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Originally Posted by Purist
JAG, the minimum GT1/2 weight is 1100kg, with 25kg, I believe, on that for the AC. That's still lighter than any serious road car here, except the Mazda Miata.
As to 'penalties", if you have modification rules based on production volume, the rules themselves WILL be automatically skewed in favor of the Corvette in this category. The C6/Z06 has the performance of a Ferrari 550/575, with a price tag that is lower than a 911 or Viper, and a production volume that dwarves all three. It blows the normal concept of performance for money out the window.
And changing the rules as you guys suggest is only a quick fix. The lower costs will last as long as performance gains cost less than they do now (the closer you get to a car's potential, the harder it is to make improvements), and even that will be blown sky-high if a factory, like GM, comes in and can spend whatever it takes to win.
A 550hp 997 RSR won't have the pace of current GT1s. It won't have as much horsepower, obviously, or torque, and won't have a meaningful advantage in power-to-weight ratio. And it seems to me that GT2s have more drag, so they'll be slower because of that as well. Besides, the GT1s look substantially better aesthetically. I mean, a Porsche 911 is a nice-looking and fast sports car, but in race trim, it can't hold a candle to a DBR9, S7$ or MC12. Not to mention, how many of the current GT2s have the really big, glorious-sounding, engines? The Panoz Esperante GTLM runs a 5.0-litre Ford V8, while the Porsches and BMWs have six-bangers of 4.0-litres or less. The C6-R has a 7.0-litre Chevy V8. The Saleen S7-R has a 7.0-litre Ford V8. The Viper had an 8.0-litre V10, and the Astons, Maseratis and Ferraris have 6.0-litre V12s.
The production Maserati MC12 has 624hp. The competition version (for GT1) has 620hp, and the special run of MC12 Corsa road cars has the V12 giving 756hp, IIRC.
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