When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Overall...GM hit a triple. The design elements are love/hate and the weight is surprising, but the evolution to mid engine, price point, and especially the upgraded interior will bring a whole new younger generation of enthusiasts into the corvette fold. This car will print money.
Looks good, I'm sure there's gonna be many happy owners - I personally won't be one of them (vette's never been my jam)... but certainly looks like a good leap forward!
Excellent stats, looks good, congratulations to American Engineering!
Proud of GM finally getting this done and looks at a good price.
This is the Stingray base version so gearing issues etc. can all be improved with time...
Other than the wheel choice which is a little hit or miss, love it, and that engine is sweet, and makes great sounds and torque and loves to rev. Had it in a 2017 Camaro SS (LT1 version). I will remind the nay-sayers that for both the SS-1LE and the ZL1 that GM punches way beyond its weight/cost... lovely cars, hopefully materials fit and finish are good for final product...
GM did a great job in terms of tech (GPS-activated front axle lift!) and styling to make the Corvette more relevant going into the future. Reading the Corvette forum it appears it has turned off some of the purist who will not go near it, but it will probably bring in new buyers. If those buyers are younger GM has done their job.
I like german cars. I like manual cars. But a 4 cylinder mid engine cayman for $60k ?! When you can have a v8 mid engine corvette for the same money (and probably much less when you spec them out with similar options) it’s a no brainer. Not to mention corvettes aftermarket is HUGE. Tunes, exhausts, prochargers,etc. You’ll see 700-800hp C8s roaming the streets with a total build cost of less than 80k.
“The new Corvette will be the quickest ever made. Equipped with a special performance package, it will be able to go from zero to 60 miles an hour in under three seconds.”
Well have to find out what the Z51 costs.
Thats the real base car, not the de contented $60K one.
Should be $5k at the most, since that was the option price for the C7 but back then adding Dry Sump was part of the Z51 option (Dry Sump is standard now).
So intriguing. If the C8 is fast but requires great skill or guts to drive fast, its not for me. That was a primary reason I selected a 718 over a 911.
So I just did the Mid vs Rear experience at PEC LA yesterday. Drove the 991.2 C2S first and then 718 GTS. My prior direct 911 vs. Cayman experience was with a group of friends and one had a 997 and another had a 987 which we drove back to back in the canyons. With the 997 vs 987, I felt there was a significant difference with how the cars handled with the 987 rotating much more willingly. The 997 felt like I had to tip-toe at the limit to keep the rear from swinging around. However, with the 991.2, it surprised me with how easy it was to drive quickly. I've been tracking cars, auto-x, and general fast driving for over 2 decades now (sheesh... .gettin old... ), so I can hop into pretty much any car and be up to 85% speed right away. We did the kick-plate, skid pad, dynamics course, and road course both cars. The dynamics course was a little auto-x starting with a 3 cone slalom from the launch into a 180 right hander into bus stop chicane before the stop box. In the 991.2 C2S going through the slalom and quick higher speed transitions of the bus stop chicane, the rear was really planted and didn't really exhibit any tendency to want to swing wide. I noticed the biggest different between the C2S and 718 GTS being the willingness to rotate with changes to throttle/brake input; the 718 being the quicker to get the nose to bite on turn-in and also more easy to adjust mid-corner. On a scale of 1-5, I'd say the difference in handling feel between the 997 and 987 was a 5 whereas with the 991.2 and 718, it's more like 2. I did like 7-10 laps on the handling course in each car and both are extremely capable. For serious track use, both cars are too soft on the suspension of course, but they are set up pretty well for fast street driving and the concessional track day. On the handling course, the cars were in sport chrono with the PDM active, so probably/likely why the cars behaved so well on the road course. The main differences in handling on the road course were basically the same as I noticed on the dynamics course.
That should tell you how big a game changer the new 'vette is going to be. It's time for all the inflated priced "exotics" to step up their game because this "lowly Chevy" has put the performance car world on notice. What a great thing that is for all of us!
07-19-2019, 01:37 PM
