My Generation
One-14-Fourteen By Rick Tavel© 3-27-2013 All rights reserved Do not duplicate without permission
I’ve got a problem.
As an avid Corvette enthusiast I have been somewhat distraught
recently. It just seems that ever since
the introduction of the new Corvette C7 I have been on a roller coaster of
emotional highs and lows. I have been
able to resolve most of the conflict I have experienced over my disappointment
with certain styling issues on the new car, but I have not been able to resolve
my most recent disillusion with the C7. How do we come to resolve the issue that the
2014 Corvette Stingray will no longer be Chevrolet’s star performer and king of
American performance cars. Not since the infamous “409” of the early 60’s has the
Corvette not had the most potent of all Chevrolet engines. The Corvette is and has always been
Chevrolet’s, if not America’s, ultimate performance car. It was
“gospel”, something you could depend on, you could take it to the bank. It was as certain as the rich having to pay
taxes. But like we have come to learn
many of the rich do not pay taxes and as we learned on March 26th
from Mark Reuss, President of GM North America, for 2014 there is a new top gun
in town. The fastest gun in the performance wars is the
new Z28 not the new Corvette Stingray.
What may turnout to be the bigger
impact for GM is the affect dethroning their “halo” car will have on sales of
other Chevrolets. It has taken sixty
years to develop and defend the Corvette’s image and as a result GM has reaped
the benefits of the Corvette as Chevrolet’s flagship, the car in their line-up
that drew customers into the showroom, a brand enhancer, atheir “halo” car. You know, the guy who goes into the showroom
to look at Chevy’s offering of new compact family sedan. The guy has looked at similar cars from
other manufacturers and is unsure whether to buy the new Chevy Cruze, the new
Dodge Dart or the Ford Focus. That is
until he sees the new Cruze sitting next to the legendary red Corvette, the car
that kicked the Dodge Viper and Ford Mustang’s butt on the track. He knows what everyone else knows, the
Corvette is the undisputed fastest American production car. He buys the Cruze, not because it is clearly
the better car but because he believes he is buying a Corvette offspring. That is the immeasurable brand enhancing
value that GM risks by dethroning the Corvette, even though the insurrection
was spearheaded internally by the Chevrolet’s own Camaro.
Though all of this is concerning it
is not disastrous since the king of the hill for 2014 remains a Chevrolet. But it is imperative that GM act quickly to
restore the performance crown to the Corvette.
We all know that usurpers are taking aim at both the Corvette and
Camaro. Take a look at what is currently
out there and imagine the competition’s numbers by 2015 model year.
Before the “true believers” (and remember I’m perhaps the
“truest believer” of all) begin to throw rotten eggs and tomatoes in my
direction, along with a few colorful comments about what you would do to or
where you might put all and sundry objects into my anatomy, let’s look at some
recently released engine option and performance data. We were recently introduced to the new Camaro
SS and the new Camaro Z28 and from what we saw and heard, Camaro enthusiasts
probably now have a better understanding as to why Chevrolet saved the
legendary “Z28” moniker for the 2014 car just unveiled. So at this point Chevrolet now offers a specific
Camaro to meet every enthusiast’s performance need. And at the top of the horsepower performance
ladder is the impressive ZL1 at 586 HP.
But those who have driven both the ZL1 and the new Z28 give
the overall performance nod to the incredible Z28 which is 300 pounds lighter
than the ZL1. Mark Reuss called the new
Z28 the closest thing you can get to a street legal race car and he was not
just spouting a mouthful of unsubstantiated corporate bullshit. The new Z28 is just what Reuss said it was -
the closest car you can get to a street legal racecar. If you are still not a believer, you will be
when you learn that the Program Engineering Manager for the new Z28 was Mark
Stielo. And if you are a serious Camaro enthusiast,
you will recognize Stielo as the acclaimed builder of the “Red Devil”, a 1969
modified Camaro, built in Mark’s garage, which convincingly outperformed the
2012 ZL1 in a head to head performance shootout on the track at Gingerman. (link to Red Devil vs L1 shootout http://vimeo.com/61405825 ). Steilo’s history with the Camaro “runs
deep”. As a young engineering intern,
Stielo was an important member of the GM team that developed the now legendary
1LE RPO for the 1989 Camaro. Having
Mark Stielo as the PEM for the new Z28 guarantees its performance
qualifications.
If that’s not enough or if you are a “numbers guy”, here’s a
comparison to illustrate Chevrolet’s 2014 Horsepower rankings between the
Corvette and Camaro.
Chevrolet Model Horsepower Ranking For
2014
2014 Model
|
Horsepower
|
Rank
|
Size
|
Camaro ZL1
|
580
|
1
|
6.2 L V8
|
Camaro
Z28
|
500+
|
2
|
7.0 L V8
|
Camaro
SS
|
426
|
4
|
6.2 L V8
|
Camaro
Base
|
323
|
5
|
3.6L V6
|
CorvetteStingray
|
450
|
3
|
6.2L V8
|
Corvette
Z06
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
Corvette
ZR1
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
N/A
|
So I am sure you can see the source
and severity of my consternation and why I have been crying myself to sleep at
nights. 2014 will be the first time in a
quarter of a century that as Corvette
owners we will be NOT be able to drive
the best performing car in America – not unless we slide behind the wheel of a
new Z28. Being the King of the Hill of
performance cars meant a lot to Corvette owners and to many was a major reason
for choosing the car. I’m sure the bean
counters and analysts at GM considered the potential economic impact of
dethroning the Corvette. But the affect
that has on Corvette sales may turn out to be just the tip of the proverbial
iceberg.
Simply GM needs to mount a full
court press to bring the Z06 back no later than the 2015 model year.
HORSEPOWER WARS
|
|||
2013/14 Model
|
Horsepower
|
Engine
|
Rank
|
2013ShelbyGT500
|
662 HP
|
5.8 L V8 SC
|
1
|
2013 SRTViperGTS
|
640 HP
|
8.4 L V10
|
2
|
2013 CorvetteZR1
|
638 HP
|
6.2 L V8 SC
|
3
|
2013/14CamaroZL1
|
580 HP
|
6.2 L V8 SC
|
4
|
2013 Corvette Z06
|
500 HP
|
7.0 L V8
|
5
|
2014 Camaro Z28
|
500 HP
|
7.0 L V8
|
5
|
2014 Corvette C7
|
450 HP
|
6.2 L V8
|
6
|
So to help me resolve my latest
issue, I have decided to, you know, make “lemonade from lemons” so to
speak. To turn my despair into dreams of
just what is in store for the die hard Corvette enthusiasts for 2015. And though I am no engineer, my dreams actually turn to fantasies knowing
there are engineers like Mark Stielo just waiting to get their hands on the new
LT1, turning it from a “capable” engine into a roaring, “fire-breathing”,
competition-eating beast.
First, foremost and perhaps the
most important ingredient in restoring the Corvette to supremacy is the support
of Mark Reuss. I’m confident Reuss
recognizes the importance of keeping the Corvette the dominant performer in the
GM line-up and understands the importance the Corvette plays influencing the
sales of many Chevrolet models through association. Reuss also realizes that unless the
Corvette’s status as GM’s top performer is restored there is little chance of
it becoming the “global car” GM envisions.
And unless it becomes GM’s “halo” car for the global market there is
little chance that it can be used as a brand enhancer to help turn the disastrous European sales
around.
Though all of these reasons are
important the critical part of the strategy is timing. The importance of acting fast cannot be
overemphasized. And I’m confident that
being a real car guy, someone that knows more than a little about what it takes
to build a true performance car, Reuss
already has the engineering team hard at work getting the modified, high
performance version of LT1 engine ready
for production.
Now the part that really helps to
remedy my dissonance over the 2014 “milk toast” LT1 is simply imagining what
Reuss and his team will likely deliver based on what has already been delivered
in the form of the 2014 Camaro Z28 and ZL1.
Imagine just for a moment what the new Z06 or ZR1 will be like in terms
of performance. Knowing how important it
is to get these versions to the market by 2015 and understanding the timing
necessary to get a modified powertrain to market, there has to be a prototype
or two burning up Milford’s test track as you read this.
One of the real exciting parts is
simply speculating on the performance specifications necessary to recapture the
performance title. To arrive at what is
not only likely, but necessary, we have to look at not only the 2014 Camaro
specifications but also look at the numbers from the 2013 Corvette Z06 and ZR1
and then add in what the 2013 Shelby GT500 and the 2013 SRT Viper GTS is
churning out. Based on a compilation of
the numbers the new modified LT1 would have produce between 650 to 700 HP. Torque will likely come in around 650
lb-ft; with 0-60 times in the
neighborhood of 3.2 to 3.5 seconds; a
top speed over 200 MPH and cornering capability of 1.2g or more. And those, Vette fans, are not just fantasy
specs. They are what will be required to
simply remain competitive in 2015.
We all know how frustrating it was
as we waited in anticipation of the new C7.
We had to endure all of those “teaser ads” while the days seemed to drag
on. But one thing was guaranteed; on
1-13-13 we’d get to see the new C7. On
“One-13-Thirteen” the car had to be finished, ready and those inside GM were
committed to making that date. It is
that same commitment and drive necessary to get the Z06 completed and to market
for the 2015 model year. We don’t have
the four years it took to get the C5 Z06 to market, we don’t even have two
years to get the C7 Z06 to market.
Though I’m not sure I can endure another agonizing countdown, at this
point, to get the 06 to market I am willing to even advocate GM to mount a new
campaign, “One-14-Fourteen.” The unveiling of the new Z06, the return of
the beast. I think that is an unveiling that all of the Corvette lovers would
welcome. That would be a date that would
live in history, “One-14-Fourteen”, the day the performance King was returned
to the throne.
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