[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Thats more of an argument for the supercar to be a Caddy than a Corvette than against. Cadillac wants to be known for performance ... and generally speaking, they aren't. How do you change that perception? By going all out with something that can rival a Lamborghini or Ferrari.

I feel like Cadillac has put themselves in a strange position. They are certainly making some world class cars right now. The development of Cadillac in the last decade has been fun to watch. The V series of Cadillacs are amazing performance vehicles across the board.

Part of their problem started when they hiked MSRP closer to their competitors with the thought of changing the perception of those buyers. Which failed, even though the reviews of their cars put them right at, if not above those guys. Public perception is so difficult to overcome, especially amongst the brand loyal.

There is one thing those German competitors hold over Cadillacs head...true racing heritage. So Cadillac has a choice, lower it's prices and resume life as the "bargain luxury car", or up it's game and roll the dice in the racing world. If, and it's a big if, they can experience the same dominance in racing that Team Corvette has experienced, public perception may be greatly swayed in their favor. If this happens, then the idea of a Cadillac supercar makes sense, kind of.

A mid engine Corvette is a tricky thing. Yes, it had been brought up with every generation. There is always someone screaming for a Corvette supercar. Okay, but if you're the guy pulling triggers at GM, do you really want to mess with a platform that has been consistently successful for over 60 years?

So back to the Z/28. What will probably happen is some variant of this engine. N/A producing somewhere in the range of 550-600 HP in a ZL1 chassis with DSSV, e-diff, 10spd auto or 6spd manual, reduced weight, no frills track monster, priced at just under the Z06...that everyone will love to watch on YouTube, everyone will love to talk about...but no one will actually buy it.

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

I feel like Cadillac has put themselves in a strange position. They are certainly making some world class cars right now. The development of Cadillac in the last decade has been fun to watch. The V series of Cadillacs are amazing performance vehicles across the board.

Part of their problem started when they hiked MSRP closer to their competitors with the thought of changing the perception of those buyers. Which failed, even though the reviews of their cars put them right at, if not above those guys. Public perception is so difficult to overcome, especially amongst the brand loyal.

There is one thing those German competitors hold over Cadillacs head...true racing heritage. So Cadillac has a choice, lower it's prices and resume life as the "bargain luxury car", or up it's game and roll the dice in the racing world. If, and it's a big if, they can experience the same dominance in racing that Team Corvette has experienced, public perception may be greatly swayed in their favor. If this happens, then the idea of a Cadillac supercar makes sense, kind of.

A mid engine Corvette is a tricky thing. Yes, it had been brought up with every generation. There is always someone screaming for a Corvette supercar. Okay, but if you're the guy pulling triggers at GM, do you really want to mess with a platform that has been consistently successful for over 60 years?

I don't think the price hike has been that big of a failure for them. Their average transaction price has been higher than BMW or Mercedes for quite a while. Sales are lagging ... but get a couple more crossovers in the lineup and they'll go up by a few thousand a month.

Pretty much agree with the rest.

So back to the Z/28. What will probably happen is some variant of this engine. N/A producing somewhere in the range of 550-600 HP in a ZL1 chassis with DSSV, e-diff, 10spd auto or 6spd manual, reduced weight, no frills track monster, priced at just under the Z06...that everyone will love to watch on YouTube, everyone will love to talk about...but no one will actually buy it.

Sounds about right. Forgot one detail though: it will get a lot of people to tick the 1LE option box when ordering their SS.

[Bhobbs]

There's no reason GM can't build a Z/28 that's around the same price as the GT350R. If Ford can get the Voodoo and carbon wheels at $64k, then GM should be able to get a hopped up LT1 and DSSVs for the same price.

[NemesisC5]

Originally Posted by Memphis

Looking at a race car for any clues about production models...

What wins on Sunday sells on Monday

[kingbambino22]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

There's no reason GM can't build a Z/28 that's around the same price as the GT350R. If Ford can get the Voodoo and carbon wheels at $64k, then GM should be able to get a hopped up LT1 and DSSVs for the same price.

exactly you get it

[BustedCrank]

Originally Posted by MrChrisLS3

...
There is one thing those German competitors hold over Cadillacs head...true racing heritage. ...

I agree with what you are saying, but I'd bet 95% of the people buying those German competitors are clueless to any of that true racing heritage.

[BustedCrank]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

There's no reason GM can't build a Z/28 that's around the same price as the GT350R. If Ford can get the Voodoo and carbon wheels at $64k, then GM should be able to get a hopped up LT1 and DSSVs for the same price.

For less then $64k!

[Jeffro19]

Originally Posted by Bhobbs

There's no reason GM can't build a Z/28 that's around the same price as the GT350R. If Ford can get the Voodoo and carbon wheels at $64k, then GM should be able to get a hopped up LT1 and DSSVs for the same price.

Yeah I agree. I'm thinking GM will price the next Z28 mid to high $50's to compete with the GT350. Then some options will get it to low to mid $60's. Just my 2 cents.

[MrChrisLS3]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

I don't think the price hike has been that big of a failure for them. Their average transaction price has been higher than BMW or Mercedes for quite a while. Sales are lagging ... but get a couple more crossovers in the lineup and they'll go up by a few thousand a month.

Pretty much agree with the rest.

Sounds about right. Forgot one detail though: it will get a lot of people to tick the 1LE option box when ordering their SS.

You're probably right about Cadillac, you certainly have more exposure and experience with this kind of stuff than I do. Basically I'm just saying that perception being what it is, even if the Cadillac is perceived as 'just as good as the "real thing", which it is, the Euro car buyer is still going to get their idea of the 'real thing'. Cadillac is still fighting to establish credibility in this arena. The performance is there, the design is there, the quality is there, heritage is holding them back. They need something that can make potential cross shoppers give them a closer look.

The Z/28, conceptually, for the 5th Gen, was a good halo car. I'm sure it did sell some 5th Gen SS and 1LE's toward the end of the run. However, in creating that car, they were using an engine that they no longer had a car for, and the Z/28 served that purpose. I don't know, maybe you can answer this better than I, but it would seem that when the switch was made to the C7 Corvette, that there might have been some contracts, quotas, or surplus parts that associated with the LS7.

Move to today, if we're talking about a brand new engine, I would think that moving more cars would have a higher priority due to the increased cost associated with it. The LS7 was probably a lot cheaper for them to build by the time the Z/28 came around. But the LT5 or whatever they call it is still going to have the R&D and tooling overhead on it. That's what makes me think that they will want it to be less "halo" and more 'marketable' this go round.

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by Jeffro19

Yeah I agree. I'm thinking GM will price the next Z28 mid to high $50's to compete with the GT350. Then some options will get it to low to mid $60's. Just my 2 cents.

I think mid 60s is the best range. The GT350 is already handled by the 1LE. The Z/28, without carbon rotors, should be fine in the mid 60s. Have an optional carbon package with carbon rotors and carbon aero pieces if people want that.

[90503]

Well, looks like this ZL-1 1LE is what everyone thought was a new Z/28....

I'd say those of us who guessed an LT4 in the "Z/28" would be the winners of the "guess" competition...lol...

[DGthe3]

Originally Posted by 90503

Well, looks like this ZL-1 1LE is what everyone thought was a new Z/28....

I'd say those of us who guessed an LT4 in the "Z/28" would be the winners of the "guess" competition...lol...

Since a Z/28 is still possible, I say the guessing game can continue.

I might need to edit the original post though, to reflect the fact that we now know what the thing with the wing is.

[BahamaTodd]

Maybe rename the section.

[Bhobbs]

Originally Posted by DGthe3

Since a Z/28 is still possible, I say the guessing game can continue.

I might need to edit the original post though, to reflect the fact that we now know what the thing with the wing is.

I give the 6th gen a 0% chance of a Z/28. The ZL1 1LE is what the Z/28 would have been, with a different engine.

Team Corvette dictated a supercharged engine and team Camaro has to deal with it.

Would have been awesome to see what this car would have been as a Z/28.