911 --- 7.1 sec
ZR1 --- 7.6 sec

1/4 mile: 911 ---11.2 sec @ 125.3 mph
ZR1 --- 11.5 sec @ 126.9 mph

2.5 mile road course lap:
911 --- 93.31 sec
ZR1 --- 89.69 sec

The article has some VERY nice things to say about the Corvette.:thumbsup:
 
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#3 ·
Notice my edit. I reversed the numbers. It helps to read the column headings. Boy do I feel dumb. :D
Anyway, they really, REALLY like the sound and power of the ZR1. .......Honest. :laughing:
 
#5 ·
Ya, I read that article a few days ago. The guy writing the article said a couple of things that caught my attention.

One was related to driving the porsche around town, he didn't get a second look as every yuppie in the valley drove a 911.

Driving the ZR-1 around town he saw heads turning everywhere, and at some point, walked out of somewhere it was parked and the car had a lipstick kiss mark on the windshield.

Gotta love american muscle.
 
#6 ·
It was a great article. I was surprised that:

1. The Corvettes electronics gave a faster lap time* with a professional driver than with no computer aides (*they made a note about the computer gaining time on the tricky corners but holding a good driver back on the easy ones)
2. The Porsche didn't get much attention on the street or a car show
3. The Porsche was so slow around the track compared to the ZR1
4. The Porsche pulls just as hard as the ZR1 at high speeds
5. The Porsche...broke

And man, I'm a fan of red again now that I've seen the ZR1 in Torch Red!
 
#8 ·
I was reading this article again over the weekend after showing it to my father in law, and noticed your point #5 above lawnchair -

The Porsche wasn't able to complete the 0-150-0 challenge because it broke. I realize that they are downright beating on these cars for a number of days to complete these tests but geez... The explanation from the dealer was that they thought one of the hoses for a turbo must have "popped off" during the testing of the car.
 
#10 ·
A bogus article from start to finish.

I love my ZR1 but this article was biased from the beginning.
The ZR1 is the fastest and best Corvette made. The Porsche is an old technology manual shift car. Porsche has a PDK 7 spd dual clutch transmission that about 95% of Porsche turbo owners opt for.

This non PDK car was chosen for a reason, and now 2011 cars of both brands have been out for a while but weren't used?

I love my ZR1 but I also like fair comparo's. The ZR1 will get a dual clutch soon and then maybe the comparo will be fair but this challenge was done to make the ZR1 look better.

In my opinion the ZR1 doesn't need any charity. It's more car for the money making it a better value, but if that Porsche had a PDK trans as most do since 2010, the results may have been different. The bigger distinction here though is the prices and value.

I speak from an interesting position of owning a 2011 ZR1 and a 2011 Porsche Turbo "S" with PDK. I love them both.
 
#15 ·
I will still take a manual shift car any day. I prefer the satisfaction of my interaction with my autos.

There's nothing like the feeling of a perfect shift & rev matching into turns. The day I can no longer buy a manual shift car, I might as well get a Prius.
 
#16 ·
Tell that to all the F1 drivers out on the circuit.

I personally like to shift too but I was amazed when I got my Turbo S and used the PDK. The Turbo S also comes with paddles which are almost as much fun as shifting manually and there's an amazing feeling when you hear lightning fast shifts,.... but that's why I own both cars.

I was told by an inside source that the Corvette is scheduled to have a dual clutch automatic in 2013.
 
#17 ·
F1 drivers make their living racing. I just drive for fun, which I get from my third pedal and stick.

They should offer a modern-day transmission in their next revision model, but I am sure that GM will still offer a MT for the old school rowers like me.
 
#20 ·
I suspect your correct but just look at what happened to Ferrari.

They went to 90+ percent F1 transmissions just as Porsche is doing as well as Aston, Lambo, and others. When Chevy comes with a good dual clutch you'd better hang on to your manual. They may ALL be marked for extinction? I know I'll hang on to mine.
 
#19 ·
Also wanted to comment on the subject of the double-clutch. I have driven one of the new M3's with the double-clutch transmission in it, and that thing is a piece of work. Besides always feeling like the car is in a gear lower than it should be, it didn't shift well and I was seriously unimpressed.

The guy that owned the car even told me that if he had the option to drive the car for a week, he woudn;t have purchased it. He has taken it back several times and had the mechanics test drive it to make abolutely sure it's operating properly.

I too, like KennyG, prefer to shift my cars myself, with a manual tranny.

Again, my 2 cents.
 
#22 ·
Comparing the BMW double clutch to the Porsche PDK is like comparing apples and oranges. Not a good comparison and I'm surprised a car guy such as yourself would even make the comparison. I had a 2006 M6 with their double clutch and was quite pleased but then again it was no PDK.

As far as the magazines are concerned: You are mis informed if you don't think they knew exactly what they were doing when they used the Porsche manual. They knew the only way the performance was comparable was with the manual.

I could easily refer you to the recent article where a Porsche Turbo "S" was compared to a Ferrari 458 and other exotics and came in first in performance categories. If you were closer to me I'd be happy to take you for a ride and let the car do the talking.

I did just get my 2011 ZR1 back from Lingenfelter today. My final number was 775 HP at the flywheel and 659 RWHP. I'd bet it wouldn't take too long for my ZR1 to catch up to the Turbo "S" at this point. My guess is about 2/3 of the way down the track.
 
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