QUICK SHIFTS: Road and Track’s PCOTY, Blizzard vs C5, Auction Action, Blackwing V8s and a V-Series Escalade

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Quick Shifts: Road and Track's PCOTY, Blizzard vs C5, Auction Action, Blackwings V8s and a V-Series Escalade

Photo Credit: Chevrolet


Welcome back to Quick Shifts! Quick Shifts is an occasional content feature here at CorvetteBlogger featuring links to Corvette and automotive-related stories of interest. In this episode, R&T PCOTY returns, surviving a blizzard in a ‘Vette, some C2 and C5 action, notable Corvette auction results, the twin-turbo Blackwing crate engine, and a host of new car tests, spy shots, and reveals. Buckle up, let’s go!

FIRST GEAR

Chip shortages and increased COVID regulations have teamed up to force our favorite content window from its usual home in the Fall to Winter/early Spring of this year. But, after much sitting around and many page refreshes, the leadoff hitter in the trifecta of US big-group sportscar tests has finally entered the batter’s box.

Road & Track’s 2022 Performance Car of the Year has landed! The C8 Z06 should be the headline act of the 2023 edition, but ‘Vette fans still have a rooting interest in this year’s event. Get out your Cadillac foam fingers because the fully-optimized, 668-horse, four-door C7 Z06 (referenced by R&T as the CT5-V Blackwing) was on hand to knock some heads and represent our great nation against a gaggle of foreign metal. While the quality of the piece has gone downhill a bit since heavy hitters like Sam Smith and Jack Baruth moved on to Hagerty after the ZR1’s championship campaign in 2019, it is still an outstanding read that continues the current R&T administration’s slow march to redemption from a disastrous ’20 edition that saw a Hyundai hatchback crowned over a stacked field that included the C8, the McLaren 600LT, a 992-generation 911 Carrera, BMW M2 Competition, Huracán EVO, GT-R NISMO, and more! It is definitely worth a read (it’s even worth spending one of your 3 “monthly” unpaid clicks on!) as the manual-transmission 5VBW has its work cut out for it with the new, also manual-equipped GT3, another, more hardcore V10 Lambo, the M4 Comp, and the wicked AMG-GT Black Series.

2022 Performance Car of the Year

Photo Credit: DW Burnett / Road & Track


Car and Driver also recently gave a sneak peek of their upcoming Lightning Lap feature that you can kind of pay to attend! Like doing a remodel with the homeowners hovering around trying to chat/help, this sounds like a nightmare for the people conducting the test, but a neat opportunity for anyone with some expendable dollars set aside for automotive adventures! The big Blackwing will be on hand again, as will the M5 CS. Both will be gunning for the sedan record of 2:49.3 on VIR’s Grand Course (Go GM!). The GT3 and AMG Black are also on the docket, but it is difficult to make out exactly which other vehicles will be in attendance to the biggest of the big-three tests. We’ve yet to hear anything about MT’s Best Driver’s Car 2022, but we will keep our readers posted!

Lightning Lap at VIR with Car and Driver

Photo Credit: Car and Driver


SECOND GEAR

Next, we will let Autoblog’s Jonathon Ramsey regale our readers with the touching tale of his Corvette road trip gone awry. We’ve all been there, the forecast looks fine, and we’ve got an itch that can only be treated with heavy doses of LS V8. Around the time the ball dropped in Manhattan, bringing the east coast into 2022, Ramsey found himself presented with a chance to drive from his home in dreary Ohio to see a friend in Florida, but, as he says, “a series of missed opportunities” led him and his C5 Z06 straight into the storm that your friend in Virginia was blowing up your social media with early in the month. It is an excellent story full of advice for anyone who is unfortunate or unlucky enough to find themselves in a similar situation (regardless of their vehicle of choice), but it is the kindness of strangers that really makes this one stand out! In a time when so many people are hell-bent on painting America and her citizens in a less than flattering light (and your author is on high alert, looking for serial killer behavior after binging Dexter: New Blood), the “embarrassingly hospitable hospitality” of the supporting cast in Ramsey’s misadventure just goes to show you that this is a pretty excellent time and place to be alive!

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Photo Credit: Jonathan Ramsey / Autoblog


Elsewhere in the C5 blogosphere, HotRod’s got a nice story about Jake Rozelle and his extreme purple Z06 that won the OPTIMA Ultimate Street Car Invitational for a happy ending to his eight-year quest for a championship.

To close out second gear, we will send you back to HotRod for a Corvette encore. This time, they are looking at an incredibly cool Penske “Sunoco Rocket” L88 tribute from Fabulous Restorations of Ft. Lauderdale, FL. Check it out right here.

Penske

Photo Credit: MotorTrend


THIRD GEAR

As a part of their perpetual focus on collector car valuation, Hagerty Insider has some auction results that might be of interest to the fine clientele of our one-model site. First, in a perfect transition from second gear, is a well-bought 1969 L88 Convertible. The Can-Am White/saddle beast might look familiar to anyone that follows Mecum’s sales as Hagerty highlights all of the times it has crossed the block since 2012, but the final number this go-around only reached $335,500, making it a relative bargain that we are hoping was paid by someone who will keep it off of the market for a while they enjoy its services!

Next, Insider turned their spotlight to a 27-mile never-before-sold 1990 ZR-1 that traded hands at Mecum Kissimmee on the 13th. The “#1 Condition” inaugural year “Corvette from Hell” hammered for $66,000. That is a strong number for a car that hasn’t seen values rise with the rest of the ’90s tide, in spite of its significance. Anyone who put one of these monsters away as an investment in late 1989-1995 probably feels otherwise, though, as the sale of Lot T141 almost exactly matches the car’s original MSRP that translates to more than $140,000 in today’s inflated dollars.

Finally, this 1969 Yenko Camaro is a ‘Vette-adjacent sale that caught our collective eye. It has lived a “journeyman” existence similar to the L88 above, failing to sell in ’17 and ’18 before finally commanding a $75k premium over previous “bid goes on” prices. At $368,500, this “#2” example with an unstamped 425-horse Corvette L72 427 is as mysterious as it is beautiful, adding up to an irresistibly vexing combination for one buyer!

Keep up on the final days of the hectic January auctions with Hagerty Insider’s continuing coverage, it is excellent stuff!

1969 L88 Convertible

Photo Credit: Mecum


FOURTH GEAR

GM’s decision to send the Blackwing V8 that has no relation to the sedan that bears its name (mentioned above) out to pasture after only dropping it into the bay of around 1,500 CT6-Vs has puzzled every single person that has given it any thought since production of Caddy’s flagship sedan was unceremoniously stopped in Jan. of 2020. The/Drive detailed an interesting tidbit about the engine this week, though, bringing the 4.2-liter twin-snail V8 back into our consciousness. As it turns out, the Performance Build Center at Bowling Green’s Corvette Assembly Plant minted a batch of these “LTA” motors that weren’t destined for a home between the front fenders of a CT6. This surplus of one of the General’s most unique powerplants is currently up for grabs, and as the article gets into, getting one has a modern “COPO” feel to it. It isn’t in the GM parts catalog as a crate engine, but for the low-low price of $21,666.67 plus a $3,500 core charge, you can, in fact, score 550 horsepower and a stump-pulling 627 lb/ft for your next project!

Blackwing 4.2L V8 Engine

Photo Credit: Cadillac


Also, in turbo news over on The/Drive, Travis Pastrana’s new Gymkhana car has been revealed, and it is an inspired but unlikely choice! The next time Ken Block’s more-famous replacement takes the internet by storm, it will be behind the wheel of a (custom) 1983 Subaru GL Wagon. With AWD and 900 HP, we can’t wait to see this former family-hauler hit the streets of the next Hoonigan destination; we aren’t sure when that will be, unfortunately. On Thursday, news broke that Pastrana suffered a pelvis injury in a base-jumping accident; we wish him a speedy recovery!

FIFTH GEAR

This past week, Car and Driver got their hands on the new Porsche 911 Turbo S. “Big deal, we already know about the 640-horse super tourer of the 911-lineup” you might be thinking, but this one was special! How so? It was equipped with the new Lightweight package that removes 80 lbs. from the equation and elevates the quickest 911 into the hypercar class of straight-line speed. Exactly how quick is the AWD Turbo S? After pinning the skinny pedal for .8 seconds, it’ll be traveling 30 mph; that’s quicker than anything C&D has ever tested, including that one electric car! 60 arrives in 2.1 seconds, on the way to an almost unimaginable 9.9 second, 139 mph quarter. The Turbo S LW is the lowest-horsepower car to ever break the 10-second barrier in the 66-year testing history of “Sports Cars Illustrated!” Even at the eye-watering price of $223,230, that is impressive stuff!

Porsche 911 Turbo S Lightweight

Photo Credit: Porsche

Meanwhile, the never-ending roll-out of the 47-model 992 lineup marches on with the spotting of a production-ready factory 911 Safari mule in the wild. The Safari story dates back to the late ’70s when Porsche decided that their “engine in the wrong place” sports cars would make good off-road race/rally cars. For more background on the lifted “elevener,” we will let Brett Foote (whose name you might recognize from the Corvette Forum) take it away. Much to the chagrin of purists, Safari conversions have been a popular way to mod any generation of 911, so it was only a matter of time until Porsche cashed in on the common premise of a sports car that can go (and even race) off-road, or simply survive on the decaying infrastructure of many major cities around the globe. Motor Trend shows what the finished product could look like in a Martini Racing livery while claiming that the “Safari” might actually wear the “Dakar” moniker. Whatever Porsche calls this thing, it is exciting to ponder if Chevrolet should/would ever make a Crossed Flag-branded competitor to the Safari; 911 vs. Corvette in Baja would be incredible! We honestly don’t see it happening unless the “Raptor” variant of Europe’s favorite sports car is a surprise success, but worse/less inspiring things could, and probably are, happening behind the scenes at America’s Sports Car HQ! And really, GM, why not field a mid-engined dune-destroyer before going fossil fuel and personality-free? Lamborghini is doing it!


SIXTH GEAR

We were blown away by McLaren F1 designer Gordon Murray’s $2.5 Million, 653 naturally aspirated HP, 12,100 RPM V12 T.50 in an edition of QS from August 2020. Now, Murray’s namesake company, GMA, is back with another dream machine that has hilariously been described as “more attainable” than its big brother. If you could bear being seen in public behind the center-mounted steering wheel of the lesser GMA, the T.33 could be for you! Hagerty details the 33’s impressive spec sheet. It only weighs 2,425 lbs. and is motivated by a free-breathing Cosworth V12 that “only” revs to the mesosphere – to the T.50’s thermosphere and the C8 Z06’s stratosphere – with an 11,100 redline (peak HP doesn’t arrive until 10,500 RPM!). Power checks in at 606 horses, giving it a power to weight ratio of just four lbs. per HP! But, just how budget-friendly is this commoner’s hypercar? If you can get on a list, it will only set you back $1.8 Mill.

Gordon Murray Automotive

Photo Credit: Mark Fagelson / Gordon Murray AUtomotive


Back here, on planet Earth, things are also pretty exciting! The top-shelf variant of the white-hot Ford Bronco debuted this week. Sadly, the Blue Oval opted to stick with the F150 naming scheme by calling the desert-running version of their boxy off-roader Raptor instead of the previously reported and off the charts cool “Warthog.” Unlike Gordon Murray’s plaything for the .01%, Ford had to compromise under the hood. Instead of the 5.0 “Coyote” V8 that everyone wanted to see, the Bronco Raptor is motivated by a mainstream SUV’s “EcoBoost” V6 (more on how Ford tuned the twin-turbo bent-six for Bronco duty, complete with an awesome walkaround, here). It certainly looks great and has the chassis upgrades to back up its menacing presence, but Ford’s engine choice just begs the question; would you get a “Braptor” over a Rubicon 392?

Elsewhere in Ford news, the new Maverick small truck has started deliveries, and just like the Bronco, the manufacturer can’t keep up with demand. Mr. Baruth was lucky enough to have a go in the car that is already sold out (to customers, not the fake “sold-out” that automakers advertise when dealers have spoken for all allocations after “12 minutes“) for 2022, with orders recently suspended. It is one of, if not the read of the week, whether you are interested in the little pickup or not. Never before has an entire industry dedicated itself to “Thelma and Louise-ing” off a cliff. It is fascinating to see car-building companies dumping unlimited money into slow-selling electric vehicle development while turning their backs on cars with off-the-charts demand like the Maverick, Bronco, and C8 Corvette. You don’t need an MBA to look at the lack of regard that these companies have for their own bottom line and do anything but scratch your head, yet, nobody else is talking about it!

Cadillac Escalade V-Series

Photo Credit: Cadillac


We will call this column a wrap with GM finally listening to something customers have been clamoring for; a performance SUV. Don’t fret; the SUVette is still just a rumor, but an all-time Corvette engine will continue to live for the foreseeable future. The awe-inspiring LT4 V8 of C7 Z06, Camaro ZL1, and CT5-V Blackwing fame is about to make itself available on Cadillac Escalade order books. Last week, Cadillac pulled the cover off of the Escalade V! Details are scarce, and it doesn’t make a lot of sense (most great vehicles don’t!), but it looks the business, and the teaser video hits all of the right notes. We can’t help but want one for the times when the whole family wants to tag along on a spirited drive!

Have an outstanding weekend, Corvette Nation! Thank you for reading!

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