The Corvette Vs 911 battle has been raging since the 911 was introduced. Invariably, the newest Corvette will be endowed with more power than its contemporary 911, and the 911 will do everything else just a little bit better, and will cost more. It’s always been that way, and it will almost certainly continue to be that way. Few things in life are certain; Death, Taxes, and Porsche’s 911 is better than Chevrolet’s Corvette.
“It’s the best for the money” is a loaded statement. That’s like saying “There’s better out there, but you can’t afford it.” Without sounding like a Porsche elitist, that’s essentially what the newest episode of /DRIVE’s Chris Harris on Cars has to say, though doesn’t come right out and say that. The 991 Carrera S has been lauded by reviewers since they could get their hands on them, and for good reason. It’s just a great car.
That isn’t to say that Chevrolet hasn’t been consistently improving the Corvette, because they have. However, Porsche have always remained one step ahead with their development of the 911. The 991 is a world class sports car, and the C7 Corvette is close, but not quite there. Interestingly, and perhaps more importantly, if you were to ask 991 buyers what other sports cars they looked at when considering their Porsche purchase, very few of them would mention the Corvette, as it simply isn’t on their radar.
The one gripe that I have with this video, however, is that Harris derides the Porsche’s price point. He mentions that the Porsche has at least $50,000 in add on options, which is, admittedly, quite high. That said, the game shifts quite a bit more when you restrict yourself from ticking too many boxes. Similarly equipping both the Corvette and the 911 S with sport seats, sport suspension, and a sport exhaust (because like Mr. Harris, I too am a bit of a “yob”) nets you a Vette at just over $60,000, and a 911 S at $103,540. Even without the additional 50 grand in options, the 911 S will still be a better car to drive, whether at the track, or on the street.
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View Comments (4)
I am a long time owner and fan of an old school 911. I love them and I would never consider owning anything else but, I have driven 996s, 997s as well as a few Turbos and enjoyed the experinces. I have also driven the new C7 with the Z51 package and manual gearbox. It is quite simply.."Stunning". As an American I am proud that Chevrolet has finally (Really!!) built a world class we can be proud of. I can't wait to see how the new Z06 with 625HP performs.
William, we're looking forward to driving one ourselves. Keep waiting for the folks from Chevy to call, but so far the phone's not ringing. :-)
Thank you for posting very interesting ! Russ
I think this is indeed an elitist comment made in the article. Let's attack each point made:
1.) "The Corvette is the best for the money". This goes far beyond the VERY elitist point of not being ABLE to afford something that may be marginally better but considerably higher in price. Let's be real and honest here. Everyone, including heads of corporations, would demand "Value" and not pay stupid-premiums for marginal increases in improvement. That simply makes you part of the "rich-stupid" crowd...and says nothing about your intelligence or intellect. Although this price point and car feature point has always played out in this Corvette/Porsche battle, the drastic improvements made on the latest Corvette, the TRUE dry-sump engine, the vastly improved build quality and body panel quality, the Corvette trend toward lighter weight and size in the ensuing years....these are all Porsche qualities that can appeal to the Porsche enthusiast.
2.) "Oddly".....Corvettes are NOT on the Porsche buyer's radar screen.. This is understandable, as the "elitist" aspect rears its head. The Corvette is saddled with blue-collar "history" and there isn't enough bragging rights as to status or how idiotically inexpensive a good car can be.....doesn't fit will with country-club conversation. Recall the Road and Track headline of a 911S road test... "All the performance of an American Supercar, without the stigma of Low Cost". A more idiotic statement couldn't be made.
This is all spoken from the unbiased view of an unabashed Porsche enthusiast, historian, and 911 owner. At some point "there IS a substitute"....and it has arrived, if you look at non-status hardware facts. Psychologically, if the Corvette wore a Porsche badge, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. It would maybe be the 917 for the road, plastic body and all !!!