Chevrolet Corvette C8 | Review
CORVETTE-O-SCHOCK
Words by Tommaso Mogge / Photo by Chevrolet Media
The more I look at it, the more I can hardly believe that this is the new Corvette. Yet Chevrolet have decided to keep the promise made in recent years, to transform its legendary stars and stripes sports car and upset that layout lasting since 1953, when they introduced the first and fantastic Corvette C1. Over 60 years and 7 different generations have passed, each bringing important innovations not only in terms of style, but also from a dynamic point of view. Where the C1 was the status symbol that had to be shown to be cool, the ultimate American dream, the subsequent C2 embodied that desire to get away from the city and fully enjoy the freedom of the 60s. The C3 is an instant classic, a car capable to wince any temporal cataloging and enter the dreams of car guys and also of those who usually turn up their noses when it comes to American cars. As controversial as it is effective, the C4 has overcome the difficult period that saw it go into production in 1984 and say goodbye in 1996.
With the arrival of the fifth generation (called C5), the Corvette has grown bigger, trying to hone its defects, but has inevitably suffered from the comparison with similar sports cars from the old continent. Among the domestic boundaries, it has always remained able to satisfy those who would never have given up a powerful naturally aspirated V8 and so its evolution – the C6 – was nothing more than a sort of update, at least to a more superficial look. We must wait until 2014 to welcome the C7, a model that brings with it a decidedly more muscular look and a more refined interior, not to mention that it offers respectable performance and which also marks the return of a version called Stingray. Just 5 years later and it’s time for the C8, a model that will not be remembered simply as a new generation, but as a real revolution. After all it is a question of embodying the spirit of the land of opportunities and making them run fast, much faster than before.
The C8, available in both coupe and roadster bodies and as the entry level Stingray, or in the more powerful Z51, is the first Corvette in history to have the engine in the mid-rear position. Forget any reference to the iconic coupe shape with that long engine hood and imagine it rather as a teenager who loves to dress like his own idol (did someone say Ferrari?). In these cases and as it is right, it is necessary to have an open mind and not let yourself fall down with prejudices or melancholy thoughts, because after all it is what we have always wanted, especially when we were in total panic, trying to straighten the wheel of one of its previous generations, running away from our control for no apparent reason. It is certainly going to be a better car to drive, but is it really what we want from a Corvette?
Each of us has his own preferences and rightly so, however, an objective value remains that a sports car with a better weight balance and a naturally aspirated 6.2 cc V8 ready to unload 495 horses on the rear axle finally manageable also when approaching a series of curves it is a good and right thing. Our inner child points his feet and starts complaining, we must explain to him that maybe there would have been no need for yet another update of a fantastic car, fun to drive, but unfortunately not up to a competition way better in operating surgical maneuvers both on the home-work trip and on track day’s weekends. The Corvette leap was therefore a necessity, a very courageous choice that not only introduces fresh air into the brand, but consecrates the previous generations as cars of a bygone era, a driving style that we will still be able to enjoy, but that for a driver now accustomed to having front-page performance and drivability even with a more traditional hot-hatchback, it would not have been enough.
I admit it, the first time I have seen the C8 I wasn’t particularly impressed. Then, looking with more calm, perhaps also thanks to a more suitable set of wheels, it started growing on me and began to communicate what it really represents. After all the engine still is a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8, it delivers almost 500 good American horses and 637 Nm of torque, but what is more surprising is that comparing it to the C7 – for example – you are facing a completely opposite car. The delivery remains remarkable, bombastic, but it is even more linear and above all it allows you to go full throttle and take advantage of a 60/40 weight balance, with a rear axle always well planted on the ground. The 8-speed automatic transmission, a Tremec DCT, does its job and manages the wide range of engine revs available. However, there is one thing that above all makes the new Corvette C8 a car that should gravitate on your radar and I am not talking so much about the performance declared like a 312 kph top speed or a 0-100 in less than 3 seconds, much less a price that for the Stingray starts just under 60,000 euro and that for a sports car with a supercar look and performance it’s not bad. The sweetest bit of the new Corvette is that it behaves like a purebred sports car, accelerates fast – indeed very fast – enters and exits through corners with extreme ease, has an even more refined interior and despite the complete metamorphosis compared to the model it replaces, the desire to let its engine scream all the way up to the redline has remained intact.
It does everything with more awareness, it is mature even though it is a new project and allows you a driving feel that until now has not been part of the Corvette vocabulary and not for its particular faults, but more simply for reasons related to the type of scheme used since its birth. Does this mean that loving the C8 is equivalent to denying the glories of the past? No, because in an ideal garage the two philosophies can coexist precisely because they represent two different driving worlds, a very difficult argument to support if you instead place a C5 and a C6 alongside. In the end it is all about feelings and when it comes to special cars I think it’s fair to say everything has to go on a more emotional level. Where the first three generations have represented and still represent an undisputed myth, the evolution experienced with the C4, C5, C6 and C7 has allowed Corvette to mature and take a decision of those for which you really need steel attributes in your jeans. The C8 may be a colossal flop, or European super sports cars worst nightmare, only time will tell. What is undeniable, however, is that once the initial shock is overcome, this Corvette really makes sense and is ready to throw itself into the fire.
CHEVROLET CORVETTE C8 Z51
Layout – mid-rear engined, rear wheel drive
Engine – V8 cylinder 6.162cc
Transmission – 8-speed automatic gearbox
Power – 495 hp @ 6.450 rpm
637 Nm @ 5.150 rpm
Weight – 1.697 kg
Acceleration – 2,9* sec.
Top Speed – 312* kph
Price – from € 55.000
*figures given by the Company