Quote:
Originally Posted by tweeter81
Lastly, I again have to ask the question, What do you think would be GM's motivation to add 40+ HP to the LSA's power rating...because a bunch of bench racers "think" that the new Z/28 is going to "need" that extra power to safely whoop the piss out of the GT500? There are videos and magazine articles out there that have already immortalized the fact that the current CTS-V Coupe can beat the GT500 in a variety of situations. A Camaro Z/28 that has very similar specs to the V (meaning exact same HP rating, among other things), but weighs 200-250 lbs less, will absolutely beat the GT500 in every situation -- and that isn't opinion, that is physics, pure and simple.
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If GM only wanted to beat the Mustang when the 2010 Camaro came out, the base engine would probably have been the non-DI 3.6L and the SS would have gotten the L76. They'd beat their respective Mustangs, by a little, and everyone would probably be happy ... until the 2011 Mustangs came out that is. Trying to simply be competitive with the current cars led to complacency and mediocrity. No, mood is different now. Benchmark where your competition is right now, and expect that they'll step it up in a couple years. Then aim to compete with the updated models. Worst case scenario, you'll be a little behind (after having a big lead for a year or two). Or better yet, you'll catch the other guy with his pants down and be way ahead in the game.
And to think that Ford isn't going to work on the GT500 would be foolish. In 2009 it had 500 hp. In 2010 it was upped to 540. For 2011 it was bumped another 10 hp, but the car also lost a lot of weight by switching from an iron block to aluminum. And all that was without having a real competitor on the market. I can't imagine that they'll stop there once the Z28 hits the streets.
In the end, it becomes a question of whats more important to GM: making sure the 2013 GT500 won't embarrass them, or worrying about the impact the Z28 has on CTS-V (or Corvette) sales?