C8 Mirrors Porsche Options

[John]

Thanks to Steven Bell for calling out this comparison, which BTW, I heard was internal discussed at meetings of the finance folks at Gm several years before the C8 was revealed, that GM, realizing that the more options you offer, a la Porsche, the more profits you can get. Specifically, and this even goes back to the first days when the C7 was announced, but then less than excellently trotted out in a timely manner, the concept that GM then stated that it wanted to get a larger share of the aftermarket options pie by offering the customer more options.

Thanks to Harlan Charles, the C8 offers a combinations of 11,000 options. As one specific and to me more powerful example, think of the mega amounts many spend on their C7’s engine compartment, e.g., count me in for about $1,250 in that area alone, and compared to many other C7’s I have seen, a was meagerly on what I spent and what I did to it.

Enter the C8’s, Engine Appearance Option (ZZ3). It is truly glorious.



And how about the different colored engine covers offered for the C8 — both of which were not C7 GM options?

Thanks to MotorTrend, with more at the link.

Colored seat belts. That's what caught my eye in the avalanche of C8 Corvette coverage we rolled out on MotorTrend.com last month. Depending on which interior theme you select for your new C8, you can choose seat belts in one of six colors, from basic black to red, yellow, orange, blue, and tan. Hallelujah! I thought. GM is thinking like Porsche. And this is a good thing.

"To boost profit, GM can take another page out of the Porsche playbook by offering a huge range of options and accessories," Todd Lassa and I wrote in our November 2007 issue cover story, "The Corvette Manifesto," in which we discussed potential design and development strategies for the C7, then still years away from launch. More than a decade later, GM seems to have finally figured this out.

C8 buyers can choose between 12 exterior colors, six wheel designs, four brake caliper colors, and different types of seats, right out of the box. The C8 configurator is going to look a lot more like that of the Porsche 911's, which allows buyers to personalize their cars countless ways, including the choice of seat belts in nine colors.

And that's not counting the powertrain, tire, suspension, brake, and aerodynamic hardware for the faster, more powerful C8s lurking in the wings. Once these models appear, buyers will be led along the C8 Corvette performance curve in much the same way 911 buyers are walked from Carrera to GTS to Turbo to GT2 RS.

The profit bit? Back in 2007 we noted the average Carrera buyer ordered about $8,100 worth of options, an 11 percent uptick over the base price. In 2019, with almost 200 highly profitable options to choose from, that figure is more than $20,000, about 20 percent over base price.

The switch from front- to mid-engine marks a radical step-change for America's own sports car. But what's even more radical is the step change in GM's attitude to attracting buyers for the car: More customizable and configurable than ever, the C8 Corvette is clearly not … a Chevy.

https://www.motortrend.com/news/2020...EED89DE42FD229

[Frenzy36]

Curious if anyone has a pic without the appearance option? I like the look of the carbon fiber package, also wondering if it may prevent some cooling factors?

[John]

The C8 has been extensive tested for cooling, and if that option were to have reduced cooling, they would have either kept re-designing it, or not sold it at all. Yesterday we learned from the Don Sherman SAE article that they C8 was designed to 100 degree ambient (following that same standard for the Zr1, but only was there the 86 degree standard for the SR, GS and the Z06).

I am very confident, for GM knows how critical great cooling is for all ME’s, that they have test extensively at their Yuma, AZ test facilities and elsewhere (Yuma is one of their hot weather testing sites).

Might however we see a disclaimed in the future saying, “not recommended for track usage?” That we can never rule out. I will add this to my NCM “Question Ask” list. Thanks Frenzy36 for raising it; I will be asking the secondary question of it is in installed, how does on remove it (for servicing, perhaps track or ???)

Thanks again.

[meyerweb]

"Mirror," I think, is too strong a word. Porsche's option list runs to hundreds of items, including things like painted or leather covered vent blades and vent surrounds ($1175 for the blades, another $1175 for the surrounds), painted key fobs, different gauge packages, alternative shifters and steering wheels, and much more.

And many more of them are available a la carte, rather than as part of packages.

[John]

I was not even done checking off the options list on a 2020 911 S and already exceeded $175,000 (with a $113,000 MSRP).

[meyerweb]

Speaking of Porsche options:

https://www.motor1.com/news/364186/porsche-tricky-time-911-colors/

Porsche Had A Tricky Time Matching All The New 911's Interior Colors

Porsche is known for offering a wide range of options on its vehicles, especially the 911. That’s no joke either – if you jump into Porsche’s configurator for the 911 Carrera you’ll immediately find 18 color choices for just the exterior, and if you’re still not satisfied with any of those shades, you can spend an extra $11,430 for a custom color of your choosing. Similarly, there are 26 different options for interior materials and colors, and that’s without any individual customization.

That’s why a recent report from Autocar about Porsche’s challenges in putting this all together isn’t the least bit surprising. According to the magazine, Porsche’s Head of Quality Frank Moser described a dizzying maze of stats that must coexist peacefully to ensure all the various colors match up in a satisfying manner. Aside from the options we talked about above, Moser further mentions 11 different interior colors working with 16 different equipment levels. But wait, there’s more.

The report further explains that there are no less than 300 visible components in the 911’s interior, and attention is given to each one to ensure a proper match. The process is further complicated by materials, of which 51 different types are used in the greenhouse. That number is more perplexing to us than anything. We can rattle off a dozen materials pretty easily, but 51? Perhaps the greatest challenge, however, is that 76 different suppliers provide these parts. No wonder 911 options get so pricey.

As it is, a base model 911 Carrera starts at $97,400. That price gets you a 3.0-liter twin-turbo flat-six engine good for 379 horsepower (283 kilowatts), driving just the rear wheels through an eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox. It’s not quite as thrust-happy as the Carrera S, but it still reaches 60 mph in four seconds flat, and it’s quite the looker even without all the various color and equipment options.

[mjw930]

Porsche’s option list has always been amusing, my wife once spec’d out a Boxster S to $130,000! It’s also why so many people who just have to have this or that personal touch when they order are visibly upset when they go to trade or sell and realize 50% depreciation against their fully configured “custom” build in less than 2 years..... all those “special” options are worthless on resale. Book values are based on base MSRP and 10 cents on the dollar for major options. Those color matched leather vent surrounds, CF shift knobs and yellow seat belts that cost you $5000 are worth $500 on resale IF they are even factored in at all. Which is why a savvy buyer can score big on used CPO cars if they know what to look for and new buyers can hedge their cars value by buying an upscale edition which includes all the options they want but holds its value better.

Case in point, our 2015 Boxster GTS (almost 5 model years old) is worth $24,000 more than an identically equipped Boxster S.

Boxster S equipped identical to our GTS had a $92,000 MSRP and is worth $47000 today. Our GTS had an $89,000 MSRP and is worth $61,000 today. We bought it in late 2015, it was a PCNA car (regional service director’s company car) with 8000 miles on it, for $67,000. I think we did OK

We scored the deal primarily because he ordered it with a light colored interior and the X73 suspension (full on European sport suspension, 20mm lower than stock) which scared off most buyers but just happened to be what we wanted. It was originally listed for $79,000, price dropped to $70,000 and they accepted my offer of $67,000.