Latest news with #C8
Perth Now
a day ago
- Automotive
- Perth Now
Why the Chevrolet Corvette is a CarExpert Choice winner
The Porsche 911 has long been the yardstick against which all luxury sports cars are measured, but there's a new kid in town. The latest Chevrolet Corvette has now managed what the brilliant but too expensive and too limited Honda NSX – and the highly underrated but now discontinued Audi R8 – failed to do: topple the 911 to become our pick as the finest luxury sports car available. General Motors shocked the world when it launched the eighth generation of its lauded Corvette in 2019, releasing not only the first global version produced in both left- and right-hand drive, but the first one with a mid-mounted engine. The move made Chevrolet's iconic sports car a more direct rival for the likes of the Ferrari 296, Lamborghini Huracan and, yes, the rear-engined 911. Launched with what GM does best – a big-bore V8 – the ground-breaking C8 promised Ferrari levels of engine and chassis performance in a purpose-built two-seat sports car, for Chevrolet money. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Indeed, Australian Chevrolet distributor GM Specialty Vehicles announced a base price of $144,990 before on-road costs for the Stingray in March 2021. By the time first deliveries took place in September 2021, the first batch of 250 vehicles was already sold out and there was no ETA on further shipments, while some dealers were gouging potential customers tens of thousands of dollars on top of official list prices. But after growing demand from disenfranchised GM performance car fans following the axing of Holden, HSV and the locally converted Chevrolet Camaro in 2020, more supplies eventually arrived in late 2023 after several production delays and a $15k base price hike. The hot Z06 arrived around the same time, priced from a cool $336,000, followed by the electrified $275,000 E-Ray in August 2024, and more price hikes for the Stingrays that now start at $186,990. Nevertheless, that's just $10,000 more than the cheapest BMW M4 and still almost $100,000 less than the most affordable 911, both of which offer less power. Supplied Credit: CarExpert Sadly, while the Z06 rides on Carbon Revolution wheels made in Australia, its exhaust and therefore power output were nobbled by our government's fun police. In more sad news, the most ferocious versions of the C8 – including the ZR1 that packs a twin-turbo version of the Z06's 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8, making a mammoth 783kW of power and 1123Nm of torque, and probably the hybridised ZR1X that develops an incredible 932kW – will only be produced in left-hand drive, ruling them out for official Australian release. But no Corvette is a wallflower, with even the base Stingray 2LT Coupe and Convertible using a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 producing 369kW and 637Nm of torque. The Z06 Coupe cranks out a healthy 475kW/595Nm, and the E-Ray adds a front electric motor to the Stingray recipe to deliver all-wheel drive and a very generous 488kW/807Nm. Supplied Credit: CarExpert However, the latest Corvette isn't just a relative bargain and it doesn't just out-power its closest competitors – it matches them for design, refinement, safety, technology and dynamics, with superb chassis balance, talkative steering, fantastic brakes and big rewards for drivers who dig deep into its broad skillset. The E-Ray in particular has an enormous performance envelope, and delivers so much acceleration, sound and X-factor so seamlessly and – so far – reliably that it's hard to believe it was created in the US and not Germany or Italy, as outlined below by my colleagues. 'Anybody who scoffs at the notion an American automaker can't compete in the supercar big league needs to get behind the wheel of Chevy's mid-engined C8 Corvette,' said CarExpert news editor William Stopford. 'Not only does this American supercar look the part, it offers the adroit handling and tremendous performance expected of such a vehicle. 'While the all-wheel drive hybrid E-Ray is my personal favourite, you can get a base Stingray for close to $100k less than the cheapest Porsche 911 and well under half the price of the cheapest Lamborghini or Ferrari. Try ignoring that.' Supplied Credit: CarExpert 'After driving the latest Chevrolet Corvette – particularly the E-Ray – it's hard to go past America's supercar in the luxury sports segment,' said marketplace editor James Wong. 'The stonking electrified V8 drivetrain is not only blisteringly quick, but it offers an old-school sound, track-happy handling and of course those classic supercar proportions make it look twice as expensive than it actually is. Even better, the available Carbon Revolution carbon-fibre wheels add a dash of Australia to an already desirable recipe.' 'The obvious choice here would be the Porsche 911, but people seem to underestimate Chevy's V8 sports car weapon,' said deputy marketplace editor Joosh Nevett. 'The C8 Corvette is the best 'Vette yet – not only does it offer blistering performance, but also supercar styling and an interior that feels special to sit in. 'Then there's the matter of money, as the base Corvette Stingray is a relative bargain compared to an equivalent 911. But if I had the choice, I'd shell out for the Z06 or E-Ray, both of which take the Corvette brand to new heights.' Supplied Credit: CarExpert Winner – Chevrolet Corvette Finalist – Porsche 911 Finalist – BMW M4 To see all the CarExpert Choice winners, click here. MORE: Explore the Chevrolet Corvette showroomMORE: E-Ray breaks tradition to take centre stage at 2025 Corvette Nationals
7NEWS
a day ago
- Automotive
- 7NEWS
Why the Chevrolet Corvette is a CarExpert Choice winner
The Porsche 911 has long been the yardstick against which all luxury sports cars are measured, but there's a new kid in town. The latest Chevrolet Corvette has now managed what the brilliant but too expensive and too limited Honda NSX – and the highly underrated but now discontinued Audi R8 – failed to do: topple the 911 to become our pick as the finest luxury sports car available. General Motors shocked the world when it launched the eighth generation of its lauded Corvette in 2019, releasing not only the first global version produced in both left- and right-hand drive, but the first one with a mid-mounted engine. The move made Chevrolet's iconic sports car a more direct rival for the likes of the Ferrari 296, Lamborghini Huracan and, yes, the rear-engined 911. Launched with what GM does best – a big-bore V8 – the ground-breaking C8 promised Ferrari levels of engine and chassis performance in a purpose-built two-seat sports car, for Chevrolet money. Hundreds of new car deals are available through CarExpert right now. Get the experts on your side and score a great deal. Browse now. Indeed, Australian Chevrolet distributor GM Specialty Vehicles announced a base price of $144,990 before on-road costs for the Stingray in March 2021. By the time first deliveries took place in September 2021, the first batch of 250 vehicles was already sold out and there was no ETA on further shipments, while some dealers were gouging potential customers tens of thousands of dollars on top of official list prices. But after growing demand from disenfranchised GM performance car fans following the axing of Holden, HSV and the locally converted Chevrolet Camaro in 2020, more supplies eventually arrived in late 2023 after several production delays and a $15k base price hike. The hot Z06 arrived around the same time, priced from a cool $336,000, followed by the electrified $275,000 E-Ray in August 2024, and more price hikes for the Stingrays that now start at $186,990. Nevertheless, that's just $10,000 more than the cheapest BMW M4 and still almost $100,000 less than the most affordable 911, both of which offer less power. Sadly, while the Z06 rides on Carbon Revolution wheels made in Australia, its exhaust and therefore power output were nobbled by our government's fun police. In more sad news, the most ferocious versions of the C8 – including the ZR1 that packs a twin-turbo version of the Z06's 5.5-litre flat-plane crank V8, making a mammoth 783kW of power and 1123Nm of torque, and probably the hybridised ZR1X that develops an incredible 932kW – will only be produced in left-hand drive, ruling them out for official Australian release. But no Corvette is a wallflower, with even the base Stingray 2LT Coupe and Convertible using a naturally aspirated 6.2-litre V8 producing 369kW and 637Nm of torque. The Z06 Coupe cranks out a healthy 475kW/595Nm, and the E-Ray adds a front electric motor to the Stingray recipe to deliver all-wheel drive and a very generous 488kW/807Nm. However, the latest Corvette isn't just a relative bargain and it doesn't just out-power its closest competitors – it matches them for design, refinement, safety, technology and dynamics, with superb chassis balance, talkative steering, fantastic brakes and big rewards for drivers who dig deep into its broad skillset. The E-Ray in particular has an enormous performance envelope, and delivers so much acceleration, sound and X-factor so seamlessly and – so far – reliably that it's hard to believe it was created in the US and not Germany or Italy, as outlined below by my colleagues. 'Anybody who scoffs at the notion an American automaker can't compete in the supercar big league needs to get behind the wheel of Chevy's mid-engined C8 Corvette,' said CarExpert news editor William Stopford. 'Not only does this American supercar look the part, it offers the adroit handling and tremendous performance expected of such a vehicle. 'While the all-wheel drive hybrid E-Ray is my personal favourite, you can get a base Stingray for close to $100k less than the cheapest Porsche 911 and well under half the price of the cheapest Lamborghini or Ferrari. Try ignoring that.' 'After driving the latest Chevrolet Corvette – particularly the E-Ray – it's hard to go past America's supercar in the luxury sports segment,' said marketplace editor James Wong. 'The stonking electrified V8 drivetrain is not only blisteringly quick, but it offers an old-school sound, track-happy handling and of course those classic supercar proportions make it look twice as expensive than it actually is. Even better, the available Carbon Revolution carbon-fibre wheels add a dash of Australia to an already desirable recipe.' 'The obvious choice here would be the Porsche 911, but people seem to underestimate Chevy's V8 sports car weapon,' said deputy marketplace editor Joosh Nevett. 'The C8 Corvette is the best 'Vette yet – not only does it offer blistering performance, but also supercar styling and an interior that feels special to sit in. 'Then there's the matter of money, as the base Corvette Stingray is a relative bargain compared to an equivalent 911. But if I had the choice, I'd shell out for the Z06 or E-Ray, both of which take the Corvette brand to new heights.' 2025 CarExpert Choice Best Luxury Sports Car Winner – Chevrolet Corvette Finalist – Porsche 911 Finalist – BMW M4 To see all the CarExpert Choice winners, click here.
Motor Trend
4 days ago
- Automotive
- Motor Trend
Watch: Why Jump a Chevy Corvette Over 100 Feet? Why Not?
There is no denying the Chevrolet Corvette is a very quick automobile, even in base form. Spend more on a C8 Corvette, and it gets faster still. With that in mind, Travis Pastrana decided to see if these 'Vettes can fly—more literally. As in, through the air. With Pastrana's stunt background and Jim York's tendency to drive vehicles for purposes they are not intended for, the team set about finding out just what the C8's flight characteristics are. Travis Pastrana and Jim York jumped a C8 Corvette 110 feet to test its flight capabilities. After careful safety preparations, York's successful jump damaged the car's radiator but left him unhurt. Pastrana aimed to show any vehicle, even a stock Corvette, can fly. This summary was generated by AI using content from this MotorTrend article Read Next Of course, this is all captured on video. The clip is set up with a replay of Pastrana's win at Cleetus McFarland's Freedom 500, a race of nearly stock Ford Crown Victorias around the Freedom Factory oval track. He kinda, sorta didn't win cleanly, as he admits to wrecking Brad DeBerti and taking the race's prize (a Corvette Z06!) from him. It was that moment that Pastrana declared, 'We're going to jump it 140 feet to see how well she flies.' Thankfully, in the eyes of Corvette fans, Pastrana didn't jump that Z06 and sold it to get the C8 to be used in the jump. Oh, and he did give DeBerti a proper consultation prize: one of his personal two-stroke dirt bikes. While Pastrana and company can come off as reckless, it's usually just an act. When it comes to something that will have a high chance of getting someone hurt, he and his Pastranaland crew work to ensure a stunt is properly safe. This starts with dry runs down the dirt path leading up to the 110-foot jump in a dirt bike and a Can-Am UTV. They see what speeds are needed to make the jump, the speed that could end up going too long, and, in one instance, the speed you end up 'casing' the landing by hitting the edge of that dirt ramp. Before the actual jump done by York, Pastrana adjusts to allow for additional side clearance during the landing after seeing how easy it was to get too close to a dirt bank to the right. While the work meant York was late for his flight back home, it was a proper precaution and shows just how serious they take safety in these otherwise dumb stunts. When it came time to perform the actual jump, York didn't feel comfortable with the run up and aborted. In the next attempt we see, York makes his run, and the 'Vette soars through the air and makes the landing, albeit a little nose heavy as it crashes the front enough to damage the radiator, the impact enough to set off the still-installed airbags. Otherwise, York was unhurt and able to celebrate the success of landing the jump. Later, Pastrana uses the Corvette's data-logging and camera recording to report how the car did. He admitted to being slightly disappointed but was overall happy that it worked (and that York was able to walk away). He pointed out with a combination of accelerating on the jump ramp face—to help preload the suspension—and manipulating the throttle while in the air—to adjust the nose attitude while in the air—the Corvette could have possibly landed less nose down, though we're not convinced a Chevy can be worked that way like, say, a much lighter dirt bike. He also said the traction control worked against York along with the bottoming out on the face of the jump to slow the car down from 68 mph at the flat to 64 mph at the moment the car leaves the ramp. While the radiator and the nose were damaged, the actual landing didn't knock the alignment out, Pastrana said. 'The goal was to prove that you can fly any vehicle, completely stock,' he said. Well, at least a Corvette. Photos by Stephen Victor
Auto Blog
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Auto Blog
Corvette ZR1 Could Smash AMG ONE Nürburgring Record, Claims Engineer
ZR1 Backed To Beat Nürburgring Record The Nürburgring's Nordschleife is still the golden standard by which performance cars are often judged. Setting a time below 7 minutes is a feat reserved only for the most focused of performance cars, and according to ex-Corvette engineer Jim Mero, the new ZR1 could blast well past that barrier. In fact, he believes the 1,064-horsepower C8 can beat the lap time set by the Mercedes-AMG One, a record for production cars that was reset on September 23, 2024, with the watch stopping at 6:29.09. According to Mero, using some very sketchy car enthusiast math, the ZR1 could probably do a 6:23 lap. Not-Very-Scientific Sums, But The ZR1 Might Surprise Speaking on the HorsePower Obsessed podcast, Mero suggested that, if the gaps between C8 Corvettes are roughly similar to the gaps between C7 Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1 variants, which he helped develop, then that scale should mean that the C8 Z06's time of 7:10.52 (set by Auto Motor und Sport's Christian Gebhardt, it must be noted) would translate to a ZR1 lap time of 6:23. 'If I put the C8 Z06 at seven minutes and use a scale factor, I get a 6:23,' he said on the show. He added that he's probably going to 'get into a lot of trouble for that, but it's speculation with some background.' Interestingly, he believes that the AWD, hybridized ZR1X might not set a faster time around the track, citing concerns over how long the electric motor's 186 horsepower would be available during the lap, as well as the question of how any extra weight may impact handling when the battery is depleted. Again, this is pure speculation from somebody who has no hands-on access to the car, and underestimating what the Corvette team has achieved there may be to one's chagrin. We'll Know The ZR1's Nürburgring Time Soon Enough According to CorvetteBlogger, the team behind the ZR1 is preparing to set a lap time very soon, but until it's close to achieving its goals, we doubt we'll hear anything about their own official estimates and expectations. The publication says that the Corvette team has booked a session at the track for some time this month, and if that's true, we can expect YouTubers and trackside photographers to have news for us before the official word is out, just as was the case with the Mustang GTD's sessions at the Nordschleife. Ford's 850-hp GTD set a time of 6:52.072, and you can be absolutely positive that the Corvette team will be aiming to smash that by a long distance with its 1,064 ponies and mid-engine layout, among other tricks. As Ford and Multimatic engineers can attest, the toughest foe to overcome at the Green Hell is typically the weather. Thus, any theoretical lap times may still be impossible to achieve without perfect timing, maximum commitment, and a dash of luck. Hopefully, we'll know the truth within a week, but if the ZR1 does beat (or even come close to) the time set by the $3 million AMG One, it won't matter when we find out – it'll still mean something epic for American performance. About the Author Sebastian Cenizo View Profile
Miami Herald
5 days ago
- Automotive
- Miami Herald
Corvette ZR1 Could Smash AMG ONE Nürburgring Record, Claims Engineer
The Nürburgring's Nordschleife is still the golden standard by which performance cars are often judged. Setting a time below 7 minutes is a feat reserved only for the most focused of performance cars, and according to ex-Corvette engineer Jim Mero, the new ZR1 could blast well past that barrier. In fact, he believes the 1,064-horsepower C8 can beat the lap time set by the Mercedes-AMG One, a record for production cars that was reset on September 23, 2024, with the watch stopping at 6:29.09. According to Mero, using some very sketchy car enthusiast math, the ZR1 could probably do a 6:23 lap. Speaking on the HorsePower Obsessed podcast, Mero suggested that, if the gaps between C8 Corvettes are roughly similar to the gaps between C7 Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1 variants, which he helped develop, then that scale should mean that the C8 Z06's time of 7:10.52 (set by Auto Motor und Sport's Christian Gebhardt, it must be noted) would translate to a ZR1 lap time of 6:23. "If I put the C8 Z06 at seven minutes and use a scale factor, I get a 6:23," he said on the show. He added that he's probably going to "get into a lot of trouble for that, but it's speculation with some background." Interestingly, he believes that the AWD, hybridized ZR1X might not set a faster time around the track, citing concerns over how long the electric motor's 186 horsepower would be available during the lap, as well as the question of how any extra weight may impact handling when the battery is depleted. Again, this is pure speculation from somebody who has no hands-on access to the car, and underestimating what the Corvette team has achieved there may be to one's chagrin. According to CorvetteBlogger, the team behind the ZR1 is preparing to set a lap time very soon, but until it's close to achieving its goals, we doubt we'll hear anything about their own official estimates and expectations. The publication says that the Corvette team has booked a session at the track for some time this month, and if that's true, we can expect YouTubers and trackside photographers to have news for us before the official word is out, just as was the case with the Mustang GTD's sessions at the Nordschleife. Ford's 850-hp GTD set a time of 6:52.072, and you can be absolutely positive that the Corvette team will be aiming to smash that by a long distance with its 1,064 ponies and mid-engine layout, among other tricks. As Ford and Multimatic engineers can attest, the toughest foe to overcome at the Green Hell is typically the weather. Thus, any theoretical lap times may still be impossible to achieve without perfect timing, maximum commitment, and a dash of luck. Hopefully, we'll know the truth within a week, but if the ZR1 does beat (or even come close to) the time set by the $3 million AMG One, it won't matter when we find out - it'll still mean something epic for American performance. Related: This $760,000 Mercedes 190E Restomod is Coming For Supercars at the Nurburgring Copyright 2025 The Arena Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
