Yes it was.

I am in professional services; any shameless plug for our product will happen. They're not the only the F1 team to use us.

 

I mean no disrespect because the US is going through this process now, but it's hard accepting for some that the sun has most definitely set in the British Empire. Like every nation, they do some stuff right, they do some stuff wrong. Enjoy the cars, have fun, and don't worry about how important the manufacturing nation is.

 

I remember that first "Fahrvergnügen" ad back in 1990. The tag line was "Fahrvergnügen. It's what makes a car a Volkswagen".

I don't speak German and wanted to know what that really meant, so I stopped by my local VW dealer and asked the service manager. He said "it means hard to get parts for!"

 

Point I was making; The same company (VW) has been able to fool the public here on 3 different times- with the same narrative 'diesel is fun to drive'.
So there is a precedence of deceitful parties setting the narrative.
Believe the people who have never tried to pull wool over your eyes, 50-70 matters!

Look at how hard they try to implant a false narrative.

 

I think it fair to compare base 'Vette to base XK, and perhaps a Z06 or ZR1 to the XKR.

For a Z06 it is 1.3 seconds 50MPH-70MPH in gear.

4th gear(Still a reasonable gear to be in at 50MPH) is 2.5 seconds. 5th 3.1 seconds, 6th, 4.3 seconds. Although why an enthusiastic drive would be in 6th at 50MPH I'm not quite sure.

They really would be no need to be in 6th at 50MPH in a C7 Z06 in a heavier traffic situation. The heavier the traffic, the lower the gear I hang out in.

It should be noted that 4th gear in a C7 Z06 will take you out to 153MPH. Which is about the same as the XKR's 155MPH top speed.

5th Takes you out to 186MPH.

Top gear the red line would be reached, 339MPH excluding tire expansion; Hence the weak top gear acceleration. The Corvette packs a fuel sipping top gear that the XKR does not. (225MPH for the XKR in top gear).

I enjoy a high revving engine, an would take that path in car modification even if a stroker with reduced RPM and massive head flow would provide more power.

You have stated recently the difference between putting down what others may like and regaling the qualities of what you admire. Your comparison to the C7 with some foot notes would be valid; but the comment that the Corvette has no ***** would not be in line with your own philosophy.

I brought up the F1 car as an exaggerated case to show that an engine built for minimum weight and maximum power would struggle under those test conditions.

The Z06 Corvette when compared to an XKR against similar gear ratios seems to yield similar results. Yet allow it to shift down into its power range and it is the faster car 50MPH to 70MPH.

I am not sure how the MSRP's work out, but it is possible a ZR1 would end up in a direct comparison to a XKR instead of the Z06.

 

The real world scenario is, you are on the interstate or motorway, you will be in top gear- you need to pass without the unexpected gear changes or the lag that comes with it. And in the British sense of luxury, without drama. So the 50-70 test in gear is totally genuine.

Just used the 400hp+ corvette as an example, of a car designed to look good on paper.

Question: what would the z06 50-70 figures be including the time lost to gear change?

 

With my manual transmission C5 Z06 were traffic heavy enough on local interstates that I'd be at 50MPH I would NOT be sitting in sixth gear.

Third gear if at a steadyish flow, second gear if pulsating.

I'd imagine with a manual transmission C7 Z06 I'd probably also be in third gear in that situation.

With the automatic eight speed in a C7 base model in drive mode as you add throttle it is downshifting.

When making a rapid lane change in the C7 I drove in 2017 it was downshifting as I added weight to the pedal and checked for clear distance to make the change.

The transmission could anticipate what was about to happen and was shifting in preparation.

Interestingly the small feed for hills, etc, it didn't make these large downshifts. Perhaps a G Force sensor recognizes the throttle is being added to compensate for a hill.

However, if using the paddles, you have to drop from whatever gear you might be in.
I noted that 50MPH would not typically be in top gear unless going downhill when in auto mode.
At 50MPH the car is in four cylinder mode and the torque to drive the tall ratio isn't there, 6th of 7th would be used instead of 8th.

From 8th to 3rd with paddles there is too much delay, the paddle response is not lightning, unlike the automatic mode.
I could probably make a 6th to 2nd gear change in my C5 Manual faster than the C7 auto in paddle mode would flip from 8th to 3rd.

Using the auto box in paddle mode is probably four tenths per shift. The paddle mode seems to primarily exist for people who want to hear the exhaust.
Perhaps there are modes I could get the paddle time to be a closer match to the shifts when in automatic mode.

I do not have raw data but my raw experience was that weighting the gas pedal while I checked for clearance the car had swapped gears and was ready when I hit full throttle.
When left in drive the shift response and timing did not feel significant.

To compare like to like at present prices I would much rather have a 2010-2011XKR and a C5 Z06 to a new C7 Corvette. The former two cars could be had together for less than the price of the latter.

 

Corvette vs XKR, they are both high performance when performance is required.

The real difference would be the following scenario.

You hit it off with the female cabin crew of an aircraft, it is their last flight of the day and they will be staying in a city they do not live in:

Corvette, you are out of luck, the cabin crew would like to stay together and not split off with one going off with you solo.

XKR, no problem, the back seat may be a little tight but adventure awaits.

 

Dreamer

 

You still have the confidence of Aryton Senna so cant even fathom someone not driving like him. (thats a good thing, revel in it!)

Here is the situation and why this is an industry standard test.

You are in the left lane (the fast lane) doing 75. (naturally you are in top most gear, unless you just looking to increase wear and gas consumption)
You need to move over to let some ahole pass.
The right lane you move into slows down the instant you move into it. (they are getting off the interstate or others are getting on, or there is a slow truck ahead)
You need to jump back in the left lane that has a 1 car gap or you can wait for 7 cars to go by.

I find myself in this situation throughout my drive, and all my life, boy and man.
Rarely, in a month of blue moons I needed to go 0-60 at a traffic light to give someone else an inferiority complex, but only when I was boy.

In the FtypeR you can do the above maneuver in 2 sends less or half the time you stated for the top corvette.
Even if in the worst gear possible, without changing gears or anything that alters the current pace.