A modest comparison

One day, my German office mate and I got into a philosophical discussion about the finer points of German sports cars vs. American muscle cars. The argument generally goes that German cars are technologically superior and therefore better. I contend, however, that we have made much better use of the available technology to make a car that is equal in all respects, if not better.

Now, being graduate students in physics and holding absolutely no qualifications to judge on our own - and most importantly, not owning the cars involved - I decided to look up published tests on the cars involved. No magazine in their right mind woul d do a comparison test like this, so I had to put together as many tests under the same conditions as possible.

I decided to settle on three cars:

• The 1997 Porsche 911 Carrera S: ...currently available in the US for about $70,000.
• The "base" 1998 Camaro Z28: ...with the new LS1 engine checking in at $22,000.
• The top-of-the-line 1998 Firebird Trans-Am Firehawk: ...with gaping ram-air nostrils selling for about $33,000.

These cars represent different engine placement and philosophy, but are otherwise in a similar automotive class: rear-wheel-drive 2+2 sports coupe. The Porsche uses a SOHC and a quick-spinning motor to achieve 282 bhp, while the 1998 Z28's LS1 engine makes 305 bhp using tried and true pushrods. The 1998 Firehawk uses the same LS1 engine with Ram-Air induction and gaping exhaust vents, bringing 327 bhp to the track.

The results of the various Porsche (Carrera, Cabriolet, S) that use the same engine would, of course, be comparable, as would be the Z28 SS and the Firehawk, as well as the regular Formula and the Z28.

Comparison Test #1: Handling

The following is a test of the car's handling. No attention was paid to such things as low lift-over height of the trunk or cupholders. In most ways, this is the purest of tests. The test used a 1997 Z28, which had the less powerful LT1 engine, making "only" 285 bhp. But since the tests measured handling, of which acceleration is a very small part, I decided to go ahead and use the review anyway.

The data was gathered from Car and Driver issues of June, 1997 and Sept. 1997 which pitted 14 different stock 1997 models against one another in a quest to discover the best handling cars in the world. The 1986 Camaro won American honors the last time this event was held some 10 years ago while the Porsche 944 won foreign honors. The articles referenced were:

1. The Best-Handling Car for Less Than $30,000, C&D, pp 58. v42, #12, (1997)
2. The Best-Handling Car for More Than $30,000, C&D, pp 65. v43, #3, (1997)

The subjective ratings

Standard disclaimer: The overall rating is not a strict sum, but rather a weighted sum where the more important handling attributes are given greater weight.

Analysis:

The Z gets high marks for its ability to corner, especially while braking and under acceleration and for its fun-to-drive ability. The car loses marks for its driving position and agility. The car's seat design date from 1982, and could stand an updat e to modern ergonomics. The agility problem is due largely to its larger size, especially the width (nearly 4 inches.), which makes the car more stable during cornering, but makes it harder to thread the car through narrowing slalom gates. Though slower through the gates due to it's wider stance, the car was able to hold on by sheer tire size and grip to claw through at very respectable speeds.

The Porsche gets high marks for it's driving position and "feel", two very hard terms to quantify. One person may like the driving person in one car while a differently proportioned human -- even of equal height -- may find the driving position unsuit able. The car's lack of stability during cornering while accelerating and decelerating (as compared to the Z28) is a result of its smaller size. Bumps tend to upset the smaller wheelbase car more. Though the car was able to manage a higher speed throug h the slalom, it was difficult to achieve, and editors felt that they had to concentrate very hard to keep the front end pointing the correct direction.

In conclusion, both cars handled very well. The 911 may be somewhat faster in quick back and forth transitions, but the Z28 uses its size and stability to pull ahead during long sweeping corners that one decelerates into and accelerates out of.

Winner: Porsche by a nose.

Comparison Test #2: Acceleration and Braking

For this, I will again take data from C&D magazines, the most recent of each breed available. This will have the Base 1998 Z28 representing the best of the bang-for-the-buck; the Firebird T rans-Am Firehawk representing the top of the line F-body; the Porsche 911 Carrera S representing the entry-level Porsche. The references are:

1. Porsche 911 Carrera S, C&D, pp 129. v43, #3, (1997)
2. Chevrolet Camaro Z28, C&D, pp 93. v43, #6, (1997)
3. Pontiac Trans Am Firehawk, C&D, pp 69. v43, #9, (1998)

Analysis:

This one is tricky. This is like being asked to choose between a million dollars in 2 monthly payments or a million dollars in 8 weekly payments. In all three cars, you could start from rest, stand on the gas pedal, and exceed the speed limit of most urban interstates by a factor of two in about 15 seconds.

Looking at the standing start times, the Porsche is quicker to 60, but the F-bodies - even the stock Z28 - pull away from that point. The reason for this lies in the fact that the Porsche is a rear-engined car with 61% of its weight over its rear whee ls, whereas only 44% of the weight is over the rear wheels in the F-bodies. Not only that, but during acceleration, the transfer of weight from the front to the rear (the simple consequence of Newton's Third Law) adds to the beneficial weight bias of the Porsche.

Taking the weight-bias advantage away is easy. C&D regularly performs tests that times acceleration runs where wheelspin and traction are not issues - 5-60 times. This shows the true character of the marriage of the gearbox to the engine. In this c ase, the Porsche is shown to be slightly slower than the F-bodies.

Still, even allowing for the incremental gain of time from the increased starting traction, both F-bodies are considerably quicker at superlegal speeds.

The identical times for the Z28 and the Firehawk are explained by the Ram-Air not being a significant factor contributing to horsepower until speeds beyond 60 mph or so. The faster times below 60 are due to the increased tire-contact patch (275mm's), thus increasing initial traction.

In a stoplight race, the 911 will pull away by a car length or so to 40 mph, but at any other speed/starting combination, the F-bodies will muscle their way ahead.

Winner: F-Bodies, in a photo finish

Comparison Test #3: Intangibles

Unless you regularly answer to "Mr. Gates", "Mr. Rockefeller", your "Your Highness", you probably don't have the luxury of having a new weekend play car and another car to drive to work; Ther efore let's consider the utility of each vehicle. Again, the references are:

1. Porsche 911 Carrera S, C&D, pp 129. v43, #3, (1997)
2. Chevrolet Camaro Z28, C&D, pp 93. v43, #6, (1997)
3. Pontiac Trans Am Firehawk, C&D, pp 69. v43, #9, (1998)

Analysis

From the purely objective point of view, there is no contest. The American cars get better gas mileage (according to the EPA), are quieter under normal cruising while still reminding you that you are in fact driving a muscle car when you tromp on the gas, and are much more useful space-wise than the German counterpart.

For example, the trunk of a Camaro is about the same size as the back seat of the 911. You better be real good friends with whomever you stick in the back of a Porsche. As an illustrative point, my wife and I went shopping for furniture recently, and needed to bring a large chair home from the store. The hatch of the IROC swallowed it whole and away we went. Anything else shy of a pickup-truck would have had to have it delivered. Also note that the dimensions of the interior a re only marginally smaller than a Ford Contour -- a mid-sized family sedan -- and are bigger than a 4-door Acura Integra Sedan.

Also, the gas mileage, I think, is much better than the EPA's test show. At 70 mph, the F-body is only turning 1600 lazy rpms in 6th gear, while the 911 is screaming along at 2600 rpms. It is not uncommon for a person to get 32+ mpg at constant cruis ing speeds with a fuel-injected, LS1 powered 4th generation F-body. (That's better than a small "economy" car (e.g., a Ford Pinto) got in the late 1970's!) We regularly get 28 mpg with our 4 bbl and we don't even have the 6th gear!

A case must be made, however, for the Porsche name. There is an aura of mystique about the very name that makes grownups salivate like they were young kids.

If we let stereo-types rule our judgment of cars, male Camaro owners would pick up denim-wearing, gum smacking, big haired mamas, while male 911 owners would pick up ski-jump nosed, snooty daddy's girls who are very familiar with their plastic surgeons .

Fortunately, these cars are about the driver and not who is with them.

Winner: F-Bodies, in a landslide

Comparison Test #4: 0-150-0 (Coming soon...)

Car & Driver recently did a comparison test between a stock 1998 Camaro Z28 SS and the new 1999 Porsche 911 for the ``new'' performance standard: 0 mph - 150 mph - 0 mph.

Here's a hint: The Z28 SS won by many seconds...

Final Result

Is there really any doubt? If money is very tight, you can order a base Z28 with no options for an invoice price of $19,255. This really isn't a stripper, but includes the V8, a cassette deck, A BS, and the 6-speed manual. (Source: Edmunds Online.) For just $1,000 more, you can get the 1LE performance package which adds niceties such as stiffer springs and adjustable shock absorbers.

Those blessed with a little bit of cash can opt out for the WS6 RamAir package on the Firebird or the SS package for the Camaro for about $3,500 -- still remarkably inexpensive for this kind of performance.

If, however, you are a divorced orthodontist going through a mid-life crisis or you happen to be the king of a small, oil-rich Middle Eastern nation and you need the Porsche Name to make you feel more like a man, then please, go ahead and buy th e Porsche.

The rest of us will see you in our rear-view mirror.

America wins, by a score of 2 out of 3