Today we're starting Celebration Month here on autoevolution, which means Corvette Month is effectively over. For 30 days we sought to deliver some of the greatest Corvette stories around, but we'll still be doing that from time to time. As more and more people are taking delivery of their C8 Z06s, we'll be following the topic closely. After all, this is one of the most spectacular Corvettes ever built.
You've probably noticed an increasing number of YouTube channels coming up with drag racing videos over the past few years. Some are better at telling the story than others, but that doesn't always influence the view count. Still, if you want to see some good quality automotive production, Jason Cammisa's reviews and tests have been pretty impressive lately. Earlier today, Hagerty uploaded a new drag race video, which was shot at Willow Springs International Raceway.
Less than 100 miles (160 km) North of Los Angeles, Cammisa has lined up three very special cars: the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06, the Porsche 911 GT3 and the Audi R8 Performance V10 Spyder RWD. One thing you'll notice about the three of these is that they're all using naturally-aspirated engines located behind the driver and that they're all using rear-wheel-drive. To spice things up a bit, the producers of the show have even brought a Ducati Panigale V4 SP2. And Supersport champion Josh Herrin is going to provide the rest of the magic.
So let's review the performance specs for these competitors before we hit play on the action. The C8 Z06 has the biggest engine here, and the 5.5-liter V8 churns out a maximum of 670 horsepower and 460 lb-ft (623 Nm) of torque. But it also happens to be the heaviest car at the start line, weighing 20 lbs (9 kg) more than the Audi and 450 lbs (204 kg) more than the Porsche. While both German-built supercars are using a 7-speed DCT, GM opted for an 8-speed DCT for their latest creation.
Moving on, Audi's 5.2-liter engine is a V10, which has a maximum output of 562 hp and 406 lb-ft (550 Nm) of torque. That's a bit more than the Porsche's flat-six 4.0-liter, which should be good for about 502 hp and 346 lb-ft (469 Nm) of torque. But we all know how ridiculously fast Porsches are when launching off the line, and this one also has a weight advantage for today's battle. Last but not least, the Ducati's 1,103 cc Desmosedici Stradale V4 engine delivers up to 210 horsepower. But the dry weight of this bike is only 381 lbs (173 kg), so the power-to-weight ratio is nothing short of insane.
The first race of the day is a head-to-head confrontation between the three cars. Although we sort of expected the Z06 to be faster than its opponents, it's still amazing to see it lunging forward as the lights go green. It crosses the finish line in 10.5 seconds with a trap speed of 131 mph (210 kph). Can anyone else remember how fast the 2019 ZR1 was down the quarter-mile (402 meters)?
The 992 GT3 is about five cars behind, which translates to 0.4 seconds according to the telemetry data. While Audi's R8 Performance V10 GT would have been a better match for the Porsche, the Spyder has to settle for an 11.4-second run. You can probably predict what's going to happen as the Ducati lines up against Chevy's supercar, but how big do you expect the gap between them to be?
The things Dragos enjoys the most in life are, in no particular order: cars, motorcycles, diecast cars, and drifting. He's seen (and driven) many vehicles since he started his writing career back in 2009, but his garage currently houses a 1991 Mazda RX-7 FC3S Turbo II and a 1999 Suzuki SV650-S. Full profile
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