Archived Comparison
From the May 1998 Issue of Car and Driver
TESTED
Okay, we know the prices of these two cars are too far apart—more than 30 grand apart—to be considered equal rivals in a comparison test. But let’s face it, these two have been fighting it out on the track for decades, and they have enough in common that they're clearly on the same mission.
For one thing, both are high-performance sports cars that are sufficiently practical to be driven on a daily basis. That’s not something you can really say of a Lamborghini Diablo, or even a Dodge Viper. The Corvette and the Porsche also share a long motorsports heritage, which in turn has allowed them to incorporate meaningful performance, handling, and durability tweaks.
From previous performance testing, we knew the two cars were right on top of each other in the numbers game. Add to that the giant tires, brakes, and high-output engines that these cars share, and it's obvious they have a common purpose, and a common appeal.
Of course, the differences are equally profound. The Porsche is a steel monocoque car with a flat-six engine mounted in the rear, and the Corvette is a fiberglass car with a V-8 engine carried up front. But the most important differences between the two remain the vast $29,677 base-price disparity and the strong partisan support each car enjoys. That’s what makes it unlikely that they’ll be cross-shopped by the same intended buyers. Frankly, Porsche fans probably wouldn’t want to be seen dead in a Corvette, and bow-tie fans probably see the Porsche as a snob's sports car. But despite this wide divergence of price and sentiment, we wanted to know how they compare.
