Coolest car ever...

[Larry Ashcraft]

http://www.n2amotors.com/cars-789.html

The front is a '57 Chevy, the doors and side trim are '58 Chevy, and the back is a '59 Chevy, all sitting on a Corvette Z-06 chassis.

$135,000

[Ryan in Maine]

If only they made it one color. 

[Fly320s]

Sounds like a Johnny Cash song.

[Manedwolf]

The tail looks like an elderly lady's glasses. And why on a Corvette chassis? Corvettes aren't sportscars anymore. The only American sports car is the Dodge Viper.

[The Annoyed Man]

Tell Batman that his retirement car is ready.

[Standing Wolf]

Larry, I think you need to find a new optometrist.

[Larry Ashcraft]

Larry, I think you need to find a new optometrist.

Nope.  Fifties style with 21st century technology.  I love it.

Z-06 Corvette: Top end; 160+, Quarter mile E.T.; under 12 seconds.  Highway MPG; 26.

With 1959 Impala taillights. 

[Manedwolf]

Z-06 Corvette: Top end; 160+, Quarter mile E.T.; under 12 seconds.  Highway MPG; 26.

Z-06 Corvette: Midlife crisis car that won't kill people with dulled reflexes. Y'know a juiced 6cyl import can get past 160+ with an 11-second quarter mile, right? Hell, even some 4cyls can.

Dodge Viper: 186 - 192 mph, 4.0  - 4.2 sec, 450hp, 8.0 liters. It WILL kill you if you screw up, as any sports car will.

And Nissan's import Skyline GT-R is a 500hp V8. Also look at BMW's offerings.

Sorry. The Vette ain't all that anymore.

[Gewehr98]

Why'd I guess that somebody would insert Nipmobile come-uppance, thereby ruining the moment for those of us who actually appreciate American cars?   

[Manedwolf]

Huh? Look at the one I pointed at as the true American sports car? DODGE VIPER.

That would be...um...a DODGE. I believe that's American. It's a sheer sports car, and a very impressive one at that! It's a V-10!

Yes, the Corvette used to be the American sports car. No, it's not anymore. Yes, it IS aimed at a target market of fiftysomethings, and is suitably docile enough that it won't kill them.

That's just the truth.

[Sergeant Bob]

The tail looks like an elderly lady's glasses. And why on a Corvette chassis? Corvettes aren't sportscars anymore. The only American sports car is the Dodge Viper.

Huh? Look at the one I pointed at as the true American sports car? DODGE VIPER.

That would be...um...a DODGE. I believe that's American. It's a sheer sports car, and a very impressive one at that!

Yes, the Corvette used to be the American sports car. No, it's not anymore. Yes, it IS aimed at a target market of fiftysomethings, and is suitably docile enough that it won't kill them.

That's just the truth.

So, explain to us why the Corvette (which outperforms all previous iterations of the Corvette in most all categories) which apparently used to be a sports car, is no longer a sports car, compared to the Viper, which does not outperform the Corvette by enough the difference couldn't be made up by putting an additional $12,000 into the Vette to match the Viper's price.

[Larry Ashcraft]

G98 nailed it.

And if you can't appreciate 1959 Impala taillights on a '57 Chevy, I cain't hep you any. 

[Dannyboy]

So, if a Corvette's not a sports car, what is it?  Designwise, it certainly looks like a sports car.  Performancewise, it certainly has sports car specs.  I guess it's not a sports car because it doesn't have 4 doors and come from Japan.  Except for the as yet unreleased GT-R, is there a real Japanese sports car?  The NSX is gone.  The Supra is gone.  The only thing that comes close is the 350Z, which, if the Vette is not a sports car then the Z is definitely not a sports car.  As for the GT-R, it's gonna cost as much as a Z06.

[Gewehr98]

Yup. I can SO envision life in Manedwolf's neighborhood as a kid.

Little Bobby cruises up to Manedwolf's house to show off his new Schwinn Stingray that he got for his birthday, complete with banana seat, sissy bar, and rear slick.

Manedwolf immediately pans it, stating in a Teddy Kennedy-style New England accent that his new Matsushimagachi 10-speed has Shimano derailleurs, Sugino cranks, a frame forged from a continuous piece of Sanmai laminated steel, and it goes 20 mph without him even having to pedal at all.

If I were little Bobby at that point, I'd waste no time going home and retrieving a baseball bat, and then test the structural integrity of little Manedwolf's kneecaps...

[Manedwolf]

I didn't grow up in New England. And I had an inherited bike that my dad repainted.

I'm just saying that the Corvette is no longer the pentultimate sports car, and in fact is way down on the list (which is what I firmly believe)...

I've driven several. Including an older one, and someone's Z-06 at work. Cheap interior materials. Was not impressed with the handling at all, or the placement of the instruments, or the designs of the controls. I've driven a lot more fun performance cars, including a mid-90's-something NSX, an Impreza WRX, a BMW Z4 coupe (also at work, CFO's), and even someone's restored 1970's Impala SS, I forget from what year. Even the 3000 GT Twin Turbo I used to borrow from a girl in college was more fun.

I just did not find it to be an exhilarating sports car. Daily driver with a big engine and mediocre handling, to me.

[Bogie]

What I look for in a sports car:
 
It has to make the older fellow on Top Gear giggle insanely.
 

[Iain]

What I look for in a sports car:
 
It has to make the older fellow on Top Gear giggle insanely.

Anything that does that is usually going to cost you an awful lot of money.

Then again, last night I watched the episode in which they did a 24hr race in a (very modified) BMW 3 litre diesel. £11 grand for the car, secondhand with 45,000 miles on the clock. Racing modifications, a rebuilt engine and some crash damage later and Clarkson shed a tear when they crossed the finishing line.

[wmenorr67]

$135,000 will get me a decent house and land in the right locations of Oklahoma.

[280plus]

it goes 20 mph without him even having to pedal at all.

That's the kind of bike I want!

[Jamisjockey]

$135,000 will get me a decent house and land in the right locations of Oklahoma.

Or a years worth of gas for my wife's Escalade.

[Iain]

Except for the as yet unreleased GT-R, is there a real Japanese sports car?  The NSX is gone.  The Supra is gone.  The only thing that comes close is the 350Z, which, if the Vette is not a sports car then the Z is definitely not a sports car.  As for the GT-R, it's gonna cost as much as a Z06.

That's a good point. Think the Honda S2000 might still be around, certainly long in the tooth. Don't think Toyota are doing or have done a GT4 version of their most recent Celica. The 350Z and the Rx8 are a little on the tame side perhaps, very good though. Vauxhall have got their rebadged Holden thing for sale here, or did.

Everyone seems to want BMW M3/5's, Audi RS4/6's (even the estate version). I'd be very happy with the new M1 in the saloon. Guilty, but happy.

[freakazoid]

I think it looks pretty cool. And I'm going to guess that the main reason that they used a Corvette instead of something like a Viper was because a Corvette is a Chevy and they put a Chevy body on it, not a Dodge body on it.

[Ex-MA Hole]

Larry, neat car.

I drive a 2005 Subaru Outback 2.5XT.....0-60 STOCK is mid to low 5's...1/4 in high 13's to low 14's...pretty gosh darn quick for a grocery getter....

That said, I won't, er, engage in any spirited driving, with anything pre early 70's.  Why?

Respect for muscle cars.  My cute little four banger with the turbo is faster, handles better, can move in the snow, get a lot better gas mileage, but it doesn't have the class.  Never will.

[Jamisjockey]

Oh, and my favorite sports cars have beds and four wheel drive.  Never found much use for a two seat rocket.  YMMV, but I'm a pickup man.

[Larry Ashcraft]

The only muscle car I ever owned was a 1968 Mustang GT 390 fastback (Bullit Car).  Bought it when I was in my mid-thirties because I could finally afford one.  I hopped it up some and raced a little (on the strip).  When my kids approached driving age, I sold it.

My favorite car ever though, was the one I owned in college, a 1960 Thunderbird.  It was close to what they now call the "Nascar Thunderbird".  352 Interceptor, manual overdrive transmission, manual steering and power brakes, and a special order Lincoln rear suspension.  The actual Nascar car only differed in not having the overdrive, and having manual brakes.

Ford wasn't actively in racing in 1960, so a few of the Nascar cars were used by private teams, but most of them ended up being used by moonshiners.

There were only a little over 500 1960 Thunderbirds built with manual transmissions, and that was the last year they were offered.