If one listened to +Tadge Juechter , oh yeah, it is the next best thing after sliced bread and if it was for the lack of wings, this supercar would fly...
For some strange reason, reality refuses to agree with Juechter, the car keeps overheating and breaks down on a whim... Is this a conspiracy or perhaps a case of a hack job pretending to be the ultimate Corvette.
Judging after the recently released pricing on the LT4 so called "crate engine" sheds some light on the actual explanation.
Under the GM crate engine program, both C6 and C7 engine options are available for purchase...
For comparisson, LS3 vs. LT1 MSRP costs are listed as 7760 and 11000 dollars (430 vs. 460hp) and for LS9 vs. LT4, these costs are 26009 vs. 15625 (638 vs. 650).
Let us play a bit with basic math here.
To go up from 460 hp to 650 hp (17% hp gain), GM charges buyers 4k premium over LT1 engine which is incidentally and suspiciously enough, ANOTHER 17% but...
For the horsepower increase between LS3 and LS9 (208 gain or 19%), GM charges a whopping $18,249 or FIFTY FOUR PERCENT premium over the base LS3 engine.
The biggest irony after doing this math? The cost of the LS9 premium over LS3 is almost exactly the same as the cost of the LT4 crate engine.
Which one of these pairs consists of a slightly beefed up base engine versus an entirely separate design, using pricey components and intensive labor? This is of course a purely rhetorical question, considering that LS9 equipped ZR1 is pretty much bulletproof or at least bulletproof under conditions where the current flagship either obliterates its powertrain or limps or shuts down...
To sum it up, even when profits are the main consideration, the customers still get what they pay for, including merely an illusion instead of a purchase of a real supercar...
Even though Juechter encourages potential buyers to do their math, he is very lucky the senile Corvette buyers are too lazy to follow his insincere advice...
Finally, another thought: a hack job of a car still generates great profits for GM and aftermarket since it is the owners who end up paying extra after purchasing their "certified supercar" while attempting to keep that disaster on the road... Very funny...
What the hell are you talking about? How many corvettes have 100,000 miles on the original engine. Any other super car at the mileage has engine problems enough to need a rebuild and other super cost 2x as much. Idk how you can already call these engines shit when they increase horsepower, economy, and emissions from the last corvette engine?? Are you just say that the price is the only determining factor??? I think the direct injection engine will improve on engine reliability just as efi did for carburators.... I would apricoate a response...
ReplyDeleteYou need to ask these questions GM. Direct injection does not improve reliability, the opposite actually and in a high performance car, it is a recipe for disaster, especially when aftermarket is involved. DI is aimed purely at fuel economy, any performance gains are a side effect, one that does not last very long.
DeletePrice is not a determining factor, design is and LT1 and LT4 are horrible in this aspect. Do some research on AFM and problems other GM vehicles using it continue to have, why would Corvette use a defective system, just like it does with truly harmful PCV? If you bought a Z06, you get a cheaply designed and cheaply made non reliable car, this is a fact and it really should not be.