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2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray vs the world: How it compares on paper

The 2020 Chevy Corvette Stingray in its base form offers an astonishing amount of performance for the money. In fact, so impressive is the car's spec sheet that the Corvette kind of exists in two different competitive sets: one of cars priced similarly, and another with cars of similar performance and reputation. To get a feel for how it handles each of these segments, we've compiled specifications for those two sets of players. You can find the first set below, which looks at cars of roughly the same price point. Following that is a bit of analysis, and then there's a chart of cars with similar performance and reputation. And that chart will also have some analysis. Though final pricing for the Corvette hasn't been announced yet, we know the Corvette will start at less than $60,000. And as far as pricing goes, its closest competitor is the Porsche 718 Cayman, which also starts at just under $60,000. Both are mid-engined and rear-drive, but the Corvette offers an extra 195 horsepower and 190 pound-feet of torque. The Cayman does boast a curb weight of right around 3,000 pounds, so it weighs a few hundred pounds less than the Corvette, but it's likely not enough to make up for the power deficit. The Corvette's sub-3.0-second 0-60 time bears this out against the Cayman's best 4.5-second run. Impressively, though, the Cayman has more cargo space than the Corvette in a package that's nearly 10 inches shorter. The Cayman also still offers a manual option for those that prefer self-shifting. The 2020 Toyota Supra is on the cheap end of this sports car class, just crossing $50,000. It also boasts more power than the Cayman, though it's still down by 160 ponies and 105 pound-feet of torque to the C8. It's also about as roomy as the Corvette, despite being about the same size as the Cayman. Cargo space is a bit tighter. Its driving characteristics will likely differ, too as the Supra sits on a front-engine platform. It might even feel closer to a C7 Corvette in some ways. The other mid-engine entry in this price range is the 2019 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider. Its small 1.7-liter turbo inline-4 only makes 237 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, but it's also far and away the lightest of this group at 2,487 pounds. That's roughly 1,000 pounds lighter than the Corvette. It isn't as fast as the Corvette in a straight line, but that lightness surely pays dividends in cornering and braking.

1964 Porsche 356 Cabriolet Emory Outlaw First Drive

The black lacquer badge affixed to this 1964 Porsche 356 Cabriolet has two words on it: "356 Outlaws." When it was first produced by a jeweler in the 1980s for the Emory family, the word "Outlaw" was a term of pride only meaningful to the father-and-son team that were building these custom Porsches. Outside of their Orange County garage, the Outlaws attracted less respect than outlaw humans. In the past few years, Magnus Walker has helped Outlaws blow up outside nontraditional Porsche circles. Collector car brokers now happily promote Outlaw builds, and online how-to guides will teach you to create your own. Despite their newfound recognition, Outlaws began with Gary and Rod Emory and continue with Emory Motorsports. We didn't drive the black 1958 Porsche 356 Emory Special and silver 1959 356 Outlaw in the gallery – completed cars move through the shop so quickly that we couldn't organize a shoot and a drive on the same day. We drove a 1964 356C Outlaw that gets by with leather hood straps, deleted bumper guards, Raydot fender mirrors, and a drilled fuel filler cap poking through the hood. The interior is dressed in red leather in sanguine contrast to the beige German square weave carpet along the bulkheads. The three gauges are taken from a 904, the racer Porsche developed to succeed the 718. Emory's tuning lineage is as old as the cars he restores. Emory's tuning lineage is as old as the cars he restores. His grandfather Neil ran Valley Custom Shop in Burbank from 1948 to 1962, channeling and sectioning the slab-sided bodywork of '40s and '50s domestic sedans in ways that OEM designers would later adopt. Neil's tenure also included building the body for the SoCal Streamliner in 1950, the first hot rod to hit 200 miles per hour at the Bonneville Salt Flats. When Chick Iverson opened a Porsche dealership in Newport Beach he asked Neil to run the body shop. Neil's son Gary would become the parts manager. When he saw inventory being thrown out for lack of space, Gary then opened his own Porsche parts operation. Gary's son Rod started playing in the warehouse from the age of six, mixing and matching pieces to make go-karts and help build the Porsches Gary would sketch. Rod began his first restoration, a 1953 Porsche 356, at 14 years old. He spent two years on it, then went vintage racing. This wasn't a concours build – growing up in a parts shop, Rod had no qualms about using whatever suited his purpose and vision.

Muffler Man gets racing suit to mark progress on Porsche Experience Center

In a dramatic change of careers, a fiberglass Muffler Man statue on the side of a busy Los Angeles freeway, formerly known as "Golf Guy," traded in his clubs for a Porsche driver's suit a couple days ago. It's no coincidence, as he's standing on land that the German automaker bought from the Dominguez Hills Golf Course a couple years ago to build its west coast Porsche Experience Center - which will be complete with a test track, restoration and maintenance facilities, a cafe and restaurant, a home for Porsche Motorsports North America and more, when it's finished in the fourth quarter of 2014.
The Porsche Muffler Man will serve as the gatekeeper to the 53-acre center and overlook the test track on the side of the 405 freeway. We can't think of a better job for a fiberglass giant that used to watch golf all day than to watch Porsche road cars and racecars getting wrung out on a test track in the middle of LA. Since Muffler Men are quite adaptable, we're sure this one will fit into his new role in no time - just as easily as he can double as Paul Bunyan.
Check out the press release below for more information on the Muffler Man and the experience center, which could be the ultimate adult playground when it's finished.