The Auto Writer

American Versus German Sportscar Engineering

I got to hand it to the people over at WebRidesTV. When they put together a flick based on a car review or a match up between two sportscars, they’re thorough in their review and analysis. You aren’t subjected to some boring promotional material, rather you’ll find some nice clips pulled together and made into a video that is informative and exciting.

Courtesy of WebRidesTV

I received notice from WebRidesTV this past week that they released a video pitting the Corvette LS3 against the Audi R8. Not the upmarket Z06, mind you, but the base Corvette against the iconic German R8. America versus Germany on the race track, but not even Corvette’s top model.

The all wheel drive R8 shares its transmission and chassis with the Lamborghini Gallardo, while the rear wheel driven Corvette is like no other vehicle in the GM fold. The most interesting point about this match up is that the LS3 retails for around $50K, while the R8 sells for $109K. Clearly, the LS3 is out of its league, right? Wrong!

The LS3 Performs Quite Well, Hail To The R8!

Well, to my surprise the LS3 held its own against the R8, coming in a close second to the Audi. The WebRidesTV Super Lap (a sectioned off part of a southwestern US highway) was designed to test a vehicle’s acceleration, braking, high speed cornering, low speed agility and lateral stability. One of my favorite features of the film is its nifty video overlay comparison where the two vehicles are shown at different points on the track emphasizing how they perform against each other. Clearly, the R8 takes the slalom with authority, but on the straight away the Vette vanquishes the R8.

Maybe comparing the base Corvette is a bit unfair as the Z06 would be a better match up while still retailing for tens of thousands less than the R8. That isn’t the point of this video which was to underscore how close even the base Corvette performs to the R8 and at a MSRP less than half that of the Audi.

Check out the video yourself to catch a glimpse of this challenge:

(Source: WebRidesTV.com)