QUICK SHIFTS: C8 Z06 vs GT3 RS, C8 Stingray and Lotus Go Roadtripping, AWD Corvettes, New Mustang Disappoints, and More!

Welcome to a special jam-packed Halloween edition of Quick Shifts! Quick Shifts is a content feature here at CorvetteBlogger that highlights links to Corvette and automotive-related stories of interest.

In this treat-filled episode, we go across the pond to see an export Z06 take on the extreme 992 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and citizens taking on pollution-sensing cameras. Hagerty details the E-Ray’s striking behind-the-scenes lineage. Car and Driver takes an LT4-powered Cadillac to all 48 of the contiguous United States, while a C8 Stingray teaches a Lotus how to GT in a 2,000-mile trip caught on video. We see the new ‘Stang fail to hang with the old Camaro SS 1LE or the Integra Type S, BUT Ford was able to appease the UAW first. Executives start to realize/admit that their customers aren’t that into EVs, Moab sees significant trail closures, and a throwback super-tuner test featuring a Lingenfelter 383 C4 and a Doug Rippie-prepped ZR-1! Buckle up!

First Gear

Photo Credit: www.carmagazine.co.uk

We’ll let out the clutch and pull away with Car, quite literally one of the best names in automotive journalism. British writers are pre-wired with a degree of condescension when it comes to American-made vehicles – this is especially true for the two-door Chevrolet that dares to challenge the old continent’s rear-engine pride and joy – and Car is no different, but they still couldn’t help but praise the Z06 that they recently had on hand for a battle with the wickedest 911 on sale today: the GT3 RS. Of course, they couldn’t bring themselves to give the flat-plane ‘Vette the nod in the comparison, but knowing that the mega-aero RS probably turns quicker times and the fact that export Zs are strapped with muffled exhaust and a significantly higher sticker price, their verdict is an understandable one.

Any time we can get the Helvetica Neue-using redcoats to admit that; “Born in Kentucky it might be, but the Z06 feels at home on UK roads, with its well resolved damping, handling that’s as nimble as it is exploitable, and searing naturally aspirated power delivery clearly inspired by Italy’s best. Even if we would like more pep and connection at normal speeds and a little less tramlining on British B-roads, the Z06 is a highly satisfying steer,” we will count it as a win!

Second Gear

Photo Credit: ukdailynews

While we’re on the topic of the United Kingdom, let’s take a look at something known as “ULEZ” and how some London residents are being discriminatorily taxed on account of their car. ULEZ is a program that was introduced to central London in 2019, where most pre-2006 gas-powered cars and pre-2015 diesels would be charged roughly the equivalent of $16 per day if they were caught within the program’s jurisdiction. As of August of this year, the ULEZ has been expanded to include all of greater London, including the suburbs that some 4.5 million people call home. Considering that residents of the newly expanded “clean air zone” have much greater levels of car ownership and less access to public transit than the people in the original area and the fact that local inflation reportedly topped 11% last year, this blatant power grab in the name of “fighting climate change” is disturbing, to say the least!

With Boston Harbor tea still flowing through our star-spangled veins, we have no choice but to tip our three-cornered hats to London residents for not simply taking ULEZ charges lying down! The government is enforcing these modern-day Prince John-esque taxations of the poor by traffic camera, and the public isn’t having it! London police are reporting that hundreds of monitoring cameras have been defaced, destroyed, or otherwise disengaged.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “An unjust law is no law at all,” and London now serves as an important wake-up call. No matter where you live, car enthusiasts and those who can’t afford a new “green” car have to keep their respective ears to the ground regarding similarly restrictive legislature. It is much easier to fight something like this before it goes into effect.

Third Gear

Photo Credit: Aaron Robinson / Hagerty

Strangely, while eco-hysteria (both real and manufactured) continues to be the norm at the government level, automotive executives are starting to see that going all-in on electrification might not have been the world’s best business decision. The already limited demand for EVs is waning (but these doubts didn’t stop the Tokyo Auto Show from being an EV showcase this week), and profits are down, putting these admissions ahead of schedule. Seeing a little common sense come from industry C-suites is more of a breath of fresh air than anything Sadiq Kahn ever envisioned for his constituents! Check out Business Insider’s full write-up for yourself.

The streets of London, the planning floors of Detroit, and the stands of the US Open aren’t the only active battlefronts in the war between environmentalists and drivers/the public. Seasoned off-roader Aaron Robinson recently detailed the good and bad of recent trail closures in Moab, Utah, for Hagerty. So far, we’ve been firmly on the side of less regulation, but to the other side’s point, we’re trying to have a society here, people! If you are enjoying 4x4ing of any kind, it’s pretty simple to pick up after yourself so that you and others can enjoy those trails again in the future. And return your shopping carts (we have no idea how the “Cart Narc” hasn’t been shot, beaten, or both, but his videos are classic)!

Fourth Gear

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

Brief shopping cart detour aside, we are going to stick with Hagerty and return to this site’s raison d’être. The E-Ray might seem out of left field for the Corvette team, but actually, all-wheel drive ‘Vettes have been lurking in the conceptual shadows for decades, dating back to the Godfather, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s stewardship! Click here to follow Ronnie Schreiber down memory lane to see various CERV’s and the magnificent Corvette “Indy” concept.

Fifth Gear

Fifth gear will continue with our bread-and-butter of Crossed-Flag-branded V8-propelled American composites, starting with the Everyday Driver YouTube channel that took an enviable 2,000-mile road trip in a C8 Stingray last month. Now, they are back in the same pair of sports cars, on the hunt for “Driving Nirvana.” As always, their videos are beautifully shot and absolutely worth your time!

If reading is more your speed, check out the legendary 48-state route that Car and Driver piloted its C7 Z06-powered Cadillac CT5-V Blackwing around; if this section doesn’t make you want to start planning next year’s summer drives, you might need to get your pulse checked!

Sixth Gear

In other American performance news, there’s a new generation of Ford Mustang shipping to dealers as we speak. While Chevrolet and Dodge have sent the Camaro and Challenger off into the sunset, Ford is staying the course with the car that invented – and named – the Pony Car segment, which is commendable, to say the least! Unfortunately, the S650, as it is known internally, has had a bit of a rough time out of the gate. One of our favorite channels had the new 5.0 GT with the Performance Pack out to their track to meet an old friend, the sixth-gen Camaro SS 1LE that hasn’t seen a single mechanical update since it debuted two presidential election cycles ago. The ‘Stang held its own in the drag portion of the video, but once Throttle House started throwing curves at it, the GT melted. Not only was it glacial compared to the old LT1 Camaro, but it also failed to one-up the previous model, which is definitely not what you want to see if you are a Blue Oval fan!

Meanwhile, Motor Trend pitted the ($50,000!) auto-only four-banger EcoBoost Performance Package model against the Acura Integra Type S to similar effect, but there is a silver lining in Dearborn! Ford and the UAW have effectively ended the most recent labor strike with an agreement that includes a jaw-dropping 25% wage hike over the 4.5-year contract; talk about jealousy-inducing! See the other details and question your own career choices with Reuters’ breakdown, here. Hopefully, GM can strike a deal next!

Reverse

Photo Credit: David Dewhurst/Car & Driver

We’ll throw it back to C&D for a reverse gear that takes us to 1994! How about this super-tuner challenge!? Six competitors, including two different takes on the modified C4, what’s not to love? They’ve got a Lingenfelter LT1 ‘Vette AND a Doug Rippie ZR-1, not to mention a Saleen ‘Stang, the McLaren F1-engined BMW, a hopped-up rotary RX-7, and a wild RENNtech SL-Class Mercedes! You’re going to want to miss out on reliving this one!

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