Mid Engine Corvette to be introed tomorrow, Predicting it will hurt used Ferrari V8 resales | FerrariChat

Mid Engine Corvette to be introed tomorrow, Predicting it will hurt used Ferrari V8 resales

Discussion in 'American Muscle' started by bitzman, Jul 17, 2019.

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  1. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    It is being introduced at some Yacht Club in Newport Beach(anyone know which one?) I think if the base model is around $70,000, it will destroy values of V8 powered Ferraris. Why? Because a lot of the used Ferraris need the cam belts and major service done which will cause first time Ferrri buyers to faint dead away when they hear the cost. Then toss in what it cost to rebuld say a 308 engine (way way over $25,000)

    The Corvette will be made in the USA. The engine may even be shared with Camaros, making it cheaper yet (if you consider junkyard availability). So engine rebuilds will be likely under $5000. And mechanical parts will be available coast-to-coasr, even in Fargo ND. So first time buyers considering each will figure the down payment on the new Corvette is less than a Ferrari V8 costs to rebuld , let alone the price of the car, and go for the Corvette. And Ferrari will deserve it for charging so much for parts.
     
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  2. pilotoCS

    pilotoCS F1 World Champ
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    I hope it's a very cool car and it does well. But I think there's room for both new 'Vettes and used Ferraris out there. Corvettes and Ferraris have existed together since 1954.

    We know there's going to be a Ferrari SUV. Will that make Enzo flip in his grave? But what if there was a Corvette SUV? I can't think of anything more sacrilegious!
     
  3. italiafan

    italiafan F1 World Champ
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    No need for hyperbole.
    Reasonable to assume the C8 will put some pressure on used mid-engined “quirky” exotics by giving a viable alternative for some people.
     
  4. VAF84

    VAF84 Formula 3

    I agree. I was considering swapping my F430 for a 458 at some point. Now I’m more likely to keep it and add the C8 (assuming it’s what it’s expected to be) or even swap out my F430 for one to lower the cost of ownership.

    That said, I can only say that because I’ve satisfied my dream at a relatively young age. The C8 probably won’t replace the average persons dream to have a Ferrari, but for those who have owned a few sports cars and decide they want something easier to live with, it’s a great option.

    Also it’s hard to tell what will happen. Every time I get into my F430 and drive it, I find the experience incomparable to similarly priced competitors (cars under $100k). I’m not sure what I’ll actually do when I have to put my money where my mouth is!


    Sent from my iPhone using FerrariChat.com mobile app
     
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  5. jimmyb

    jimmyb Formula 3

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    It's being intro'd in a BLIMP hangar in Tustin....
     
  6. mikelfrance

    mikelfrance Formula Junior

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    Its at the Blimp hanger in Tustin.

    I don't think it will effect Ferrari prices at all. Most aren't daily drivers. You want a Ferrari because you want a Ferrari. It might hurt 911 prices but I really don't see it either.

    The problem with the corvette is most of their buyers are old and they cannot attract younger buyers. This might help so if anything, its a sale away from an Audi or a Porsche.
     
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  7. Donatella

    Donatella Karting

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    It's actually being unveiled in this old WW2 blimp hangar in Tustin ….Word is there are going to be 12 cars, one in each color...
    Image Unavailable, Please Login
     
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  8. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    I have been in that blimp hanger. It is so big that it has different weather inside in different parts. i am so old I remember seeing blimps in bunches. iI had a ride in one, Goodyear's. i told the pilot about the time a blimp took off near Daly City and landed in town without anybody on board. As it hit buildings it collapsed bit by bit. He spooked me when he said "This is the same ship." They never found the crew. The rumor was ,when they were out over the ocean, the crew began fighting (maybe over a woman)and fell out. I can't get down there until after 1 pm, wonder if the cars will still be there. Anybody who goes, like to hear price on a flash drive with all the photos.
     
  9. Face76

    Face76 F1 World Champ
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    Daughter lives close to the hangar. Cool place
     
  10. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
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    Can the public just go to the hanger?
     
  11. mikelfrance

    mikelfrance Formula Junior

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    Nope. Only 2 people from each dealer on a select list were allowed. I think about 500 people were invited. Everyone else is verbotten.
     
  12. noone1

    noone1 F1 Rookie
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    Not if it's ugly.
     
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  13. Phil~

    Phil~ F1 Rookie
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    Ferrari as a name alone will sell a car. Ferrari used market will not be affected at all. Porsche neither.
     
  14. Carnut

    Carnut F1 Rookie
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    I am getting one, but I don't think it will have any effect on the Ferrari market. The 4C and the Evora 400 are both better cars than either the 360 or the 430, but they don't have the horsey or the wow look at me factor. The upper end Caymans (certainly the new GT) is a better car than almost every Ferrari until the 458, but you don't see lines of people wanting to trade their Ferrari's in at the Porsche dealer. Unlike strange humans like me, most peoples decisions on a car are determined by emotions not the reality of which is the better machine.
     
  15. rdefabri

    rdefabri Three Time F1 World Champ

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    Agreed. Will have little impact on Ferrari - the Ferrari buyer isn’t a Corvette buyer and vice-versa.
     
  16. noone1

    noone1 F1 Rookie
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    Let's not forget that the old, used Ferrari market isn't even that big/successful in the first place. It's not like 360s are easy to sell. I don't think any car can really do much "damage" to the segment. It's negligibly small already.

    Older, non-classic Ferraris are a niche of their own. No one buys the 360 because it's a great car, they buy it because it's a Ferrari. I don't think a great value Corvette is going to change that proposition. The Corvette will never be exotic or have the exclusivity of an exotic. There will be tons of these mid-engine Corvettes everywhere.
     
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  17. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
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    The looser will not be 4re. It will be Toyota with new Supra out this year too. The question will be how many older guys want to get into an even more difficult ingress egress mid engine vette vs. how many guys will buy a Supra with bmw drivetrain and bmw expense and failures and all knowing German complexity under guise of superior German engineering? Case in point...I’m working on my bil’s BMW today. He has a leak in a coolant line. I told him the failure can be here or here in a normal car. But in your bmw the failure can be here, here ,here or here.
     
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  18. Thecadster

    Thecadster F1 Veteran
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    I can’t imagine much cross-shopping between the new ME Vette and the new BMW Supra. The average age of those buyers are likely separated by multiple decades. Tons of chatter on the Supra boards about how the new engine can be taken up to around 600 HP with a chip and tune. I think the C8 might skew younger than previous generations, but it won’t make it into the Fast and the Furious crowd like the Supra. FWIW, I think both cars end up being pretty cool, especially at their respective price points.
     
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  19. mikelfrance

    mikelfrance Formula Junior

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    I really don't see any "losers" at all.

    I cannot believe Chevy is going to be able to make more than 32K of these a year. The C7 did those numbers the first couple of years and nothing was "hurt" by it.

    The C8 will just fill in the blank spot where people want to spend less money but have something checked off their bucket list. Will it be "cool" enough to attract 30 somethings instead of their BMW's and Mercedes sports sedans? If the Audi R8 didn't do it I don't see how this will have any impact other than prop up sagging Corvette sales.

    Too bad its the end of the manual line. The next question in a few years will be: is the C8 the last Corvette.
     
  20. mikelfrance

    mikelfrance Formula Junior

    Apr 15, 2014
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    You are correct. No matter the price or the performance the style will have a lot to do with the sales of this car, along with its user friendliness.

    Unlike other 2 seat sports cars which do not care how difficult it is to get in and out of them, this factor and others that older buyers need will be key to many of the Vette's current base of customers.
     
  21. boxerman

    boxerman F1 World Champ
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    Performance is relative, and on the road functionaly really just a paper spec. Frankly a Toyota minivan is quicker than most people ever drive their vette and even then Johnny law keeps it in check.

    A two seater car is mostly about style over function, and the perception of performance, ie throttle respose and sharper brakes. Most buyers are not prepared to sacrifice too much ride comfort or geegaws in their two seater. The vette of late has been able to offer it all in the right proportions while still being a very capable car when pushed in the right hands and its sales leadership in the 2 seat segment reflect this.

    Given that any "exotic built in the past 15 years or so easily exceeds whats possible on road you come to the used Ferrari V8 market. True for many its a dream fulfilled, or a hey look at me status statement. Realisticaly though the experience of driving a mid engine Ferrari is quite different to anything vette has offered up so far. Its the sound, and immediacy of respose, the sharpness of control that the vette does not have. I don't beliEve a mid engine configuration will chaNge that, not least because vette has to sell to a wider audience than Ferrari.

    Those of us who care about how something goes over the rest may prefer a new vette over a used Ferrari but that's 1% of the market and realiticaly in terms of track. Plus as the vete has to do the golf club thing and handle old duffers for 70% of its sales I seriously doubt it will feel like a mid engine Ferrari regardless of its paper numbers.

    Still porche has enough iterations of 911 that its theoreticaly possible that vette will come in enough flavors to destroy the used exotic market, but that's a long way to go from the c7 and its GM.
     
  22. fatbillybob

    fatbillybob Two Time F1 World Champ
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    We will have to see. Just remember the guys drooling over the Supra aren't fast and furious who have never really experienced them but the many now old guys, corvette age" who lust after past glory. My 86 y/o dad had a new turbo supra back in the day. He is chomping at the bit for the new Supra. He says he has got one more sports car in him before he kicks the bucket. Lucky for him he said that about his cayman and he is still healthy and competitive.
     
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  23. boxerman

    boxerman F1 World Champ
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    Interesting points being made about the supra. Now that the vette is no longer Fe maybe the supra captures some of the older vette buyers, its certainly in the right price range.

    We'll know all over the next year or two.
     
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  24. nycbrose

    nycbrose Karting

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  25. bitzman

    bitzman F1 Rookie
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    Tried to crash the party, but though the blimp base was right, I was way off on time and got there at noon. Not on the Guest List. So it's from 5 pm to 8 pm, first stories will appear on the net tomorrow. I'll do a design analysis for anybody to comment on , based on pictures but there's still no substitute for seeing it in person.
     
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