For more than 70
years Motor Trend has been performance testing cars, and they
have been doling out 0-60 times with great accuracy and a high level of
credibility. A few decades ago in our wildest dreams here at Jim Butler Chevy of St Louis, we
never thought that we'd be seeing cars break the three-second barrier, and one
of them is our very own brand new C8 Corvette. It
reaches the 60 mph mark in a startling 2.8 seconds, and beats out many other
cars that are pricier during this benchmark test.
So which of the
more expensive models are slower than the 2020 Corvette? Here's the list and
some details about each one. Make no mistake, these are all fine cars, but the
new 'Vette has 'em beat in the galloping category.
2017 Porsche 911
Turbo Cabriolet – (2.9 seconds, $179,900)
AWD turbo Porsche
variants are known for their excellent 0-60 times, and the soft-top versions
are no different. The 991.2 Turbo Cabriolet's twin-turbo flat-six engine makes
540 hp and 486 lb-ft of torque which beats out the 'Vette, but our prized C8
still is quicker during the 0-60 by a tenth of a second.
2019 McLaren
Senna – (2.9 Seconds, $982,816)
It is definitely
a surprise that this very light and powerful track contender was not quite able
to out-perform the Corvette to 60, but Road test editor Chris Walton had some
trouble getting the Senna off the line. With too much wheel spin, the launch
just wasn't good enough. It can conquer the quarter-mile in 10.1 seconds, but
off the line the mid-engine Corvette beats it out.
2015 Nissan GT-R
NISMO – (2.9 Seconds, $151,870)
When this car
first hit the pavement, it was hailed for being a lower-priced supercar. Every
time it is updated, the GT-R has gotten faster, and just 4 years ago the U.S.
Got the very first NISMO R35. It is now more powerful and lighter, and the
NISMO represented the upper-end of Nissan's performance lineup. It still
weighed more than 4,000 pounds, but still hits the 60 mph mark in just 2.9
seconds.
2019 McLaren
600LT – (2.9 Seconds, $242,500)
One great thing
about this car is the amazing technology that it is loaded to the brim with,
and almost 25 percent of it is new compared to the base car. It still comes in
at 2.9 seconds for the 0-60, just a tenth shy of the new 'Vette.
2012 Lamborghini
Aventador – (2.9 Seconds, $393,695)
Even though its
nearly 8 years old, the Aventador brandishes an insane 691-hp V-12. When first
tested 7 years ago, it was one of the five fastest and hardest accelerating
cars Motor Trend had ever even got their hands on. It is still
known as the king of the Nurburgring and is oh-so-close to residing where the
C8 does on the speed test at 2.9 seconds.
2019 Porsche 911
GT3 RS – (3.0 Seconds, $225,940)
The 4.0-liter
flat-six in the 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS does rev to 9,000 rpm, makes 520 hp,
and is one of the best vehicles Porsche has ever created. The 0 to 60 still
closes out at 3.0 seconds, which doesn't quite cut it. This is, by all means, a
fantastic piece of finely-engineered machinery, but shaving seconds for speed
is a complex and all-encompassing design task.
2016 McLaren
675LT – (3.0 Seconds, $399,271)
The McLaren 675LT
does crank out 180 hp more than the new Corvette, weighs less than 3,000
pounds, and had a price tag of more than $350,000 brand-new. This is a car that
costs FIVE times more than the new C8, but the Corvette edges out the British
supercar by a razor-thin two-tenths of a second.
2010 Ferrari 458
Italia – (3.0 Seconds, $287,654)
The Ferrari 458
Italia and the Corvette now have some vital points in common. Both come with
naturally aspirated V-8s that are mounted in the middle, and both have
dual-clutch transmissions, look amazing in red, and have room for just two. Our
new Corvette is two tenths quicker to the 60 mph mark. We have to still hold
this car in the very highest of regard since it's a former Motor Trend Best
Driver's Car winner, but we still get the bragging rights on the quick trot.
2017 Ford GT –
(3.0 Seconds, $453,750)
The new C8
Corvette is two tenths quicker to 60 mph than the Ford GT, and it is amazingly
just one-sixth the price. The GT has more power, less weight, and because of
this a better power-to-weight ratio. But with all this well-engineered goodness
in its corner, it is still slower to 60. it still nails down just 3.0 seconds
to the Corvette's 2.8, and while it is one Hellaciously amazing contender,
doesn't quite get it right in the quick-speed runoff.