Man Chooses the C8 Corvette Over the Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720S and Tells Us Why

By
Mitch Talley
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16
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Man Chooses the C8 Corvette Over the Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720S and Tells Us Why

Photo Credits: cookingboy/reddit


Not many people have ever had the privilege of driving a Ferrari 488 Spider, McLaren 720S, and a C8 Corvette.

The closest I will ever come was back in the “Magnum PI” days of the mid-’80s when I test drove a used Ferrari 308GTS, knowing the whole time I was behind the wheel that I could never afford the maintenance, much less the monthly payments.

In a recent post on Reddit, a guy who has indeed driven those three supercars listed at the top of this story offers great news for us Corvette enthusiasts – he would pick the new mid-engine Stingray over the other two. (Total disclosure: if money were no object, he says he would pick the Ferrari.)

We’re not really surprised with his feelings about the new C8 Corvette. Sure, virtually every enthusiast would love to own a Ferrari or McLaren if he could afford it, but the reality for most of us ordinary folks is that the C8 is the closest we will ever come to knowing the feeling of climbing behind the wheel of a supercar.

Ferrari 488 Spyder


That’s why we’re so glad to hear that this “amateur enthusiast,” as he describes himself, walked away very impressed with his 400 miles of driving a base 1LT 2020 Corvette with an MSRP of just $65,000.

“Now thinking about it, for $65K what other sports car is competitive?” he asks. “A low mileage 981 Cayman GTS is right at that price, and I absolutely loved driving it.”

But now with the C8 on the map, he reasons, the Corvette is “much faster, handles almost as good on the streets, has a much better interior and totally modern tech, more comfortable/daily drivable, and comes with a warranty.”

That is high praise coming from a man who confesses he “never liked American muscle cars” and always found them “crude.”

That opinion changed with the C8 Corvette, he says.

“This car had the ability to turn grown men into excited little boys,” he said. “In the Ferrari and McLaren I just got a few ‘nice car buddy’ type of comments from people while fueling up. With the Corvette, holy s—t people were so excited and friendly and they bombarded me with different questions. Obviously, the hype would go down once we see more on the road, but I still think it’s a good looking car.”

McLaren 720S


He also described the C8’s powertrain performance as “perfect for public roads,” with its superlinear power delivery and quick throttle response like the C7 “but now (it) puts down power much, much better due to the mid-engine layout and a DCT transmission that’s so good that I would have believed you if you told me it was based off the Porsche PDK.”

The Corvette, he admits, may not be as fast as the Ferrari 488, but nearly 100 percent of the power in the ‘Vette is usable on public roads. As for handling, the Corvette doesn’t have as much grip at higher speed as the Ferrari and McLaren, but it didn’t bother him. He says his risk tolerance wouldn’t let him push the C8 to its limits on public roads, but he didn’t experience any understeer “even though I was driving quite spiritedly.” In fact, he says the C8 “honestly felt comparable” to a 992 Carrera S that he drove at the Porsche Experience Center in LA.

He also came away impressed with the quietness and smoothness of the new Stingray when “just cruising around,” noting that the interior was “truly a nice place to be” with the quality of the materials “comparable if not better” than most modern mid-range BMWs. He also believes the cabin tech to be better than the Ferrari and McLaren, noting that the Corvette’s infotainment system was “butter smooth” with pixel quality of the screens as good as the newest Mercedes system.

McLaren 720S


He did suggest upgrading to the 2LT package, if only for the rearview mirror camera and blind-spot assist because “the cabin visibility was laughably bad and you literally cannot check your blind spot the usual way” with the 1LT package that doesn’t include those options.

In short, he says, “the whole package just felt ‘premium’ and (the C8) really is a step up from the C7 in every way.”


Source:
Reddit via AutoSpies.com

Related:
[VIDEO] 2020 Corvette Attacks Ferrari and McLaren on the Track
McLaren 765LT Offers Innovative Solution for More Mid-Engine Storage
[VIDEO] Stock 2019 Corvette ZR1 Races a 600-HP 2019 McLaren 600LT

 



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16 COMMENTS

  1. I too was ready to purchase a 2020 Porsche 911S Cabriolet in August 2019 for about $139M. I have not purchased an American made car in over 50 years!. I was a somewhat loyal Porsche owner. The new 2020 Corvette Stingray seemed to represent a true Paradigm Shift in American automotive design and development. I took delivery of my torch red 2020 Corvette 2LT in March having had it trucked from the Bowling Green factory to my house in Florida. My only concern was quality control in purchasing a first year vehicle which has 99.8% new everything!
    To my amazement the vehicle is absolutely TERRIFIC ! Better than can be imagined ! The whole process of buying and obtaining the car was great. I purchased the car from Kerbeck in Atlantic City over the phone at the factory price, since my local Chevy dealers wanted $5,000 to $10,000 over sticker just to order the car. Real beauties !
    My recommendation is to order the 2LT version for the rear view cameras plus order the lift system otherwise, you will scrape your front end especially in Florida with it unique gully driveway drainage system. Don’t believe you need to order the Z06 option for the extra 5 hp unless you really will take it to a track. Also be aware if you want to really track the Corvette you will need to add two additional quarts of transmission fluid. This is a real pain in the ass to accomplish, plenty of things to undo properly. My racing days are over and I can thank BMW who allowed me to drive their vehicles at Homestead Fl on their track days.

    My recommendation forget Porsche and get your order in for a 2021 Corvette, you will not be sorry !

  2. I have 2017 triple black Grand Sport. Really like the car, thinking of ordering a 2021 C8. However the better half likes the 2017 and does not like the C8. What to do?

  3. I placed my order for a 2 LT convertible when dealers started accepting orders and I am still waiting.
    Hopefully by October I will have it. And hopefully I will not have quality control issues.
    For reference I am a BMW guy, but I had 2018 Grandsport for 6 months and ended up trading it for an M4 competition because of quality issues that I couldn’t live with.

  4. As a mid-70’s retired male, I’m probably a Corvette cliche’. I had choices, too, albeit whether to hang on to my 2012 Porsche Carrera with 13K on the clock; a 2001 Mustang Bullitt with 97K on its Odo; and the family 2019 Mercedes -Benz C300 (AMG-Line), or to be so woo’d and won-over by an American mid-engine, the first one for the masses. In my garage, most of the time is the result of my decision: a Light Gray 2020 C8 Corvette Stingray with 5VM carbon fiber kits added by the dealer and a black high wing spoiler and Z51 package. Two full-length carbon black dual racing stripes with both the carbon interior and engine dress up kiits. This Stingray looks the business. To me it is a Supercar. At the present, I don’t need a Z51, but then one never knows. Having used the Chevy App to confirm an Aprill 14 delivery date, I received an overall report of just 11 miles per gallon, thus far. There’s been a few electronic glitches along the way, but engine is sweet and flexible. It sounds good to my ears with every cold start. 1360 miles is not a lot, but personal commitments get in front of my wish to drive this amazing coupe. I should get it back from the dealer tomorrow as they attempt to match the Chevy app to the cars odometer so that they are the same. The App does accurately track the location of the car, however. Further, if I want to establish an electronic perimeter around the car, I can do that. The cool thing, is if I’m getting the car wrapped or just leaving it for a time in a parking area, it the car is stolen, I receive an email informing me that the car is outside of the perimeter. Cool. AF

  8. “In short, he says, “the whole package just felt ‘premium’ and (the C8) really is a step up from the C7 in every way.” Why does this goof have to be insulting to C7 car owners. I could of had a C8 if I wanted. Reason I purchased this awesome C7 Grand Sport is for a few reasons, I like a front engine car, I like a soft top convertible and the clincher to the deal was I love a standard. So this guy should maybe watch how he speaks about other guy’s corvettes! Maybe he should learn some common manners.

  9. Sure pick the C8 if you want the slowest, ugliest, and cheapest of the three. I cant afford any of them, but you couldnt pay me enough money to buy the cheap POS C8 corvette. It is not even in the same class as the other two. Take it to the junkyard and scrap it.

  10. this guy finds American muscle cars “crude”. The C8 is the perfect car for this pansy. Ugly, cheap, and slow. I AM EMBARASSED that it is an American product.

  14. Christian Shepherd , if you don’t understand why. You must be as stupid as the guy that insulted the C7! With your thinking every next-gen car makes the previous vettes garbage.
    Everything new isn’t always better!

  16. Robert Arthur, I’ll put my intellect up against yours ANY day. The only respect I will extend to you is the fact that you prefer stick (and since I refuse to buy a car with an automatic, I wouldn’t own a C8 anyway – so this whole “argument” is moot).
    But who the Hell are YOU to presume to know my “thinking”? I never said the C7 was garbage, and neither did the dude in the article. As far as I’m concerned, apart from the “running mascara” taillights, the C7 is the most beautiful Vette since the ’63-’67.
    Still, any idiot can see immediately that, in terms of interior quality at least, the C8 most definitely IS a major step up.

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