C8 Corvette Z06 Takes on Porsche 911 GT3 RS, Ferrari 458 in Fascinating Comparison

The C8 Corvette Z06 puts up a heck of a fight against its inspiration and chief rival, even in base convertible form.

By now, we’ve seen and heard pretty much everything there is to see and hear about the new C8 Corvette Z06, which has earned not only universal praise across the automotive realm, but also plenty of awards to boot. However, while the latest version of the Z06 looks amazing on paper and drives just as well, what really matters here is just how the car stacks up against its fairly lofty competition. Luckily, the folks at Top Gear recently conducted what is perhaps the ultimate C8 Corvette Z06 comparison test recently when it lined up the mid-engine marvel against not only the car that inspired it – the Ferrari 458 – but also arguably its chief competitor – the Porsche 911 GT3 RS.

Before taking these cars to the track for a proper test, Ollie from Top Gear drives each one on the road to see how they perform, starting with the C8 Corvette Z06. Right off the bat, he takes the opportunity to throw a tiny bit of shade at the way the car looks, which he calls “a bit my first supercar,” but of course, these things can be highly subjective. Ollie also doesn’t like the car’s high seating position or square steering wheel, which he says is “just stupid and really annoying.”

On the flip side, Ollie loves everything about the way the Z06 drives on public roads – its sharp handling, comfy ride, and of course, the glorious, high-revving LT6 underhood. By comparison, the 458 – which GM reverse engineered when it was designing the C8 Z06 – is also still a marvelous machine, in spite of its power disadvantage, giving Ollie the opportunity to openly question why automakers are ditching naturally-aspirated V8s for forced induction.

Then there’s the 911 GT3 RS, a car that’s far less powerful than the new Z06 – by around 170 horsepower – but also significantly lighter. It’s a rear-engine, flat-six-powered machine, but still the Z06’s closest rival as a track-focused road-going sports car that sounds amazing in action as well, and in this case, is also equipped with a proper manual transmission. That combination proves to be a good one, leaving Ollie with one way to ultimately settle this battle – on the track.

There, the Porsche lives up to its reputation by presenting Ollie with a sublime experience, showing off its perfectly balanced chassis and amazing powerplant. The Corvette is no slouch either, leaving quite the impression on our host with its high level of grip and an engine that he calls “bloody thunderous” and “bloody phenomenal.”

In the end, Ollie admits that he’d still take the Porsche over the Corvette, but with a major caveat – he’s not so sure that the 911 GT3 RS would be better than a Z07-equipped Z06. The base convertible in this comparison is both heavier and cushier, and he prefers the harder edge Porsche for that particular reason, which offers up far more downforce on the track thanks to its abundance of aero. With less weight, more aero, and better tires, the Z06 Z07 might just be the better car, but we’ll have to wait for another day to find out.

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