VIDEO: Can the C8 Corvette Z06 Slay the Mighty Porsche 911 GT3 in a Race???

The C8 Z06 is here, and it promptly punches two legendary sportscars in the mouth in a drag race battle of naturally aspirated performance.

Let’s go back to about a year ago. You are on some automotive related social media platform. The topic of discussion is what naturally aspirated, mid (or rear) engine, rear-wheel-drive car is quickest in the quarter mile. You would likely see the Porsche 911 GT3 and Audi R8 V10 offered as possible contenders for that crown. Well folks, the C8 Corvette Z06 has entered the chat. The car we have all been waiting for is now out and we are finally getting to see what it can do in the real world. And what it can do is astonishing. What we have here is a drag race battle between the new Z06, the GT3, the R8 V10, and because the Corvette needs some real competition a Ducati Panigale V4 SP2 superbike.

Hagerty has recently posted a video of this epic drag race battle on their YouTube channel. Trust us, when we tell you that you are going to want to watch it. The vehicles that are pitted against the Z06 are no slouches. In fact, the Z06 is packing its incredible new flat-plane-crank V8 with an outrageous 8,600 rpm redline. And incredibly, that is the lowest redline in this group. The Corvette also weighs 450 pounds more than the GT3. But it does offset that by making 170 more horsepower. This should be a close one.

It Isn’t

The Corvette Z06 whips the GT3 to the quarter mile by FIVE AND A HALF car lengths. The poor Audi isn’t even in the frame at the end of the race. The Z06 hits 60 mph in just 2.6 seconds and trips the quarter mile in 10.5 seconds with a trap speed of 131 mph. Whoa. This rear-drive car has no problem putting the power down. It grips and goes. The other two cars are not slow by any means but compared to the Corvette they have no chance. Oh, and the Z06 even with the Z07 package undercuts the price of the Germans by about $50,000 before any market adjustment nonsense. Porsche fans might protest and say bring a Turbo S to the fight. And sure, it would be a closer race, but that is a twin turbo, AWD car that is even more expensive than the GT3.

Superbike

So, the Corvette Z06 just handed the Porsche and Audi a beatdown. Can any naturally aspirated, rear-drive machine run with the Vette? Well, we need to move to the world of the superbike to give the Z06 some real competition. The Ducati V4 SP2 makes 210 horsepower and weighs only 429 pounds. On top of it is MotoAmerica Supersport Champion rider Josh Herrin. The Ducati put down an astonishing 9.5 second quarter mile time and left the Z06 in its wake. But how often will you ever be up against one of those that is being ridden by a profession rider? If your answer is greater than zero, you are wrong. And the Z06 can achieve its incredible speed with just about anyone behind the wheel. No pro driver needed.

Road Course

A drag race battle is fun and the Z06 can dominate them. But Corvette critics like to say that a drag race is one thing but show a Corvette some curves and the fancy German cars will run away from the American sportscar. We highly doubt that will be the case with the new Z06. This video does not include a road course lap battle, but we are sure those will be coming soon. And if we had to put real money on the table, we would be willing to bet the Z06 could top the GT3 and R8 V10 there as well. The point of all this is that we are now seeing with our own eyes just how impressive the new Z06 is.

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