Jay,
Welcome to the site. I can tell you share just as much enthusiasm about this car as the rest of us.
However, you may want to check on some of that information. The 2008 vette is not going to have the current Z06's engine (LS7). It is going to have the LS3 that is rated at about 430HP, not 500. You can check out
my post here that has a picture and some info. It is post number 69.
The info on the "Z07" or whatever they are calling it today may or may not be accurate, there is little actually known about it.
As for the cost of a Base Vette, you may want to check the chevy website again as they start at $44,995. That price was just recently increased and will most likely remain good for at least a year.
As for the Zeta platform.... I may be wrong about this, but I don't think it has been around for anywhere near 5-7 years, and I don't think the current CTS-V is being built on it. I thought the first American car that will utilize the Zeta chassis will be the Pontiac G8.
You have to be very careful when reading a lot of the info out there as it is almost all meer speculation, so don't take everything as fact.