AMERICAN MUSCLE
The Corvette brings supercar performance at a fraction of the cost of Italian exotics
The general is back in business in Australia, with a new Chevrolet Corvette that promises Ferrari flavour at a more palatable price. This C8 Stingray, the first Corvette built in right-hand-drive, is a hi-tech shard of mid-engine exotica sharing little with previous models.
It channels Europe’s finest by placing a powerful V8 and slick-shifting dual-clutch transmission immediately behind the cabin.
And you could buy three Corvettes for the price of one blue-blooded supercar, as it starts from $144,990 plus options and on-road costs – a bargain for a mid-engine supercar.
The first batch of 250 or so sold out almost instantly and there’s no word when the next shipment will arrive. But General Motors Specialty Vehicles and its 57 Australian dealers are keen to get hold of as many examples as the US parent company can spare.
This Chev is not short on technology. It’s loaded up with gear such as magnetically adjustable suspension, sophisticated traction control and a feature that protects the front spoiler by raising the front end 40 millimetres at low speed.
It has its flaws, though, missing out on modern safety gear such as auto emergency braking and adaptive cruise control.
Climbing through a long door that opens over a wide sill into a well-bolstered seat, you find a well-finished space loaded with toys, though we’d trade some of them for seats that drop lower. The squared-off steering wheel looks odd and has buttons in strange places, but offers an uninterrupted view of a hi-tech digital dash. The low nose also offers a clear view of the road ahead, but over-the shoulder visibility is hugely compromised.
An 8-inch touchscreen positioned close to the driver offers easy access to key features such as sat nav, Apple Carplay and Android Auto, complemented by a Bose stereo and crisp headup display. The regular Corvette “coupe” has a removable roof panel you can stash in a dedicated spot behind the engine. Folks who don’t want the DIY experience can pay $15,000 for an automatic folding roof.
Our test car’s similarly pricey “3LT” option added a suede-like steering wheel and headliner, plus two-tone black and red leather with contrasting stitching to brighten up the cabin. Australian Corvettes get a “Z51” performance pack as standard, adding bigger brakes, improved cooling, an electronically controlled limited-slip differential, bimodal sports exhaust, spoilers and lower gearing.
Power comes from an evolution of the aluminium small-block Chevrolet V8 found in various Holden and HSV products since 1999. Now dubbed LT2, the 6.2-litre naturally aspirated pushrod V8 benefits from direct injection, dry-sump oil supply and equal-length exhaust manifolds. The result is a claimed 369kw of power at 6600rpm, backed by 637Nm of torque earlier in the rev range. A 0100km/h time of about 3.5 seconds is decently quick, made possible by linear, predictable power backed by a muscle-car soundtrack. As with the last (and best) Commodores, it has to be revved hard to deliver its best.
Chevrolet’s eight-speed dual-clutch auto delivers swift shifts without the pyrotechnics and percussion of some rivals.
The same measured approach applies to its handling, starting with relaxed steering that has a slower response than some rivals.
There’s a little less feel through the wheel than we hoped for, and the long-throw action of its paddle shifters doesn’t fit the immediacy of other responses.
Masterfully tuned magnetic shocks deliver a broad spectrum of ability ranging from surprisingly supple ride comfort to taut composure when pressing on. Predictable and balanced, the Corvette feels planted at speed and agile when asked to change direction.
It’s much more sophisticated than the raw and raucous Corvettes of the past. Traction is outstanding at the rear, but the front end will push wide under duress. Those characteristics were no doubt dialled in by engineers who felt customers were not ready for an edgy beast threatening to spin out of control on the way into an apex.
It’s not quite a Ferrari fighter, but it is as close as you can hope to get for this price. And there’s more to come, with more powerful models such as the ferocious Corvette Z06 in the wings.
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