2013 Corvette ZR1 slaps the 2013 SRT Viper into submission, and sets record at Laguna Seca

[Rob]

If you haven't heard by now, Motor Trend Magazine pitted the 2013 Corvette ZR1 against the new 2013 SRT Viper GTS around Laguna Seca.

Although the ZR1 narrowly won the competition, it also managed to set a record at Laguna Seca - beating the previous record set by a 2010 Dodge Viper ACR.

Check out the full story at Motor Trend: http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupes/1212_2013_chevrolet_corvette_zr1_srt_viper_gts/

 

[Mac]

That must have been a fun day at the track...

-Mac

 

[67vet]

The ZR1 beat the record with out any special tuning.

 

[Huskerman]

The ZR1 is an epic bad ass machine.........now if I could just come up with an extra 100g's somewhere.............

 

[Rob]

The ZR1 is an epic bad ass machine.........now if I could just come up with an extra 100g's somewhere.............

I'm with ya there. I have the color combo and options all picked out. But it ain't happening anytime soon.

 

[Rob]

And SRT Boss, Ralph Gilles responds via Tweet!

 

[Evolution1980]

And SRT Boss, Ralph Gilles responds via Tweet!

I like how he says that the car has more left in it and essentially blames the driver. To which I would ask, "Then how come no one else has bested the record of the ZR-1? Would you not handpick a driver to accomplish that seemingly simple task?"
And for him to state that "the car rewards the brave". All professional drivers are brave. But his definition of 'brave' seems to be a bit closer to 'reckless' than mine and most professional drivers. Maybe what he meant to say is that the Viper rewards stuntmen.

 

[1analguy]

There's also a similar comparison in the February Car & Driver, with the same result...

That "it's-the-driver's-fault" crap from SRT is just sour grapes. The fact is that, at least in the Car & Driver article, the driver(s) was(were) neutral. By SRT's own implication then, it takes a special driver (ringer) to go fast in the Viper...whereas anyone can go fast in a ZR1! That implies that the ZR1 is a more-refined and better-developed car than the brand new Viper, which is no doubt the case. Face it, Ralph...your brand new car just got whipped by an "obsolete" Corvette. And, we don't believe your suspicious claim that your car's top speed is exactly 1 mph higher than the ZR1's, either...

In SRT's zeal/despiration to remove weight from the new Viper, they've "struck a bargain with the devil" and resorted to using upholstered-shell seats. By their very nature, those seats can only properly, comfortably fit a very narrow range of the population. That's why nearly everyone else uses foam padding in their seats...because foam will conform to almost anyone.

I see a pattern emerging here: SRT was desperately trying to equal the ZR1's sophistication and refinement, but without the time and development that it takes to produce such a car, they've resorted to a lot of engineering short cuts that have yielded a car that they now proudly proclaim is not for everyone. They just now gave it cruise control, for crying out loud. Maybe in another ten or twenty years the Viper will be a complete car, instead of just a fast car...

 

[ltmax]

The Newest New Viper

Well now it's March and we have a 'more newer' version of the Viper called a "Time Attack" from the annals of high school awesomeness. The Vette is out of production and they have this updated version of the newly redesigned version, beating out the ZR by 8/100th of one second at Laguna Seca (for ~$8,000 more, track car only, all 33 of them this year). Now we go to New York car show and hear the Viper talk.
I only want to see if they actually stoop to kicking the Vette while it's 'down' (between model production) and start talking smack in earnest.
We'll have to rely on continuing Vette victories on the track in the meantime, I guess.

Anyone going to make this car show?

 

[Mac]

Well now it's March and we have a 'more newer' version of the Viper called a "Time Attack" from the annals of high school awesomeness. The Vette is out of production and they have this updated version of the newly redesigned version, beating out the ZR by 8/100th of one second at Laguna Seca (for ~$8,000 more, track car only, all 33 of them this year). Now we go to New York car show and hear the Viper talk.
I only want to see if they actually stoop to kicking the Vette while it's 'down' (between model production) and start talking smack in earnest.
We'll have to rely on continuing Vette victories on the track in the meantime, I guess.

Anyone going to make this car show?

8/100th of a second? That is kind of hilarious... and I wouldn't be surprised if they do start boasting!

-Mac

 

[Hib Halverson]

The Viper crowd has been trying to get ahead of the ZR-1 since 2009.

Let the F'ing Viper contingent talk their shit...for now.
As "ltmax" alludes in his earlier post, the only way a Viper "Time Attack" (what a F'ing goofy name) can whip a production ZR-1's butt--by .08-sec--is if it's a race-only package costing 8-grand more and which, in a practical sense, no one can buy. While ZR-1s have, admittedly, not been big sellers, any average Joe or Josie with enough money could have driven it away from a Chevy dealer. In 2012, the last MY for which I have stats, 404 people did that.

The Viper people have about 18 months to brag until the C7 Z06 (think supercharged DGI 6.2L w. 650-675-hp, better handling than the Stingray Z51 and, maybe, lighter than the current ZR-1) arrives.

After that, the Dodge boys and girls will be stuck in the cheap seats watching Corvette wipe Nurburgring, Laguna Seca and other noteworthy racing venues with the Viper's sorry ass.

 

[BigJimZ16]

The Viper crowd has been trying to get ahead of the ZR-1 since 2009.

Let the F'ing Viper contingent talk their shit...for now.
As "ltmax" alludes in his earlier post, the only way a Viper "Time Attack" (what a F'ing goofy name) can whip a production ZR-1's butt--by .08-sec--is if it's a race-only package that costs 8-grand more and that, in a practical sense, no one can buy. While ZR-1s have, admittedly, not been big sellers, any average Joe or Josie with enough money could have driven it away from a Chevy dealer. In 2012, the last MY for which I have stats, 404 people did that.

The Viper people have about 18 months to brag until the C7 Z06 (think supercharged DGI 6.2L w. 660-675-hp, better handling than the Stingray Z51, lighter than the current ZR-1) arrives.

After that, the Dodge boys and girls will be stuck in the cheap seats watching Corvette wipe Nurburgring, Laguna Seca and other noteworthy racing venues with the Viper's sorry ass.

Damn sure hope you're right...

 

[Hib Halverson]

Damn sure hope you're right...

I suspect we'll know towards the end of 2014.

 

[ltmax]

I suspect we'll know towards the end of 2014.

...and Hib, that's my main point. I remember when Ford came out with the GT in '03, launched straight into a production-stopping, do-not-drive recall for bad suspension parts, then did a N'schleife time of ~7:41 and finished after ~4,000 were made. Chevy gets the C6 out, the brings out the standard production Z-06 in '06, rips off the exact same time at the 'schleife and blithely sails on for HALF the cost. Now the new Viper is trying the same crap, custom this, special that, German-race-team-tuned the other thing and the daily-driving ZR comes off the showroom floor, does the same thing at ~$8,000 less and sets a LS lap record one month before the end of the model line production. So it's like:

Ford / Viper: This is what WE can do!!!! :Twist

Chevy: Yeah, we do this all the time :eyerole

 

[Evolution1980]

Ford / Viper: This is what WE can do!!!! :Twist

Chevy: Yeah, we do this all the time :eyerole

Chevy: Yeah, we do this all time time...without requiring specific drivers.

(Fixed that for ya. )

 

[ltmax]

Chevy: Yeah, we do this all time time...without requiring specific drivers.

(Fixed that for ya. )

heh, heh... yup!

( I sense a T-shirt coming )