NO IFS, ANDS OR BUTS
Peter Bleakney drove the all-new C7 Corvette Stingray in a parade this summer and attracted big attention,
ZURICH, ONT.— The all new C7 Corvette Stingray has been engineered to do a lot of things — go like stink, make fantastic noises, handle with new-found alacrity, and deliver all this with a level of refinement and build quality never seen before in the 60 years of Chevy’s plastic-fantastic sports car.
What the boffins at the ’Vette skunkworks weren’t too concerned about was the new Stingray’s parade performance.
If they’re wondering, I’d give it a “pretty damn good.”
Due to a series of circumstances too convoluted to get into, I found myself this day piloting a 2014 Stingray Z51 Convertible in the town of Zurich’s 150th anniversary parade — celebrated in July — and perched on the tonneau is the lovely Aimee Rau, who was crowned Fair Queen back in 1991.
Painted in Velocity Yellow, the $79,240 as-tested droptop is a big hit. It is a gorgeous effort from every angle.
Of course, if the ’Vette were fitted with the optional six-speed auto, my job of keeping this 460-hp wedge just above a crawl would be considerably easier. But then I wouldn’t be able to dip the clutch and let that quartet of tailpipes give the crowd a proper Detroit salute every block or so — which they seem to thoroughly appreciate.
Consider the $1,255 dual mode performance exhaust a must, as it gives the LT1 6.2L V8 some impressive lungs, along with an extra five horses.
It was all going swimmingly well until I let the clutch out a little too early after blipping the throttle, which just about sent poor Aimee flying off the back of the car. She let out a squeal, steadied herself, wedged her legs behind the passenger seat and continued waving and smiling.
As she explained later, “Any queen worth the weight of her tiara is able to gracefully backflip off the back of a car and land delicately on her feet. I wasn’t worried . . . much.” Such a pro. With the parade over, I was soon out on rural roads, enjoying the Stingray in a much more suitable environment.
It only takes a brief amount of seat time to discover this latest generation ’Vette is a quantum leap over the previous car. Gone are the flimsy seats, creaks, rattles and cheapo cabin plastics.
The seats are now world-class, the interior design and build quality hold up to the toughest scrutiny, and thanks to an all aluminum structure that is 60
per cent stiffer, that old underlying suspicion that the ’Vette was equal parts icon and diabolical kit car are gone.
A feeling of solidity, refinement and composure underscores every move the C7 makes, be it trundling along in a parade or nipping at the edges of its massive performance envelope.
While the old C6 Corvette kept some tricky dynamic secrets squirreled away until it was almost too late to save the proverbial bacon, the C7 invites provocation.
Oh, yes, it’s mighty quick and shows unrelenting grip, but everything feels linear, controllable and confidence-inspiring. Trepidation is replaced with accessibility.
Particularly impressive is how structurally stiff this convertible feels. Corvette engineers claim the structural difference between coupe and convertible is negligible.
The 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible starts at $60,345. An extra $5,000 gets the Z51 package that adds a more performance-oriented suspension, aero package, electronic limited slip differential, dry sump lubrication, bigger front discs and larger staggered wheels (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport ZP rubber.
This tester was the full blown Z513LT package, with heated and cooled seats, 10-speaker Bose audio, head-up display, navigation, leather-wrapped interior, and so on.
A bunch of cosmetic niceties (black wheels, yellow brake calipers, carbon fibre interior trim, custom suede inserts) jacked the price up further, but the most meaningful option would be the $1,885 magnetic ride control package that includes performance traction management.
This clever adaptive damping system takes the sting out of the ride when just tooling around yet instantly buttons things down when things get frisky. You can dial up five driving modes (winter, eco, touring, sport, track) with a rotary controller on the console.
The heart of the Stingray is the LT1 6.2L V8 that with the performance exhaust makes 460 hp and 465 lb.-ft. at 4600 rpm. This mill can trace its roots several generations back to the original Chevy small block, but despite retaining its pushrod architecture, it is packed with a bunch of modern tech — direct injection, variable valve timing and cylinder deactivation for improved fuel economy.
Without out all those overhead cams and associated hardware, the LT1 has a very low profile, allowing the ’Vette a super low hood. And the view from the driver’s seat is spectacular — you peer out over a power bulge and a couple of sexy fenders.
This small block may not rev with the freedom of, say, AMG’s 6.2L DOHC V8, but once above 4000 rpm it charges like a pissed-off rhino to its 6600 rpm redline. Fantastic.
As is the driving position and sevenspeed manual transmission. The stubby shifter is just a hand-drop away from the small and nicely proportioned steering wheel.
No question, the Chevrolet Corvette has always delivered a high level of performance for a relatively modest sum of money.
However, that proclamation was generally accompanied with a series of “buts” — but the seats are lousy, it feels cheap, where’s the steering feel, why did I just soil my pants?
With the 2014 remake, there are no more buts. The Corvette Stingray is an exceptionally well-sorted, well-rounded, world-class performance vehicle that is pure joy to drive. And a screamin’ deal to boot. Peter Bleakney has been contributing road tests and feature articles to Wheels for more than 20 years. He is also a regular contributor to autos.ca and an awardwinning member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada. The vehicle he tested was provided by the manufacturer.