Threxx

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...eature?cid=320

IS-F couldn't even quite match the 135i (or Cobalt SS for that matter), much less the M3 it's supposed to be competing with.

C63 did better than I expected... I always perceived it as all grunt and no finesse.

The Corvette did amazingly well considering it was just the case C6 Z51... a car you can get for 45k at your local GM dealer right now. They didn't have a ZR1 on hand to test for whatever reason which is a big shame. Not sure why they didn't bother with a Z06... they obviously could have gotten one of those.


Obviously huge value in the Cobalt SS... all of its competitors were 7-12 seconds slower.

thetopdog

I remember last year the Corvette Z51 beat the 911 Turbo, which I thought was pretty surprising. Maybe this track is just suited to Chevys in general

Jujharoo

Oh, Car and Driver.

LexFather

Toilet tissue for my Goats

LexFather

Mosler MT900S- 2:45.9 (2008)
Dodge Viper SRT10 ACR- 2:48.6 (2008)
Ferrari F430 Scuderia- 2:54.6 (2008)
Nissan GT-R- 2:55.6 (2008)
Chevrolet Corvette Z06- 2:58.2 (2007)
Ford GT- 3:00.7 (2006)
Chevrolet Corvette C6 Z06- 3:01.1 (2006)
Chevrolet Corvette Z51- 3:01.2 (2008)
Dodge Viper SRT10- 3:01.6 (2006)
Porsche 911 GT3- 3:01.8 (2007)
Chevrolet Corvette C6- 3:03.6 (2007)
Cadillac CTS-V- 3:04.0 (2008)
Lotus Exige S- 3:04.5 (2007)
Audi R8- 3:04.6 (2007)
BMW M3- 3:05.6 (2008)
Porsche 997 Turbo- 3:05.8 (2007)
Ford Shelby GT500- 3:05.9 (2007)
Mercedes Benz C63 AMG- 3:06.5 (2008)
Lotus Elise- 3:09.2 (2006)
Chevy Corvette C6- 3:09.3 (2006)
Porsche Cayman S- 3:09.5 (2006)
BMW M6- 3:10.0 (2006)
BMW 335i Coupe- 3:10.5 (2007)
Ford Shelby GT500 3:11.0 (2006) [ECU issues slowed car]
Audi RS4- 3:11.2 (2007)
BMW Z4 M- 3:11.7 (2007)
Nissan 350Z Track 3:12.5 (2006)
Chevrolet Cobalt SS Turbocharged 3:13.0 (2008)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X MR SSTT (semi-auto)- 3:13.3 (2008)
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX MR- 3:13.5 (2006)
BMW 135i (steptronic automatic)- 3:13.7 (2008)
Lexus IS F- 3:14.0 (2008)
Audi S5- 3:14.6 (2008)
Honda S2000 CR- 3:15.0 (2008)
Pontiac Solstice GXP- 3:15.7 (2007)
Mazda Speed 3- 3:16.0 (2007)
Dodge Challenger SRT8- 3:16.3 (2008)
Lotus Elise SC- 3:16.6 (2008) [WTF happened???]
Infiniti G37 Sport- 3:17.5 (2008)
Dodge Charger SRT8- 3:18.2 (2006)
Subaru Impreza WRX STI- 3:19.0 (2008)
Mazda RX-8- 3:19.0 (2006)
Chevy Cobalt SS (Supercharged)- 3:20.6 (2006)
Dodge Caliber SRT4- 3:20.8 (2008)
Ford Mustang GT- 3:20.9 (2006)
Volkswagen R32- 3:21.8 (2008)
Mini Cooper S (Turbo)- 3:22.9 (2007)
Honda Civic Mugen Si- 3:24.8 (2008)
Volkswagen GTI- 3:25.1 (2006)
Honda Civic Si- 3:26.5 (2006)
Volvo C30 T5 Version 2.0- 3:26.6 (2008)
Mazda MX-5- 3:29.3 (2006)

newr

This is what I have been saying all along ..To the FWD hatters....look at the time of the FWD Cobalt SS (turbo charged).. and look at the time of the supposedly superior.. not only with 6 but also the 8 cylinder RWDs....Do you have anything to say? .

Too bad the stock brakes on the CR could not handle the task and faded "Racing has demonstrated that the S2000’s brake system is first-rate, but the stock brake pads are not, and they faded almost out of existence after just two laps, never to fully revive. ". I wonder where it would rank if it didn't .

LexFather

^^ Clearly I like the Cobalt but ONE FWD car doesn't prove anything. We both know many times its not the fastest around the track, but the funniest.

I don't give a damn, give me a nice throaty 8 cylinder with RWD, which is slower. That is my personal preference.

Clearly, you can be fast in a different array of powertrain/drivetrain combinations.

C&D= written by drunk monkeys

Also, notice how the BOTTOM of the list has nothing but FWD cars.


Honda Civic Mugen Si- 3:24.8 (2008)
Volkswagen GTI- 3:25.1 (2006)
Honda Civic Si- 3:26.5 (2006)
Volvo C30 T5 Version 2.0- 3:26.6 (2008)

newr

see the comments in blue

TwiBlueG35

This is a crazy test. I would like to see Porsche 911 GT2, Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4, and KTM X-Bow in the test also.

TwiBlueG35

Thanks for the list. It is very interesting to see how do these sports cars stack up against each other. G37 sport is 5 seconds slower than 350Z. 997 GT3 is 4 seconds faster than 997 911 Turbo. Exige S is faster than several 400+hp cars? Incredible.

Threxx

Interesting to see the times merged from the different years. I'm a little surprised to see the 335i ran faster than the 135i. Possibly different years = different weather making the times harder to compare than we'd like to have thought?

C&D may be 'toilet paper' in some regards but it's very unlikely that there was any bias put into these times or that they had anyone even close to bad or inconstant at driving behind the wheel of those times.

BTW yes the Cobalt SS was very impressive (especially for the money) but I absolutely assure you if the 2008 TL-S 6mt was in that list it would not have the time that a certain member here would seem to believe it would have.

thetopdog

I think the 135i had an automatic tranny, which could explain the difference between that and the 335i.

Not to troll or anything, but I think it's really impressive that the only cars faster than the base C6 are supercars.

The GTR is really impressive too

DASHOCKER

iTrader: (2)

GM makes some damn impressive performance cars period!

ST430

I'm surprised C&D did not hire professional track car drivers (like Mario Andrete) like in yesteryears. Instead, it seems they rely on their own staffs, thus they dare not go beyond their own confidence level. While this is a good indication of what typical drivers would do, it does not mean the cars are necessary bad, but rather it takes a skilled driver to extract most out of it. This is evident in the quote about the IS-F:

I noted it did very well in Section 1-3, with very high top speeds, however that decreased dramatically in Section 4-5, where it seems is the key to fast times at VIR. Anyhow, the Cobalt did awesome trumping many of the best cars. I was very surprised at the Evo MR times as well as the CTS-V, otherwise everything else was pretty much inline with expectations.

mmarshall

C&D's Patrick Bedard, besides being an auto engineer, also has racing experience. He has driven C&D's formal entry, several times, in the Indy 500.