Out of the box for track use: no brainer Z06...best bang for the buck...hell if i was fortunate enough to choose i would take the Z06. I've seen it in action in autox and track...it would take more than bolt-ons to compete with the Z06. I love my 350 but there's a reason why the Z06 is like $15-20k more new in a domestic.

 

Personally, I'd take the C6 with the Z51 pkg. With the new vette being lighter and geared differently, and with the Z51 having even shorter gears still, the acceleratoin diff between the C6 Z51 and the C5 Z06 will be minimal. You'll likely get a better riding vehicle, and also a better handling vehicle. Plus the new C6 looks sweet. Depreciation will be less too, if that matters. JMO

 

I have a 2000 Torch Red Coupe A4. I bought the car for my wife for her birthday in April 2000. It has been a lot of trouble and rather than put up with that touble once again I decided to buy the Z car instead of a 6 speed vette for my daily driver. I have had fuel gauge problems 2 times, battery crack and acid leak on some vacuum hoses, differential seal leak, console lid replacement because I couldn't open it, steering wheel lock up and couldn't drive the car. All of this and the car didn't even have 20,000 mile on it. If all you are concerned about is the power then go for the C5. If you want some quality then go for the Z. Just go to Corvetteforum.com and see what everyone is saying about the vette. The Z does not even come close to the power of a vette. But the frustration in owning a vette has driven me crazy. I don't trust the car anymore. If is wasn't for my wife loving the car and belonging to a corvette club, I wouldn't own it! Just take a look at Consumer Reports and see what they have to say about the Corvette.

 

frist and foremost the vettes interior is HORRENDOUS! the ONLY goodlooking american car in the 90's and now is the viper(old). The new vette actually has similar characteristics as the new viper. performance as far as speed is concerned is the vette. If i could spend less amount/or possibly the same amount of $ to make a Z perform exactly like a new c6? then i would have to go with the z only because the new design isn't as spectacular as spiderman( and of course my first sentence in this reply). i personally would take the NEW NSX over the vette anytime...unless you have a problem with EVERYONE staring at you lol...

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Ok here's the deal.

The Z06 is FAST, but BORING in terms of appearance. The C5 has been around too long. It sounds to me that you like trading cars to get something exciting and new. The Z is newer than the C5, but if you have extra money to spend, I think the Elise would be very cool. And if you are truly into track racing, I don't think the Elise has an equal.

BTW, I'm just interested what you liked in the Rx8s interior. I thought the materials were worse than the Z - lots of shiny flat plastic. Maybe I missed something big?
NzZ

 

My take on it:

The Z06 is a fantastic car. Very fast and very nimble. Gotta love the v8 rumble. However, it is also quite expensive, interior sucks, and, like nearly all American cars it seems, will be a rattle trap in no time flat.

The Z is an amazing value; it is gorgeous, quite capable on the track, quite balanced, and very fun to drive. Overall I think the quality is better. And I'll be goddammed if that V6 doesn't sing!

Anyway, I think the vast majority of drivers will NOT have the ability or skill to take advantage of the Z06's superior performance capabilities. And, a very good Z driver could probably come close to hanging with one on the track, for a lot less money. I look at it this way: My goal is to be a good enough driver to beat a Z06 at his own game, look better while I'm doing it and have a fatter wallet to boot.

 

we're talking Canadian dollars up here a used Carrera is easily 80k.... a used twin turbo about 170k. I'm not much of a Carrera fan anyway, maybe I need to spend some time with one but I wanted something faster, mind you the Z is slower but at least it's cheap to modify.... 80 k into a Z you could have one crazy car.

 

Funny thing is today a dealer friend called me about a GTS he had for sale, just came back from driving it.....wow the power is like a light switch put it on and it's like a sledge hammer hit you in the back, I was spinning tires in EVERY gear and mostly not even at full throttle (was dry but the roads were ever so slightly damp)... This drive has made me rethink the whole purchase a bit, I think rather than narrowing it down I made my decision harder.. About the Wimpy NSX, obviously you haven't spent time with one, I had a lightly modified (+lots of weight reduction) that would run high 12's easy and around a tight race track this WIMPY NSX would walks circles around a viper and do it with a coffee in one hand. I love all types of cars so there is no need to be narrow minded and put down any of them. And if you don't believe an NSX can roll, then just watch the past 2 seasons of the Speedvision Challange when a 400hp NSX was walking over everything except for the fully factory backed S4's from Audi, even then the NSX won more races (but not the title). If memory serves me correct the NSX even had a 400 lbs weight penalty, don't quote me on that, it's just what I heard.

 

Zbaby, thank you very much for your opinion, it does help me make my decision....

 

I guess it's personal preference and you can't really argue on that but I though the execution of interior design was better in the 8, although I like the Z. The RX8 had better tactile feel and quality of plastic, a bit better shifter, probably one of the best tachs in the busines (considering it's low power you'll be watching it a lot waiting for the rpm to climb) and the radio is better too. I think Mazda has done a great job on all their new cars with interior quality. Acura is getting much better too, Nissan has got to catch up (have you seen how horrible a Altima is). Still Nissan/Infiniti has probably the best lineup in the business.

 

Ok so I've answered back to all the questions, and now I just wanted to say thanks to everybody for their input and opinions, although I don't make decisions on one persons view, it's the multiple perspectives that help you make your decision.
I'll let you guys know what decision I'll make when it happens but I need to do some deap research on the Viper first, might be the car I'm leaning towards mostly now... it's the car that is basically a boner on wheels, lots of flava,. only problem I didn't like it's brakes and it does lack a certain bit of finess, what am I talking about no finess at all. If I can fix the brakes and get better pedal placement (replace them with race brakes and pedals?) I think the viper is the one. And 65k Canadian for a mint condition GTS is a good value, can't see it depreciating much more....

 

You took that the wrong way. I was joking and it wasnt directed towards you

 

I owned a 2002 Z06 ( and a '99 C-5 convertible) and I grew tired of the horrenodous build quality of the Vettes. Performance of the Z06 is exceptional, but for all that time you're not racing, the car is a $50,000 rattle trap. I got sick of having to turn the radio up to cover the irritating chatter. I bought the Z with mods in mind, and with over 400 HP soon available, I see no no need to put up with the dated styling an shoddy quality of the Vette.

Having said that, I will certainly check out the C6 (maybe GM finally got it right?), but will most likely move up to the Aston Martin AMV8 when in becomes available in a couple of years. Until then, a FI Z is my ticket.

 

Well, I've driven an NSX and I will admit, it was fun to drive for about a day, but its boring. They are way to much for the lack of power they have. I know a guy who sold his Viper for an NSX, a week later he sold it and went back to the Viper. And as for the comment about it walking all over a Viper, doubtful. Yes, it may be lighter, but the lack of 50 HP and any torque doesnt help it at all. Just my $.02.

 

I'm thinking you must be a Viper fan? That's funny I had a friend who went from a NSX to Viper then back to an NSX.... It's really personal preference.... To be fair a stock NSX is a little bit boring during normal driving, like a accord almost.... The car was developed by Aerton Senna (one of the best F1 drivers of all time) and you need to take that car to the track to really appreciate it, I gaurentee that if you were to drive a NSX/R for some extended laps you would think different. Mind you we can't buy a NSX/R but a stock NSX is a few mods away from being one, and it is a day and night difference. Dynamically I don't think there is a better car, in any price range, even after over 10 years old it won the Car of the year honours in top gear magazine this past year.
I remember watching a top gear road test and around their airfield race track it had the 4th fastest all time lap ever and it was raining, they factor 4 secons a lap because of the rain so it would have had the 2 best time or something like that, second only to a 1200 lbs (not sure the exact weight but you get my drift) purpose built lotus 7 replica racer (westfield)... Not sure the vipers time but it was not as good as the viper and this was the 290 hp NSX

 

I like the design of the new Viper a lot.....much better than the C6. I haven't driven one, but a friend of mine had a 98 GTS and it was even worse than the Vette as far as build quality goes. Blistering performance, but nothing I'd want to live with everyday. For that kind of money, the car has to be put together well in addition to its great performance.....for me, anyway.

 

Why hasnt anyone said, buy the 350 and mod it alot, to make it as fast as, or even a littel faster than the Z06.
I think the coolest thing in the world, is to have a lesser $$ car, but with the the added mods to perform like a $50k Vette.

Imagine pulling up next to a Z06, in your heavily modded Z, and the Vette guy looks down on you, but when the light turns green and you smoke him, that alone would be worth it.

But what would it take to make a 350Track equal to a Z06 ?

 

i have a zo6 and a 350z. The vette is a blast to drive. it gets alot of attention too. ive raced many cars and ive only lost once. And that was to a camaro with bolt ons and a 150 shot of nos. my vette now has 464 rwhp all motor. And this is realiable power. Putting a supercharger on a car thats not made with one is like a ticking time bomb. if you have the money get a zo6. The only down side to a zo6 is you get all the vette people waving at you.

 

Lucky Dog!

 

And what's so bad about that?