German Car Forum

TRACK test Corvette Z06 against Porsche 911 GT3 R-S

Complete translated article:

TRACK test Corvette Z06 against Porsche 911 GT3 R-S
Both place the basis for a racing car, and the Corvette Z06 and the new Porsche nevertheless separate 911 GT3 R-S worlds. Running professional Kurt Thiim tests both on the Formel-1-Kurs in Hockenheim
Red-Green the couple draws each attention in the nearly deserted driver camp of the Hockenheim ring on itself. „That the hardest examination for the Corvette “, prophesied ex-DTM-professional Kurt Thiim. And it is right.

The potent US hammer is compromiseless built: small weight owing to a chassis from aluminum and carbon fiber composite materials, bear-strongly owing to the largest Small-Block-V8, the general of engine built ever, and drehzahlfest owing to titanium piston rods, sodium-filled titanium intake valves and aluminum flat-topped pistons. Only the valve gear is still made by a central arranged cam shaft. 512 HP as well as 637 Newtonmeters torque speak a clear language, the maximum speed of 320 km/h likewise. In the end still the Sahnehäubchen: The weight per horsepower of the Z06 is with only 2.8 kg/PS. That should be enough, in order to frighten each Porsche, or?

But: On a good round time also things decide such as brake performance and driving stability in the frontier. And here in the comparison to the flat, broad Corvette nearly delicate 911 GT3 R-S set, weight per horsepower: 3,3 kg/PS. And the R-S models show already since 1972, what is possible in puncto driving dynamics with one to road-certified for car.

Newest R-S is there no exception. Again 20 Kilos more easily than the normal GT3 and equipped with an adjustable chassis, optimized aerodynamics as well as finest Racing attributes, he start, in order to control the sports car world.

The hoarse barking 3,6-Liter-Boxer in the tail has not only just as exclusive Innereien now as the GM-V8, but also over an a mass flywheel, which saves eight Kilos opposite the conventional flywheel. „The engine reacted thereby very spritzig, turns phänomenal fast highly “, describes to Thiim the effects, „at all, the Porsche is actually a racing car, you notices it immediately at the clutch counter-pressure or also at the high switching forces. And if you drive off in the morning, it cracks here and there, Laufgeräusche comes from the drive strand. You experience the same, if you roll with a cold racing car from the box lane on the runway - wonderful. “

In relation to achievement disadvantage the Corvette - 415 to 512 HP - the GT3 R-S with its chassis and the standard Michelin Semi Slicks wants to than only compensate more. The Goodyear Runflatreifen of the Ami is there rather a everyday life-suited solution.

Thiim decides after two sample rounds with the two cars as the first for the Z06: „The conversion between the two cars is giant-largely, thus around falls it however somewhat more easily. “The Dane does without any electronic support. Thus he selects the attitude „ASR and active handling out “in the cockpit display. After short approach the V8 bollert over the start/goal straight line. With 204 km/h Thiim throws the anchor before the north curve and switches down.

Becomes clear already here: „You must leave yourself time when switching, otherwise it cracks in the transmission. The operating paths are clearly longer and not like that exactly defined as in the Porsche. “The second characteristic of the Corvette becomes clear in the next right curve before the long Parabolika: Of 211 km/h Thiim must down up to 58 things, to give in and on as early an accelerating as possible concentrate at the same time. „All no problem, but in the seats of the Corvette I find too little stop to technical and slip partly somewhat helplessly around “, say Thiim later.

But which after the slide portion follows, fascinates the Dane: „The Drehmomentkick and this Beschleunigungsorgie up to the pointed turn place simply everything into the shade. “251 km/h the government inspection department measuring instrument indicates at the point of applying brakes gently, to only 44 km/h stands the close right curve - maximum permissible load for all vehicle components. „The car remains very stable with these hard brakings. But the tires are overtaxed on the racing course and lubricate. The handling loses thereby at precision. “

Again the Z06 start, as if would be the devil behind it ago. The large V8 has easy play with the unloaded weight of 1440 kilograms. In the gentle right break before the Mercedes grandstand Thiim must briefly of the gas and loses speed. Also the following sector into and by the Kurvengeschlängel of the Motodrom becomes probably never the favourite playground of the Corvette. Thiim: „You must force yourself in curves again and again to the peace, give the car time to stabilize. Only so you can use the whole power.

The body movements are more pronounced in the comparison to the Porsche and want to be taken into account. “Accordingly the applying brakes gently speeds are very highly, the curve speeds however rather average. Only the outward easily superelevated special curve facilitates it the Corvette a little. The drift with 97 km/h at the entrance to starting/goal straight lines is hardly to be avoided. Few seconds later Kurt Thiim with 187 km/h rushes by the light barrier. Its total time: 1.57, 90 minutes

The racing professional rises directly over into the Porsche and squeezes themselves into the bowl seat. The electronic PASM chassis pressed on hard posed, those sport key for still more spontaneous responding of the engine and traction control deactivates - it can loose-go. Hoarse roaring the GT3 R-S hunts on the north curve to and brakes clearly later than the Corvette. However it is here also nine km/h more slowly than the Z06.

The same play before the next curve: very late and hard applying brakes gently into the curve inside, then just as early accelerating. Here the class of the chassis and the tire show up. The rate of turn is appropriate for ten km/h more highly than with the Corvette. Then the pointed turn, Thiim follows applies brakes gently with 241 km/h, thus ten km/h lose on the US sportsman. But: The brake point lies stately 23 meters later, that is nearly five vehicle lengths.

Thiim in addition: „Nevertheless, in order to realize a time advantage with the Porsche, you must drive and the engine out crimpings very exactly. But for it this car is exactly built. Giving in behavior and driving stability are simply great. “Where it had to almost give full power in the Corvette carefully to act, can it in the Porsche. And it must it also, because up to applying brakes gently before the Mercedes grandstand the Corvette lies still in front with 0.87 seconds projection/lead. „You can take the entrance into the Motodrom in the Porsche nearly fully. There the new aerodynamics of R-S already plays a large role “, says Thiim.

Now the running driver plays his decades of experience out and flogs the Elfer by the curves. In the last sector it actually gets a projection/lead of 1.23 seconds raus and crosses after 1.57, 44 minutes the goal line, knappe five tenth ofs a second in former times as with the Corvette. Thiim rolls abgekämpft into the box lane: „If you so a Porsche to buy want to be, must you a Racer. Otherwise the outstanding driving experience is opened for you never. The GT3 R-S is not a toy. “

Result
“The test was a large surprise for me. We have here two completely different sports car concepts, which can be moved as expected also completely differently. On the side with the Corvette Z06 a genuine Powercar from the USA with 7,0 litres capacity to the asking price. On the other side a racing car with road permission. The Porsche 911 GT3 R-S as something else to designate, would be missed. During the series tyre the two separate worlds likewise. Everyday life-suited Runflat tires on the V8-Monster, Semi Slicks on the finely balanced racer. And which happens? The two separate only five tenth ofs a second at the end. The Porsche makes exactly what you want. The Corvette presses as wildly forward. But you can convert Kraft many more badly, because you must constantly fight. You need in the Corvette also more courage than in the Porsche, it come even in the fourth course still crosswise. If you could bring these Kraft on the bitumen - Semi Slicks does not give it for the Z06 to time yet -, then it were a genuine monster. The Porsche is that absolutely rounds and snaps total package.”

Z06
Laptime: 1,57.90 min
GT3 RS
Laptime: 1,57.44 min

Wow...The time difference is very miniscule. So from an owners perspective, the better driver wins. Damn...once again hats off to the Z06!!

Supposed to read, "Ein Rennauto mit Strassenzulassung" = A streetlegal racecar.

Some highlights:

Link: http://autozeitung.de/online/render.php?render=0039979

Tracktest Corvette Z06 gegen Porsche 911 GT3 RS
Beide stellen die Basis für einen Rennwagen, und doch trennen die Corvette Z06 und den neuen Porsche 911 GT3 RS Welten. Rennprofi Kurt Thiim testet beide auf dem Formel-1-Kurs in Hockenheim (Both cars represent the simple basics needed for a sports car, yet, both cars are different in how they do it. Professional driver, Kurt Thiim, tests both these hardcore performance machines.)

Der potente US-Hammer ist kompromisslos gebaut: geringes Gewicht dank einem Chassis aus Aluminium und Kohlefaser-Verbundwerkstoffen, bärenstark dank des größten Small-Block-V8, den General Motors je gebaut hat, und drehzahlfest dank Titanpleuel, Natrium-gefüllten Titan-Einlassventilen und Alu-Flachkolben. Nur die Ventilsteuerung erfolgt immer noch über eine zentral angeordnete Nockenwelle. 512 PS sowie 637 Newtonmeter Drehmoment sprechen eine deutliche Sprache, die Höchstgeschwindigkeit von 320 km/h ebenfalls. Zum Schluss noch das Sahnehäubchen: Das Leistungsgewicht der Z06 liegt bei nur 2,8 kg/PS. Das sollte reichen, um jeden Porsche zu erschrecken, oder? (The American car is built without compromise: low weight (thanks to an aluminum chassis), carbon fiber bonding materials, a powerful V8 and much more. 512-horsepower, 637 Nm of torque, 320 km/h top speed and 2.8 kg / horsepower. Enough to scare every Porsche, right?)

Aber: Über eine gute Rundenzeit entscheiden auch Dinge wie Bremsleistung und Fahrstabilität im Grenzbereich. Und hier setzt der im Vergleich zur flachen, breiten Corvette fast zierliche 911 GT3 RS an, Leistungsgewicht: 3,3 kg/PS. Und die RS-Modelle zeigen schon seit 1972, was in puncto Fahrdy-namik mit einem straßenzugelas-senen Auto möglich ist. (A good lap time is not only determined by power output. The quality of the brakes, stability in extreme speeds etc. all determine a good laptime. This is what the weaker GT3 RS uses to its advantages with it's 3.3 kg / horsepower rating.)

Der neueste RS ist da keine Ausnahme. Nochmals 20 Kilo leichter als der normale GT3 und mit einem einstellbaren Fahrwerk, optimierter Aerodynamik sowie feinsten Racing-Attributen ausgestattet, tritt er an, um die Sportwagenwelt zu beherrschen. (The new RS is 20 kg lighter than the normal GT3 and has an adjustable chassis, optimized aerodnamics as well s high quality racing attributes.)

Der heiser bellende 3,6-Liter-Boxer im Heck verfügt nicht nur über ebenso exklusive Innereien wie der GM-V8, sondern jetzt auch über ein Einmassenschwungrad, das gegenüber dem herkömmlichen Schwungrad acht Kilo einspart. „Der Motor reagiert dadurch sehr spritzig, dreht phänomenal schnell hoch“, schildert Thiim die Auswirkungen, „Überhaupt, der Porsche ist eigentlich ein Rennwagen, du merkst es sofort am Kupplungsgegendruck oder auch an den hohen Schaltkräften. Und wenn du morgens losfährst, knackt es hier und da, Laufgeräusche kommen aus dem Antriebsstrang. Das Gleiche erlebst du, wenn du mit einem kalten Rennwagen aus der Boxengasse auf die Piste rollst – herrlich.“ The 3.6-l 6-cylinder of the Porsche barks aggressively. "The engine response is very good and rev's very quickly," says Thiim. Thiim also says, "This car is made for the racetrack, you can feel it because of the heavy clutch and the heavy feeling shifts on the manual gear box."

Den Leistungsnachteil gegenüber der Corvette – 415 zu 512 PS – will der GT3 RS mit seinem Fahrwerk und den serienmäßigen Michelin-Semi-Slicks mehr als nur kompensieren. Die Goodyear-Runflatreifen des Ami sind da eher eine alltagstaugliche Lösung. (Despite the power disadvantage, 415-hp against 512-hp, the GT3 makes a good impression with its Michelin-semi-slicks. The everyday tires of the Corvette, Goodyear runflats, are at a disadvantage here.)

Thiim entscheidet sich nach zwei Proberunden mit den beiden Autos als erstes für die Z06: „Die Umstellung zwischen den beiden Autos ist riesengroß, so herum fällt es aber etwas leichter.“ Der Däne verzichtet auf jegliche elektronische Unterstützung. Also wählt er die Einstellung „ASR und aktives Handling aus“ im Cockpit-Display. Nach kurzem Anlauf bollert der V8 über die Start/Zielgerade. Bei 204 km/h wirft Thiim den Anker vor der Nordkurve und schaltet runter. (Thiim takes the Corvette for a spin first. He claims that, "The difference between these two cars is extreme.")

Schon hier wird klar: „Du musst dir Zeit lassen beim Schalten, sonst kracht es im Getriebe. Die Schaltwege sind deutlich länger und nicht so genau definiert wie im Porsche.“ Die zweite Eigenart der Corvette wird in der nächsten Rechtskurve vor der langen Parabolika deutlich: Von 211 km/h muss Thiim runter bis auf 58 Sachen, dabei einlenken und sich gleichzeitig auf möglichst frühes Beschleunigen konzentrieren. „Technisch alles kein Problem, doch in den Sitzen der Corvette finde ich zu wenig Halt und rutsche teilweise etwas hilflos herum“, sagt Thiim später. (Thiim on the Corvette, "You need to take your time shifting with the Corvette, otherwise the transmission crunches." "The shifts are longer and not as precise as those in the Porsche," Thiim will later say. All of a suddent a shrap right curve comes. From 211 km/h, Thiim slows down to 58 km/h, no problem, the brakes are good. Thiim, :"The seats of the Corvette are a little slippery and don't offer the support and grip you find in the Porsche.")

Doch was auf die Rutschpartie folgt, fasziniert den Dänen: „Der Drehmomentkick und diese Beschleunigungsorgie bis zur Spitzkehre stellen einfach alles in den Schatten.“ 251 km/h zeigt das GPS-Messgerät beim Anbremspunkt an, nur 44 km/h verträgt die enge Rechtskurve – Höchstbelastung für alle Fahrzeugkomponenten. „Das Auto bleibt sehr stabil bei diesen harten Bremsmanövern. Doch die Reifen sind auf der Rennstrecke überfordert und schmieren. Das Fahrverhalten verliert dabei an Präzision.“ "What I like about the Corvette is the torque and acceleration." 251 km/h, another curve, slow down to 44 km/h - a heavy toll on all parts of the car. No problem in the Corvette. It's stable during these hard braking maneuvers. "The tires are overworked and not suited for track use though," says Thiim.)

Wieder tritt die Z06 an, als wäre der Teufel hinter ihr her. Der große V8 hat mit dem Leergewicht von 1440 Kilogramm leichtes Spiel. Im sanften Rechtsknick vor der Mercedes-Tribüne muss Thiim kurz vom Gas und verliert Geschwindigkeit. Auch der folgende Sektor in und durch das Kurvengeschlängel des Motodrom wird wohl nie der Lieblingsspielplatz der Corvette. Thiim: „Du musst dich in Kurven immer wieder zur Ruhe zwingen, dem Auto Zeit geben, sich zu stabilisieren. Nur so kannst du die ganze Power einsetzen. (The Corvette has an easy acceleration time though. 1440 kg of weight to haul around coupled to a powerful V8 make this not a problem. On the track, there's a portion where one has to slalom through. This proves to be too much for the Corvette: possibly because of the tires.)

Die Karosseriebewegungen sind im Vergleich zum Porsche ausgeprägter und wollen einkalkuliert werden.“ Entsprechend sind die Anbremsgeschwindigkeiten sehr hoch, die Kurventempi aber eher durchschnittlich. Nur die nach außen leicht überhöhte Sachskurve erleichtert es der Corvette ein wenig. Der Drift bei 97 km/h am Eingang zur Start-/Zielgerade ist kaum zu vermeiden. Wenige Sekunden später rauscht Kurt Thiim mit 187 km/h durch die Lichtschranke. Seine Gesamtzeit: 1.57,90 Minuten. (The chassis movement of the Corvette are more distinctive and demand calculation.)

Der Rennsportprofi steigt direkt um in den Porsche und zwängt sich in den Schalensitz. Das elektronische PASM-Fahrwerk auf hart gestellt, die Sporttaste für ein noch spontaneres Ansprechen des Motors gedrückt und die Traktionskontrolle deaktiviert – es kann losgehen. Heiser brüllend jagt der GT3 RS auf die Nordkurve zu und bremst deutlich später als die Corvette. Allerdings ist er hier auch neun km/h langsamer als die Z06. (The professional racedriver Thiim now tests the Porsche. The electronic suspension is programmed to "hard": traction control is set too off. The first right curve Thiim encounters in the Porsches forces him to brake a little later than in the Corvette - and was 9 km/h slower than the 'Vette too.)

Das gleiche Spiel vor der nächsten Kurve: sehr spätes und hartes Anbremsen bis in die Kurve hinein, dann ebenso frühes Beschleunigen. Hier zeigt sich die Klasse des Fahrwerks und der Reifen. Die Kurvengeschwindigkeit liegt zehn km/h höher als bei der Corvette. Dann folgt die Spitzkehre, Thiim bremst bei 241 km/h an, verliert also zehn km/h auf den US-Sportler. Aber: Der Bremspunkt liegt stattliche 23 Meter später, das sind fast fünf Fahrzeuglängen. (The same game in the next curve: late braking and steering into the curve then early acceleration. This is where the class of the suspension and tires is shown. The speed of the Porsche in curves is 10 km/h quicker than that of the Corvette. Then comes a straight, and this is where the Corvette would catch up.)

Thiim dazu: „Trotzdem, um einen Zeitvorteil mit dem Porsche zu realisieren, musst du sehr genau fahren und den Motor ausquetschen. Doch genau dafür ist dieses Auto gebaut. Einlenkverhalten und Fahrstabilität sind einfach großartig.“ Wo er in der Corvette vorsichtig agieren musste, kann er im Porsche nahezu Vollgas geben. Und er muss es auch, denn bis zum Anbremsen vor der Mercedes-Tribüne liegt die Corvette mit 0,87 Sekunden Vorsprung immer noch vorn. „Den Eingang ins Motodrom kannst du im Porsche fast voll nehmen. Da spielt die neue Aerodynamik des RS schon eine große Rolle“, sagt Thiim. (Thiim on the Porsche: "If you want to beat the Corvette, you need to play for a time advantage: drive calculated, anticipate and abuse the engine, and this is what the car was built for." Where you need to be careful in the Corvette, you can go beyond in the Porsche. And you have to, because the Corvette accelerates quicker.)

Jetzt spielt der Rennfahrer seine jahrzehntelange Erfahrung aus und prügelt den Elfer durch die Kurven. Im letzten Sektor holt er tatsächlich einen Vorsprung von 1,23 Sekunden raus und überquert nach 1.57,44 Minuten den Zielstrich, knappe fünf Zehntelsekunden früher als mit der Corvette. Thiim rollt abgekämpft in die Boxengasse: „Wenn du so einen Porsche kaufen willst, musst du ein Racer sein. Sonst erschließt sich dir das überragende Fahrerlebnis niemals. Der GT3 RS ist kein Spielzeug.“ (Thiim uses his years of experience and flaunts the Porssche. Surprisingly, he catches up with the Corvette's best time in the last lap and has a 1.23 second lead for a final time of 1.57,44 minutes. Thiim on the GT3, "If you buy such a car, you need to be racedriver, otherwise, you don't get no satisfaction from it.")


Fazit
"Der Test war eine große Überraschung für mich. Wir haben hier zwei völlig unterschiedliche Sportwagenkonzepte, die sich erwartungsgemäß auch völlig unterschiedlich bewegen lassen. Auf der einen Seite mit der Corvette Z06 ein echtes Powercar aus den USA mit 7,0 Liter Hubraum zum Angebots-preis. Auf der anderen Seite einen Rennwagen mit Straßenzulassung. Den Porsche 911 GT3 RS als etwas anderes zu bezeichnen, wäre verfehlt. Bei der Serienbereifung trennen die beiden ebenfalls Welten. Alltagstaugliche Runflat-Reifen auf dem V8-Monster, Semi-Slicks auf dem fein ausbalancierten Renner. Und was passiert? Die beiden trennen am Ende nur fünf Zehntelsekunden. Der Porsche macht genau das, was du willst. Die Corvette drückt wie wild nach vorn. Doch du kannst die Kraft viel schlechter umsetzen, weil du ständig kämpfen musst. Du brauchst in der Corvette auch mehr Mut als im Porsche, sie kommt selbst im vierten Gang noch quer. Wenn du diese Kraft auf den Asphalt bringen könntest – Semi-Slicks gibt es für die Z06 zurzeit noch nicht –, dann wäre sie ein echtes Ungeheuer. Der Porsche ist das absolut runde und schnelle Gesamtpaket." (A very surprising test. The Corvette is a power car for an appealing price. The Porsche is a racecar for the street. Admittedly, the Corvette was disadvantaged because of the tires.)

But the Porsche had way better tyres.
Indeed hats off to the Z06.

I don't think I noticed that the GT3 had better tyres...well hell then 2 hats off to the Z06..LOL

Try Google translation: http://www.google.com/translate_t

As good as the Corvette is, I just have no feelings for it. Even if the performance for its price range is out of this world, I still find myself staring at the 911 (although that color is horrific)

Damn, Z06 is fast!

I completely agree!

So what's wrong with that ?!

Despite the horible tyres the Vette was up there with the Porsche. With those proper Michelins the Vette would have probably left the GT3 RS behind it and never look back for a moment.

Awsome Vette, tough the RS looks better.

As much as I like staring at the Porsche...I just can't get over the fact how Race-ish the GT3 looks and yet barely beats the Z06. Personally there is no satisfaction than beating a stuck up rich a-hole in a "budget racer"!!

Now if the Z06 was running semi slicks...this would be different story!!

In Europe, tough cheaper than its rivals, the Z06 isn't a budget car.

That's wrong!

Nah, seriously, Z06 has 85 hp more than GT3RS but I would have expected GT3 RS to beat it because it's very track-oriented car. Z06 has some serious qualities but lack of image, I think Europeans are pretty loyal to European sports cars. It is not a problem in USA. It needs more than such a great performance for some bigger succes here.

in sweden z06 and rs4 are not far off. A Z06 is cheaper than a 997S. There is no other car that offer as much performance as Z06 for a lower price.

Good news !!


Complete translated article, see the first post in this thread

gimme the vette. the P-car looks so boring.

In November I raced my 914-6 (not a street car, but a total race car with carbon fiber body, slicks, etc) with a C6 Z06 on Hoosiers. My 914-6 is faster than all of the 996 GT3's except for one or two with the best drivers (on Hoosier slicks). My 914-6 has been faster than all C5 Z06's I have seen on the track. The C6 Z06 on Hoosier slicks was incredible. Of course he pulled from me on the straights, but even under braking and cornering I was no match. I was shocked. The RS and the Z06 are great cars, and both great fun to drive. The good thing in the US is the Z06 is not very expensive and there are alot of them around. I saw 3 today alone. They do not hold their value well will be even less expensive in the near future.

I was looking at hockenheim times for the Z06, that car is absolutely amazing....I prefer the RS personally, but still the ZO6 is an amazing performer.

THere is no excuse for that interior however.....

That is exactly how i feel also. Besides that color isnt that bad..i dont find any color looks bad on that car.