Video: ‘Vette Versus Jet

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6muw6pqzk_c&feature=player_embedded]

Y’all should know I’m not a fan of Top Gear.

I utterly hate the show, the cast, the writing–hell, I even hate the magazine.  What I hate the most, however, are the absurd comparisons.  Taking an un-original page from the Top Gear crew (who did the same thing), the folks at Motor Trend have taken a sinfully fast exotic car and put it up against one of the best fighter jets in the world.

In dealing with an entertaining, but still silly, video, I’m going to give you guys some serious background info and raw data.

The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is the fastest and most powerful passenger car General Motors has ever produced.  Inside the ZR1 beats the heart of a mechanical lion: a supercharged 6.3 L V-8 that pushes out a maximum of 638 hp.  The body is provided with lightweight carbon-fiber panels (weight’s 3,300 lbs.), a low stance, a chin spoiler to help reduce lift, and a carefully applied rear to reduce drag.  The top-line ‘Vette will hit 60 mph in 3.3 sec. and achieve a max speed of 205 mph.  Base price is $100,000, but the pricing will be hiked.

Chevy test drivers showed the ZR1′s muscle over at Germany’s famed Nuerburg race track, where it scored a lap time of 7:26:40.  That lap time is the sixth fastest for a production car, placing it ahead of the Nissan GT-R, Porsche 997 GT2, and Koenigsegg CCX.

On the opposing corner is the Boeing F/A-18 Hornet from the famed Blue Angel Squadron.  The Hornet is the Navy’s front-line fighter jet.  It made its first flight in the fall of 1978 and entered into service in the starting winter of ’83.  The Hornet won its place with the Navy because of its ease of function, relatively simple maintenance, maneuverability, and multi-role function (hence the “Fighter/Attack” designation).  The Hornet has two General Electric afterburn turbofan engines, which may be an advantage to a pushrod V-8.  Service ceiling is 50,000 ft., while top speed is an immodest 1,200 mph.  All that’ll cost you between $40,000,000 and $60,000,000, depending on what variant you opt for.

Which do you think is the better deal?