i work in aerospace, so i wonder why they talk about an aluminum frame when they could do carbon fiber. more engineering time more cost i know i know but still, for low runs of high performance cars, it would make a huge performance improvement and be something to tout against all the other cars in the class.

 

What the hell is this idiot talking about?

You would have to drop like 1100 lbs to get near the same lbs per horse if you lose 150 hp?

Maybe he meant 50hp.

3179 / 430 = 7.39 lbs/horse

2779 / 280 = 9.93 lbs/horse

2079 / 280 = 7.43 lbs/horse

 

The only way what he is says is reasonable is to take 150 hp off of the ZR-1's 620 hp, but take 400 lbs off of the Z06.

3400 lbs/620 hp = 5.48 lbs per hp
2700 lbs/470 hp = 5.74 lbs per hp (less but still damn fast)

Personally, I like the idea of a smaller motor in a lighter body, just cause for all the Corvette's capabilities, it just always felt kinda big to me (just personal opinion).

As far as gas mileage goes, even the Z06 is rated at 16/26. Put a 470 hp, smaller (say hypothetically 6.0L, instead of 7.0), in a 2700 lbs chassis and you'd see 20/30 mpg easily, especially with the 1-4 skip shift and the extremely tall 5th and 6th gears.

Oh and keep the 7200 rpm redline of the Z06, and they'd have a new customer as well. =) Although high revs are awful for gas mileage, I'd hate to see GM take a step backwards and produce V8's that rev to 5500 again.

 

This is popping up on blogs and forums everywhere. Lot of talk about this being the last great car with CAFE going into effect. Even some talk about going to a V6.

 

That's the same direction Ferrari is going.
They stated they're not interested in horsepower wars.
The next enzo replacement would be lighter w/ a possible V8 TT.

Dan

 

What I've learned from bicycling can usually apply to cars: Strong, light, cheap - pick 2 out of the 3.

 

I really doubt a 400lb weight reduction unless they make the car significantly smaller. Hell by liberally using CF on the ZR1 they only lost 45lbs over the fiber glass pieces they replaced.

The figures the guy is spitting in the article do not make a lick of sense. He does not say if its 150hp less than the base model or the Z06 or the ZR1 for that matter. If they do indeed stick with a 4.7L OHV, I would say they won't push it over 380hp without using some form of FI, but then that would add significantly more weight...

 

I seriously don't see what the big deal is... The Corvette in my book is the most economic sports car made. It gets better gas mileage and puts more power down than the Ferraris, AMs, and Lambos, as well as "normal" cars... better gas mileage than the Audi TT, G35, S2000, etc...

Being a little bit smaller and lightweight in my book is always good, but a smaller engine... no thank you Chevrolet is already kicking serious A in the economy vs horsepower category

 

Actually, I could see them sticking with steel. The problem with the current alloy version of the frame is it looses a lot of stiffness. I believe that GM feels the chassis isn't stiff enough without a fixed roof panel with the alloy chassis.
The standard Vette chassis is stiff enough that the car gets away with a non-structural roof. For the most part, the vert and coupe have the same chassis strength. The up side is the Vert is quite stiff and basically pays almost no weight or handling penalty for the soft top. The drawback is the coupe does leave some strength on the table because they don't used the roof with the steel frame.

I would be somewhat wary of a carbon chassis. While I don't work in racing, I know people who do. Carbon tubs are great when they are new. The problem with the race cars seems to be a fear that the chassis may be damaged in such a way that the damage isn't obvious until the thing totally fails. That of course is really bad for the people in the car when it fails. It also means the ability to repair the car could be questionable. That may be fine for a $1m super car but it's not as cool for a car that is as high volume as the Corvette. Carbon body panels are one thing but carbon chassis are probably another.

Of course I'm not a carbon fiber expert so I may be wrong about this.

 

take a lotus principle and apply it to american muscle....would be great