I have a good friend I haven't seen much of lately since we moved. He has a white/oxblood 1970 Corvette convertible with a ZZ3 crate engine and a Tremec 5-speed, which ran 12.9 @ 108 on the 4-speed and old tires. About a year ago he bought a pewter 2007 Z06 (approx. 20K miles now) that I hadn't seen yet (lucky dog - he keeps both in his garage on a 4-post lift).

So we met up yesterday at a car show and we got to drive each other's cars. He seemed to really like my car, especially the 401A interior. He said the shifter was very smooth, and he liked the power. Overall he said my 5.0 felt a lot like his '70 , but without all the flex. He didn't want to do it but I talked him into running my car up to about 6500 rpm and he was impressed with the power throughout. He reamrked how similar the 5.0 engine felt to an LS3-powered 'vette he'd driven recently, except for being a touch slower (pushing more weight of course).

So then I got to drive his Z06 (oh boy!). It was stock, except for an aftermarket shifter. My old skeleton couldn't live with driving that Z06 every day - by the time I was seated (LOW!), I was looking up at the trunk lid on my Mustang, and was practically WEARING the Z06. As for driving, it was a MUCH hairier-knuckled experience - everything took more effort, but was very direct. Made my 5.0 really feel like a "secretaries'" car by comparison! Cornering was as if there were springs at all (like on frickin' rails) and there was a suction cup at each corner (had a new set of Michelin PS2's). It felt very close to driving that Nextel-Cup-spec car at the Richard Petty Driving Experience a few years back!

Didn't get to do a full throttle run all the way through even 1st or 2nd gear (cops and traffic everywhere), but what I DID get to do (up to about 4000 rpm) was AMAZING! I even said "Whoa!" out loud! "Race car" kept popping up in my mind.

At the end of the brief drive, I was actually kind of happy to get back to my 5.0. That Z06 has far fewer compromises, and the driving of it is far more work. I feared I would no longer like my Mustang after driving the Z06, but instead I appreciate my car a little more now for what it CAN do and for the compromises it makes while still allowing a great driving experience. My friend & I agreed that we need to get together again, with his '70, which is more like my 5.0 in 'personality'.

 

The performance of a Z06 is hard to beat.

 

I agree, there is a time and a place for both animals!!

 

Anymore pics of your fastback??? Here's mine:

Front
Rear

 

They could be twins!! Im going to clone it with the new 2011 and have a blast at the pony shows!!

 

Oh man, are there Michelin PS2's on that Z06?

 

Yes.