NOW THAT THEY'RE BOTH AVAILABLE IN SA, THIS Z06 VS GT3 DRAG RACE IS EVEN MORE INTERESTING. PLACE YOUR BETS!
Here’s another drag race, but while a few months back this comparison wouldn’t have made sense in SA, it does now, thanks to both of these cars being available in SA. This drag race from Mat Watson and the Carwow crew is a good one. We’re mahoosive fans of anything Porsche, and the latest incarnation of the GT3 has to be one of the most amazing halo cars there is on the market right now. They decided to pit the much-loved and iconic Porsche GT3 up against an American challenger in the form of the hugely popular (in the States anyway) Corvette Z06. Now we’ve had all manner of Porsches available in SA for many years, but the Corvette has never been seen on local soil. There have been a few cool models that were privately imported, some with right-hand drive conversions done by companies specialising in that kind of work. The newer models cost a lot more money, and being available only in left-hand drive was a big problem. Not too long ago, though, the big bosses at Chevrolet decided to finally create a right-hand drive version built at the factory to be exported to markets that drive on the proper side of the road. Thanks to CVH Auto Group, these iconic American sportscars are now available here in SA. We went past one of their dealerships to have a look at them in the metal, and daaaaamn! We’ve seen them online for years, but the dimensions up close are amazing. It's a beaut of a thing. There were only Stingrays on the floor, but there should be a Z06 or two on the way in the near future. The Stingrays are being sold for around R3,700,000, but the Z06 will be a fair bit more, closer to the R5,500,000 mark. That puts them squarely in competition with the 911 GT3 that starts at around R4,700,00.
The Stingray has a mid-mounted 6.2-litre naturally aspirated V8 that delivers 475 kW and 595 Nm, capable of launching from 0–100 km/h in 3.5 seconds. Power runs through an 8-speed dual-clutch gearbox to the rear wheels. It’s impressive to say the least. On the Porsche front, it’s powered by a beast of a 4.0-litre naturally-aspirated flat-six, and this creates 375 kW and 450 Nm of torque. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a 7-speed dual-clutch, and it weighs in at 1,479 kg. The Stingray tips the scales at 1,714 kg, so there’s already that weight disadvantage that the higher power figure needs to try and compensate for. Also, everyone knows that Porsche has launch traction down to perfection, even models with lower power can outlaunch more powerful cars like it ain’t no thang. So we have a lighter and less powerful Porsche versus a more powerful and heavier Corvette, but on paper, the different figures for these cars sort of average out. But as we all know, what happens on paper isn’t necessarily what happens in the real world. That’s why heads-up drag races are so vital to the mental stability of automotive performance fanatics. When someone takes a pair of cars and puts them against each other to compare everything, it helps win (or lose) braai time chats and bar arguments and stops physical confrontation. Well, for the most part. So, which car is your money on, the newly available Corvette Z06, or the timeless and iconic Porsche 911 GT3? Of course, if you have any sense, then your money will be on the Porsche. Ours is.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the Carwow crew. Usually, these races are purely entertainment, but now that both of these cars are available in SA, it makes it a little more interesting, well, to us anyway: Corvette v Porsche, USA v Germany: DRAG RACE | carwow
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