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Chevrolet Corvette
The Chevrolet Corvette is a cultural icon, a vehicle imbedded in the psyches of North American automotive enthusiasts like Harley-Davidsons are to bikers. The car still called by many America's only sports car is into its fifth generation now, and well into its fifth decade of production. It's been 14 years since the last new Vette was introduced. When Chevy set out to redesign the Vette and replace what had become a dated car in an engineering sense, they had to bear in mind its legendary status. In short, they had to refine the concept without redefining it, so that they would maintain the loyalty of existing Corvette customers, and attract new ones to the fold. A tough task to be sure, as existing and potential customers might just be looking for different things. So, let's start with its looks. There's no question it's a Corvette in its
general After Chevy flirted for several years with the high-tech multi-cam 32-valve ZR1 V8 in the Vette, it was dropped due to its cost and lack of popularity. The die was recast, and future Vettes would continue only with a great thumping pushrod V8, just as God and Zora intended. The engine in the new model is indeed a 5.7 litre '350' with not an overhead cam in sight, but it isn't the famous small block that is almost as old as the Corvette nameplate itself. Only the displacement and the bore centers remain.
Instead, the new LS1 is an all-new alloy-block engine that is lighter, more fuel-efficient, cleaner running - and more powerful. It's designed to be the ultimate pushrod V8 engine. The reasons are many. The aluminum block has a new 'deep skirt' design that sees the bottom of the block extend past the main bearing caps, which are tied to the block from the sides of it. The cylinder bore diameter has been slightly reduced and the stroke lengthened, for increased torque, rigidity and cooling. Each cylinder head port is identical, for better airflow. The intake manifold is made of composite material, which is smoother and lighter than aluminum. The valve lifters are of a roller design for less friction. The oil pan is larger and baffled to avoid momentary oil starvation in hard cornering. To list just a few. This modern old-fashioned engine pumps out 345 horsepower, and all the right sounds. Hard to believe in this day and age that there would be an all-new motor of this design, but there you are. Corvette fans are no doubt pleased. In a departure from the norm, the Corvette's transmission is located just in front of the differential rather than just behind the engine, for better (51% front/49% rear) weight distribution and packaging. Curiously, an automatic is standard, and the six speed manual is a $1,000 option. At least there is still a manual available, and our tester was so equipped. And it was a slick shifter indeed, with good feel and positive engagement of each gear. Unfortunately, it still has the silly "skip shift" function, dictated by U.S. fuel economy regs, that will see you forced into fourth gear from first, if revs are under 2,100 at the time. Pretty easy to be above that, though, with a little practice and enthusiasm. The hardware at the four corners is thoroughly modern fare for an ultra-performance car, which does nothing to detract from the Corvette mystique. Double wishbone suspension front and rear, giant disc brakes, large Goodyear F1 EMT tires with run-flat capability (that's right, the Corvette has no spare!), traction control that the average driver will find handy in wet conditions - it's all there. Turn off the traction control, and all manner of enthusiastic manoeuvres are possible. Our tester had the optional Selective Real Time Damping suspension, with three driver-adjustable settings - Tour, Sport and Performance. The Corvette's interior has kept up with the rest of the car in being brought up to current standards. To start with, the high and wide side sills are gone, and the exercise of getting into and out of the Vette requires fewer contortions, which ought to please those wearing skirts or kilts. And once in there, you will find more room in every direction, thanks to the eight inch longer wheelbase and increased width. This is a sports car you can spend long hours in; the last generation wasn't so accomodating. As you might expect us to say, driving the new Corvette is a pile of fun. The engine is very flexible with great power, the handling is tenacious if not light, the car being still relatively big and heavy, and it is comfortable enough to drive all day very enthusiastically. In short, the new Corvette is a thoroughly modern performance car, in a traditional sort of way. And all at a price that will give the new crop of import sports cars a real run for their money. Granted, the first of the new Corvettes aren't convertibles, but full drop tops are coming soon. Saying how good and inexpensive the Corvette is may be academic at this point, given their rather limited availability in Canada, but I suppose the faithful in the Excited States get first dibs at it. You might be able to get on the list for next year, though. It will be worth the wait.
SPECIFICATIONS Price: $48,895 (Canada), $38,224 (U.S.) |
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Unless otherwise noted Article and Photographs ©1997
Gerry Frechette. All rights reserved. Unless otherwise noted the INFOSTUFF! pages and their contents ©1996,
1997 ad.net international. |
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architecture, but it is a much more modern-looking one now, the sharp
creases replaced by sinuous curves. There are even hints of various other performance
cars' styling thrown into the mix. Acura NSX and Mazda RX7 can be seen from some angles.
Too bad about the pop-up headlights; like all of them, they ruin the car's looks at night.
It's swoopy, aggressive, macho; there is no question that it attracts slack-jawed looks
and big crowds when parked; we really risked causing riots when we showed up at a drag
race and a collector car show-and-shine near Vancouver. To this crowd, the C5, as the
cognoscenti call it, might be the most anticipated new car since the end of the muscle car
era. But then, maybe the muscle car hasn't died.... 
The Tour setting induced some strange ride motions in
undulating corners, and Performance was just plain stiff, great for those twisty roads. In
everyday driving, Sport was my choice, not a bad combination of ride and handling, given
that nobody should expect this car to ride like a Cadillac. 
And, with
a proper trunk, you'll be able to take more than one soft bag with you. The seats are very
supportive with multi-electric adjustments, although their construction won't have the
engineers at Recaro staying up late at night. The dashboard is excellent, with a complete
set of analog gauges easily visible. A case of deja vu, after the detours into
electro-tech taken by the last generation. Not so excellent, the gearshift is located
unusually far to the rear, even with the seat all the way back, and shifts into 2nd, 4th
and 6th require an uncomfortable elbow angle. Much of the new Corvette's goodness comes
from its more rigid body. It can't be overstated how much of a difference this makes to
the Vette's, indeed any car's, dynamic capabilities. Ride, handling, noise isolation,
everything is improved by quantum degrees. No more creaks and groans like the first 44
years of Corvettes had. 