2023 Chevy Corvette Convertible

[MUSIC PLAYING] CLINT SIMONE: Welcome to Edmunds U-Drags. Turn up the volume, kids, because you're about to hear 16 cylinders-- [CAR REVVING] --firing away in a red, white, and blue shootout. It's Z06 versus GT500. Ooh, this is going to be fun. What is U-Drags? Come on. It's a race to there and back. At Edmunds, we love to test cars. We came up with this not quite scientific way of doing it, called U-Drags. We're going to take these two bombers, send them all the way down to the opposite side of the track, where they're going to get hard on the brakes, turn around, and come all the way back. That means we're getting a quarter mile, hard braking, handling, and a rolling start, all in one race. And after the first race, we're going to swap drivers and lanes to make sure everybody gets a fair shot. We have over 1,400 horsepower right here. This is going to be nuts. And if you want to see us do more crazy stuff just like this, do us a favor and like and subscribe. And if you're looking to your car, head over to edmunds.com/sellmycar. The Corvette Z06 has evolved beyond a sports car into a bona fide supercar. [CAR REVVING] But we want to know if the more powerful, old school Shelby has the goods to take down its much more sophisticated counterpart. [CAR REVVING] But honestly, everyone's a winner today. Because seeing these two fly down the track is going to be epic. KURT NIEBUHR: Oh, this is a big race, a big one. I have about 100 more horsepower. But this car just doesn't launch that well. Launch control is straight forward in this thing. You set the launch RPM. I'm going to try 1,300, 1,400, something like that. I'm going to heat the rubber up on this thing to really get it to work. If I can get a clean launch, it might be close. But that thing is fast. REESE COUNTS: I'm excited about this race. We got two of the fastest American cars on the road, both rear drive. Shelby's got the engine up front. I've got mine in the middle. That should help me off the line with the extra weight over the rear, helping me with traction. Also going to help me is this Z06 has a very good traction control system. Put the car in Track mode, turn Stability Control to Sport. Then, in the Menu, go over to the Performance section. And at the very bottom, it should say Launch Control. And then, all you have to do is press the brake and then press the accelerator, and we are good to go. KURT NIEBUHR: Come on, man, let's do this. [MUSIC PLAYING] WOMAN: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [BUZZER SOUND] KURT NIEBUHR: Damn, too much wheelspin, man. REESE COUNTS: Oh, man, when this thing puts the power down. KURT NIEBUHR: Ugh, he's just pulling away, I knew it. Damn. Oh, yeah, can't give that thing an inch. It's just so fast. [MUSIC PLAYING] REESE COUNTS: I love the way this Z06 gets around the turn. KURT NIEBUHR: You can't give that car an inch. Cause if you do, it's going to take a mile. REESE COUNTS: Not at all. I got a really good start on that one and never let up. KURT NIEBUHR: I got about as good of a start as you could really expect to get. I think I left at the right time, but just got just enough wheelspin. And that's not getting wheelspin. I could kind of keep up with you all the way to the braking zone. But this is still a heavy car, and you still got to get it to turn. REESE COUNTS: Well, you ready to swap? I think I want to go in that Shelby. KURT NIEBUHR: Yes, please. Good luck. REESE COUNTS: Yeah, you too. KURT NIEBUHR: [EXCLAMATION] yeah, Corvette Z06. It's the Z07 package, lots of aero, carbon fiber wheels, even though they're painted black. They're still carbon fiber, carbon fiber spoiler, carbon fiber everywhere, which means this thing is a little lighter than that is, even though it's quite short on horsepower. It's still a formidable, formidable weapon. I got to get far enough ahead of that thing because it's going to pull like a freaking train on the way back. So, yeah, wish me luck. [DING SOUND] REESE COUNTS: OK, out of the Corvette and into the GT500. I'm going to use the Launch Control, even though it seemed to still struggle off the line. I don't think there's anything else I can do. RADIO: You're all clear. REESE COUNTS: Yeah. I'm going to hold the revs and hope for the best. Maybe I can outbrake Kurt. But that Corvette is quick. [MUSIC PLAYING] WOMAN: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. [BUZZER SOUND] KURT NIEBUHR: Take him anyway. Oh. REESE COUNTS: Man. KURT NIEBUHR: Come on, man, so good. Stop, stop, stop, stop, stop. Oh, breaks, might be getting really hot. Oh, I blew the [BLEEP] out of that. [BLEEP]. REESE COUNTS: Oh, that corvette. KURT NIEBUHR: Still got it, man. Even with a bad brake run, this car is a beast, absolute beast. [MUSIC PLAYING] Here's a lesson. When in doubt, flat out. Wow, I blew that turn. This thing didn't want to stop. It's crazy. But, you know, it's a win anyway. [CHUCKLES] REESE COUNTS: It didn't really seem to matter that-- that the braking was a little off, because you definitely got turned around quicker than I did. KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah, I went well past where I wanted to. And I braked even a little earlier. But this car requires so much braking pressure, that you kind of think you got into the meat of the brakes, but in reality, you might not have. But this brake-by-wire system in the regular Corvette is pretty good. But here, it still feels a little vague. REESE COUNTS: I don't love the feel of the brake in there. But [SIGHS] it gets you down. And those carbon ceramics will hold up. But it's just a lot lighter than this Shelby. KURT NIEBUHR: This car's just so much. It's so much of everything. I love it. [MUSIC PLAYING] You know that-- REESE COUNTS: Did I jump it? KURT NIEBUHR: No. If you did-- REESE COUNTS: It didn't matter. KURT NIEBUHR: --it didn't matter. And that's why as soon as I started to reel you in, I think I might have said, like, bad start or not, it does not matter. CLINT SIMONE: Here's how our red, white, and blue shootout went down. In race one, the GT500 was no slouch off the line. But the Z06's mid-engine layout helped it transfer weight quicker to launch much harder. Team Chevy hit 60 in 3 seconds flat and on an unprepped surface, beating the wheelspin-happy Mustang by a crazy 1.2 seconds. It also ran a 10.7 in the quarter, versus the Mustang's 11.5. The turnaround saw both cars pulling over a G of force. But the Corvette kept its lead the entire time. In the end, the Z06 finished in 31.3 seconds, with the Mustang at 32.1. The Shelby's finishing speed was over 3 miles per hour higher, at 148.5. With a longer straightaway, it might have reeled in the Z06, but not this time. Race two was a similar story, with one exception. Now, you could argue that the Shelby jumped the start, just barely. But it didn't affect who won. Rather than rerack and get the same result, we pressed on. The Z06 hit 60 in 3.1 seconds, versus the Shelby's 4.0. The Vette ran 10.8 seconds in the quarter, with the Mustang a ways off at 11.6. Even though the GT500 handily outgripped it in the run, the Corvette maintained its lead in the turnaround and hit the gas hard to get home quick. The Chevy finished the race in 31.5 seconds, with the Shelby a full second behind. But yet again, the Mustang had the higher trap speed, at 147.9. But as we know, you need more than just speed to win at U-Drags. And as you can see, the possible jump start didn't change the result. And now let's turn to our updated Edmunds U-Drags leaderboard. Remember, our races from last year are not shown because we had to lengthen the course to accommodate big EVs with not-so-big brakes. Each car's quickest run goes on the leaderboard, regardless of race pairing. The Z06 improved on its previous time, but its 31.3-second time remains in the same spot overall. The GT500 sneaks into fourth place with a time of 32.1. Now let's see the in-car camera and the data. REESE COUNTS: Oh, man, when this thing puts the power down. KURT NIEBUHR: [MUFFLED SPEECH] Yeah, I have too much wheelspin, man. Track mode. [INAUDIBLE] just pulling away, I knew it. Ugh. Can't give that thing an inch. It's just so fast, just so fast. [MUSIC PLAYING] CLINT SIMONE: So we don't like to make predictions here at U-Drags because we don't like to be wrong. But is it safe to say that this was somewhat of an expected result? REESE COUNTS: Yes and no. KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah. REESE COUNTS: Honestly, like, I really didn't know. This was lighter, but it's less powerful. So the Shelby struggles off the line, but it really tends to reel cars in at the back end. So I didn't know how it was going to go. KURT NIEBUHR: It went a little bit against my prediction because this was just farther in front than I expected it to be. I didn't think the Shelby would be quite so hard to get around the corner. But you have to square it up before you give it full throttle, or you're just going to wind up in the weeds. REESE COUNTS: And really, it's not that hard around the corner. It's just that is a little better. KURT NIEBUHR: That's-- yeah, we have to keep it in context. CLINT SIMONE: So you've always told us that these two cars are not really in the same class, not direct competitors. KURT NIEBUHR: No. CLINT SIMONE: Why do you say that? KURT NIEBUHR: This has always been a coupe, sedan, not a sports car. The Corvette has always been a sports car. This is some stupid magazine comparison test that probably came out in the '60s, where they pegged them head to head. But in reality, they're not. Sports car is in a sports car. This is amazing. I mean, it is down on power, but it's lighter. Gearing is shorter. The rear tires are wider. And it's just a little bit more sophisticated when it comes to launching. And you can't give this an inch. You can't, even if you've got that car. REESE COUNTS: Because that is a really, really fast car. Just, that one's a little faster. CLINT SIMONE: Yeah. The V8's here surprisingly different too. And they make such a different noise. Which to you sounds better? [CAR REVVING] [CAR REVVING] KURT NIEBUHR: The Shelby. REESE COUNTS: The Shelby. CLINT SIMONE: Yeah? REESE COUNTS: I mean, you got the combination of the big V8 [INAUDIBLE] whine. KURT NIEBUHR: Yeah. I mean, this still sounds epic, but that is just totally bitching. REESE COUNTS: Yeah. CLINT SIMONE: Ooh, OK, just for fun, which one would you rather own? REESE COUNTS: For track day, I think I might have the Corvette. But I might take the Shelby for the street. I'll get back to you on that. CLINT SIMONE: [LAUGHS] Did it depend on your race results? KURT NIEBUHR: No. Not at all. CLINT SIMONE: Well, sports car, muscle car, supercar, we race everything here at U-Drags. If you want to check out those episodes, you can do so right here on the Edmunds YouTube channel. Thanks for watching.