As reported on Wired.
BY DAMON LAVRINC
The seventh generation of the Corvette has arrived, and Chevrolet is so damned proud of it they’ve brought an iconic name back from the past: Stingray.
The Corvette has never been a refined machine. But that’s part of its blue-collar charm. It’s the working man’s supercar. A big, brutish middle finger to the Italians and Germans. This latest version doesn’t stray too far from that path. But like the Viper we drove last year, the all-new Corvette is finally something you don’t need a hair shirt, some gold chains and a Tommy Bahama polo to drive.
First of all, just look at it. It’s pissed-off origami, with wind-tunnel-honed creases and edges that feed the small-block V8 and keep it stuck to the road. That 6.2 liters of displacement is good for a claimed 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque, but it’s also sporting cylinder deactivation and direct-port injection to boost fuel economy. Still, in its range-topping Z51 form, it’s good for a sub-four-second sprint to 60 mph.
Underneath that angular exterior is a host of high-tech materials, ranging from an aluminum chassis to fiberglass preforms, while the hood and roof are made of carbon fiber. The suspension features a more refined version of GM’s magnetic ride control, but the leaf – sorry, transverse composite – spring suspension remains.
Then there’s the interior, which finally eschews the Playskool-grade plastics that made a Korean econobox look luxurious. Carbon fiber, leather and soft-touch plastics adorn the inside, along with an all-digital instrument cluster and yet another riff on the CUE infotainment system cribbed from Cadillac. A seven-speed manual is standard – complete with an automatic rev-matching algorithm that blips the throttle to keep balance in check – and a five-setting traction control system that dials power back in the rain, lets the rear-end slip on the track and keeps things civil while cruising down Woodward.
This new ‘Vette is automotive evolution refined to its logical extreme, and for the first time in a long time, we can’t wait to get behind the wheel.