*sigh* did you you just brag that your roads suck? and "a good back road" is entirely opinion and cannot be defined.

 

seriously guy use your head - the GTO is a practical sports car designed for road use in Australia originally not a "pony car" - compared to the vette it has much better visibility a narrower profile and more importantly suspension stroke to deal with the types of roads generally considered "back roads" It was designed the same was as the G8 another great but sadly gone product.

As a race car on prepared surfaces even the auto x the vette doesnt have these issues but none of that makes it a better sports car only a better race car.

Even around a track like streets of willow which is designed to mimic a back road the gto can take a far more aggressive line through the corners - I rode in the back seat of one while the 82 year old driver destroyed every other instructor on course that day and were not talking about v6 mustangs many of them had highly tuned m3's and there was even a z06 out there as well.

As far as the Lotus though we can all respect the idea Colin Champan had you obviously don't know about them very well. The base model corolla engine that powers it is known to throw rods out the side of the block for fun - the body which is so light is represented in the fact that you can see light through it and the quality is such that I've had them peel off fender lines and even the rear bumper once cruising at high speeds - did I mention the 1970's brake booster ?

It may be a great car on maintained roads but wouldnt survive long on many of the local roads here is so cal.

Then again based on your comments you don't really know what a good back road is anyway so maybe it's all moot.
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Oh where to begin:

GTO is not faster around a track than a Vette, You use one guy in one car at one track... If you look at showroom stock class SCCA results and classing the GTO cant shake a stick at the vette. (and the only upgrades they have are Brake pads, fluid, and tires), Think about it, Same engine, less weight.

As far as back road performance, as someone who has driven both (ok the vette was a C5) around back roads through the mountains in upstate NY, the GTO feels heavy sluggish to respond and much less confidence inspiring around corners. Im sorry but a 3700lb sporty coupe doesn't even qualify as a sports car in my book, which does not in and of its self make me view a car as a poor performance car, I think M3's are great performance cars but not sports cars, same with EVO's and STI's.

Also just look at any car magazine's reviews of the GTO and of the Vette, the Handling of the Vette (and IMHO handling is priority 1 in a sports car) is always getting better reviews, on top of that the car is faster (same or more HP, less weight) which is the # 2 priority in a sports car (again IMHO)

For the Elise, it is not a base model corolla engine (120-140ish hp iirc). (at least in the US) Its the Celica GTS engine with modified exhaust and tuning (around 190hp) and there are not any more issues with those motors that with the F20/F22.

By your definition of a good sports car (which seems to be big power and softish suspension with a lot of stroke, and able to be driven comfortably on real bumpy roads) my 5.9L Durango is a better sports car than my S2000.


As for a good back road. We apparently have different definitions. For me, a good, fun back road, is one that is decently smooth, twisty (the tighter the better), have little to no traffic, and be remote (not houses or people to hit). On this type of road, an S2000, Vette, or Elise would be a lot more fun and perform a lot better than a GTO. Your definition seems to be one that is a lot more bumpy (maybe even dirt) and has more acceleration zones and maybe wider, more sweeping turns..., in which case a GTO would be better suited for it but I would take an STI or EVO over a GTO for that kind of road.

 

I have a lot of respect for Corvettes, long racing history, tons of power, pretty good styling. But every time I consider one I go for a test drive and come away feeling... eh. I just can't get past the flexy chassis and disconnected feeling. The Z06 is brutally fast, probably too fast for the street and a handful for weekend drivers (without a racing license) on a race track without a roll cage etc.

The S2000 is nowhere near as fast, but the total package makes it one of the best convertibles ever. Stiff chassis, awesome shifter, screaming engine, great brakes, classic styling. And realistically, a Corvette is a lot more money than an S2000, double or triple in some cases.

Both cars have their places, both cars have their fans.

S2000 for me.

 

This guy sums up why I bought an S2k instead of an older vette, (cross shopped both)

 

Funny thing is I never wrote S2000 used F1 technology. I wrote "S2000 is built by a company who owns F1 technology." And I never stated that Corvette did not use any racing technology.

My post somehow annoyed Hetzen and he started writing funny stuff, no idea where all that came from. Made me laugh today though

 

Yea, ill admit I misread it too. Which is why I ended uo being dragged into it LOL

 

It happens, not every one is perfect.

 

The Cobalt SS is.

 

Lets get this straight here.

A sports car is a RWD, Manual, good handling 2 seater. They don't have backseats, they aren't automatics, and they don't weigh 3500lbs.


Just wanted to get that straight before somebody else goes off and calls a GTO a sports car.

 

what about the engine ? isn't s2000 the only one with 4-cyl ? all others are 6,8,and 12 ?