Not that I would necessarily buy one, but the 2004 Corvette Z06 lapped the Nordschliefe in under 8 minutes (I think it was 7:56 - same as GT3 MkI with Walter driving) with stock equipment and tires. They brag about this in company literature - they tuned the shocks this year at the Ring and really reduced laps times. Many owners of 2001-2003 Z06's have been retrofitting the 2004 shocks which supposedly are far better (only around $400 for all four). Not bad for $50k... The 2005 Vette (not Z06) is promised to have better performance than the current Z06 and the 2006 Z06 promises 500HP and better handling. I also think GM will use Brembos across its best performers (new Cadillacs and Corvettes anyways). They still don't feel as good as Euro cars, but the value is there.