New Mustang Steve McQueen Advert

[Matt Harper]

I heard the C6R will be difficult for the engineers to work with, due to the shorter overhangs. Any news on that?

Matt  

I'm certainly no authority on Corvette - just an enthusiastic owner and fan.  My understanding is that the C6R is a re-skin of the Pratt & Miller spaceframe, previously clothed with a C5 sillhouette.
As suggested previously, the C5 road car, is unnecessarily large, in my opinion - particularly the front overhang. From what I've seen of the C5R the only components forward of the front wheels are the splitter, brake ducting, oil/trans coolers and the bottom 1/3 of the radiator. That being the case, it shouldn't be too much of a challenge to squeeze it all under a C6 nose - after all, it only has to look like the road car. Given that the C6 arse is a little shorter than the C5 - they may have to compromise with a very obvious and rather ugly rear diffuser, similar to the one worn by the Lambo Murciallago last season.
I must congratulate you on your Le Mans ride - top choice. I work for a guy who has a seemingly limitless amount of money and a real passion for cars/bikes/aircraft etc. He has 2 360's - a coupe and a Spyder - only driven the coupe - but that F1 paddle-shift is the sh*t. Couldn't believe how fast it all worked. It is a sensational car and I genuinely cannot think of anything to critiscise it for - other than that he can't out-drag me in my vette. Out-brake, out-steer, out-handle, out-grip - yes. But out-drag - nosiree.    

[Andy Zarse]

Sorry Dave and GTI Dude but I've just never bought into the whole mystique around Ferrari's, mostly thought it's all been over-hyped BS especially since the Commendatore checked out in 88.  Dave you may want to hang on to the turbo, if you think you've got build quality issues with the TT wait till you get the Fiat.
Fax

Fax

You know that good ole Enzo was a ruthless bastard when he needed to be. His hirings and firing were legendary. But the breathtaking cynicism of the current incumbents seriously peeves me.

Take for example the 550s which have been competing at LM these last few years. Fine racing cars they are, but they have had not one jot of developement from the factory. As I understand it, the Teams had to go and buy second hand road cars to develop and race. That they have achieved such sucesses in GTS, FIA etc is in no way attributable to the factory but down to the men behind the budgets and the skills of the likes of Prodrive.

And now what do we get as the latest overpriced offering from the chaps at Maranello? Yes, the Ferrari 550LM, a replica GTS race car with carbon fibre everything, a full GTS rear wing and front splitter. A fine, fine motorcar no doubt, but it annoys me greatly to see the cynical bastards cashing in on something they had absolutely fu ck all to do with.

It was the same with Volvo some years back. They ran a TV ad in which a Volvo estate car was seen racing through the desert and in the distance was a black streak, clearly supposed to be Thrust SSC. Volvo (and it's owners Ford) put sod all into the Thrust project and had absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever. It sickened me to see them trading on the reflected glory and sheer guts of others. There is a great bit at the end of Richard Noble's book on SSC (and to which I incidentally commend to any self respecting petrolhead) where he lambasts these chikenshit arseholes.

Consumers ain't all that gullible. Surely?

[vwgtifan]

Of course they (consumers) are..why else would there be so many Hummer 2's and front wheel drive NASCAR edition Monte Carlo's running around over here?

[Nordic]

You know that good ole Enzo was a ruthless bastard when he needed to be. His hirings and firing were legendary. But the breathtaking cynicism of the current incumbents seriously peeves me.

These are the same berks (Todt) who made the Mazza MC12 outside of the ACO rules in the hope that the rules would be changed to suit their new car.

The FIA have given in so the car can run in the FIA GT's (No Astons or Vettes in that)

The ACO have said no, so unless the car is redesigned with shorter overhangs and made narrower we will be denied the Aston vs Corvette vs Ferrari Vs MC12 battle next year at Le Mans or Sebring.

[Andy Zarse]

Very good point Nordic. Mazza really should be back at LM. Word was they were trying to do a Porsche GT1.

Shame really, Jean Todt is a very efficient team boss. I always admired his work at Peugeot with the 205T16 in the 80's, then with the Pug sportscar program.

Looks like the arrogance bug has bitten him too; just another Tom Walkinshaw these days.

[Fax]

To me Ferrari has become just another faceless division of Fiat.  The cars are stupidly over-priced, your paying for name, a yellow badge and a reputation that doesn't exist anymore.  Yes, the old man was nutty as a fruitcake, would sack engineer's for the hell of it and pit his drivers against each other to the point of driving each other into their own graves.  However the company and the cars that bore his name had charisma.  To me Ferrari means Ickx and Forghieri, not Todt and Schumacher.  The current cars look like they were styled in Japan, not Italy.  Earlier this summer I was out cycling near my home some joker pulled up in front of a coffee shop in a 360.  This guy looked like Guido the Killer Hairdresser, it occured to me that this is who Ferrari is marketing their car to.  The guy clearly had no taste and a two inch pecker but his Ferrari and his gold chains made sure that everyone knew he had plenty of money.  I doubt if he knew which end of the car the engine was in.
John

[Andy Zarse]

The whole empire, from the sixties onwards, has been predicated on the cash of ignorant medallion men. Not saying all owners or enthusiasts are like that but a goodly proportion are. It's not called the Prancing Horse for nothing.

[BigH]

I heard the C6R will be difficult for the engineers to work with, due to the shorter overhangs. Any news on that?

sort of...

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v199/GarettO/c6z1copy1.jpg

H

[Steve Pyro]

It was the same with Volvo some years back. They ran a TV ad in which a Volvo estate car was seen racing through the desert and in the distance was a black streak, clearly supposed to be Thrust SSC. Volvo (and it's owners Ford) put sod all into the Thrust project and had absolutely nothing to do with it whatsoever. It sickened me to see them trading on the reflected glory and sheer guts of others. There is a great bit at the end of Richard Noble's book on SSC (and to which I incidentally commend to any self respecting petrolhead) where he lambasts these chikensh**t arseholes.

<rant mode ON>
Yes.  Being an (anorak) fan of the Land speed Record, a personal supportor of Thrust SSC, and friends with some of the SSC team, that Volvo ad really stuck in my craw.

When Thrust 2 ran at Black Rock in 1983, the majority of the money raised was through corporate sponsorship.

However, when Thrust SSC came along, the accountants with the bloated expense accounts kept well away.  You just have to look at the (lack of) corporate logos on the surfaces of SSC.

In '83 the team lived in hotels close to Black Rock, in '97 they dossed town in spare rooms or camped in the desert.

When the sh*t hit the fan in 1997 and there was no money in the budget to fly SSC to Reno in the heavy lift Antonov, the SSC Supportors rasied the money to buy the fuel by simply pledging money.  A tenner here, fifty there, the money was raised in 48 hours.

The sceptics thought the sound barrier couldn't be broken in a twin engined, rear wheel steered monster.
When 763 mph came along, those same people jumped on the band wagon of their success.

f**k Volvo.
<rant mode OFF>

I'm off to lie down in a dark room now.