No, I have made statements in the past during the Z06 vs. Viper debates that I never thought the Z06 was in the same class as the Viper, nor was it MEANT to compete with it. The Viper has always been a 450+hp V10 beast, with limited production numbers, top of the line everything (from suspension to brakes to drivetrain), with a very exotic look/feel and limited production. And, of course, you have to pay a pretty hefty price for this package.
The Z06 was an upgraded Corvette Coupe with "similar to exotic performance, at an affordable price" The C5 Z06 was slower than the Gen II Viper, and quite a bit slower than the SRT-10. On top of that, it didn't have nearly as good of braking. The handling was the only thing that it even came close to in comparison with the Viper, and even then it fell behind. Basically, it was a mass produced Corvette....with a couple of body changes, and performance upgrades here and there...in a much more limited number than the regular coupe. It could also be had at a mere $5k over the price of a Coupe, putting it $30k cheaper than a Viper.
The new Z06 is nothing like the C5 Z06, not even close. About the only similarities between the C6 Coupe and the Z06 are the doors, hood, and interior. Other than that, the entire car has been re-vamped, and Chevrolet has added so many things to this car that they never have before. This is, by no means, a "regular" Corvette. Of all the "special" Corvettes in the past, none have been so far ahead of the Coupe as this. Think about the Grand Sport or Collector's Edition. The only Vette I can think of that is even comparable to the new Z06 was the ZR-1 back in 1990. And that car was HUGE back in its day. I still don't think it was as advanced from the Coupe as the current Z06 is.
That being said, it's possible the new Z06 was specifically targeting the Viper...but that is nothing more than speculation. From a selling standpoint, saying the Vette is faster than the Viper is awesome. However, saying the car can completely outperform a $250k Lamborghini or Ferrari in every category for $75k is an even bigger selling point, in my opinion. I think part of the reason the new Z06 has gotten so much attention is because of what I believe....that "special edition" Corvettes really aren't meant to perform as well as this one does. It's hard to even compare the C5 Z06 to the C6 Z, because this one is so vastly ahead of the C5.
This is the reason I think the Z06 isn't really meant to compare with the Viper, and it is my GUESS that this will be the last time the Z06 outperforms the Viper. The SS, Blue Devil, or whatever...is a completely different animal.
I may be wrong, but I seriously doubt we'll see Z06's outperforming Vipers in the future....unless they make them a lot more expensive.