WAIL TALE

THE SHARPEST CHEVY CORVETTE AND PORSCHE 911 ARE WRAPPED AROUND TWO OF THE HIGHEST-REVVING AND MOST ENGAGING ENGINES IN THE BUSINESS.

- DAVE VANDERWERP

NO ONE COULD HAVE PREDICTED THIS, that Chevrolet would birth a 670-hp 5.5-liter V-8 that goes hard all the way to 8600 rpm, stepping into the void Ferrari left as it walked away from naturally aspirated, flat-plane-crank V-8s that rev to the moon. Almost as surprising: Roughly 20 years after Chevy and Porsche launched the Z06 and GT3 as distinct models to appeal to hardcore buyers of Corvettes and 911s, the latest versions are among the last keepers of the screaming, naturally aspirated flame.

The GT3's gestation is as predictable and measured as the 911 it's based on, two decades of honing an inspired idea. Its high-revving flat-six has grown from 3.6 to 3.8 to now 4.0 liters, with a steady rise in output. This latest 992 generation switches to a control-arm front suspension, with ball joints galore, and a swan-neck rear wing. The Corvette Z06 has had a more scattered trajectory, employing pushrod V-8s and even dabbling in forced induction before the recent big change to a mid-engine architecture and the mega four-cam V-8.

Porsche has done a remarkable job of keeping the 911 GT3's weight in check. Compared with the first 996-generation car, the latest GT3 has a footprint (track width times wheelbase) that's 10 percent larger, yet the car has gained a mere 27 pounds, a weight increase of less than 1 percent.

The Z06 started larger and hasn't grown quite as much, with a 9 percent increase in footprint, yet its weight has ballooned 565 pounds, or 18 percent. But for all the arguments about mid- versus rear-engine configuration, these two carry an all but identical 60 percent of their mass on the hind axle.