With 60 years on the supercar scene, the Corvette has consistently shown performance numbers that rank it among the world's elite sports cars. The current generation Corvette has been received flack for cheap-looking exterior and interior materials, however the 2014 Corvette Stingray is set to again be America's super car.
The 2014 Corvette Stingray once again will reign as "America's super car."
The 2014 Corvette Stingray once again will reign as "America's super car."
Lamborghini, Porsche, Ferrari, and . . .Chevy? One of these things is not at all like the others, but since 1953 the Chevrolet division of General Motors has been building the Corvette as an "import fighter" against various European sports car competitors.
Almost by default, the Corvette is "America's super car." While models like the Ford GT and the Dodge Viper come and go, the Corvette has been on the scene for 60 years. In most generations of the car, the Corvette has put up the performance numbers required to credibly compare it with the rest of the world's high performance sports coupes. Also, unlike the American family cars that share names and vague shapes with NASCAR teams, modified Corvettes are road raced—and regularly win—against the likes of Aston Martin, BMW, Ferrari, and Porsche in the American Le Mans series.
Despite the racing heritage and several poster worthy body styles over the years, the current generation Corvette suffers from a troubling image problem. Fairly or not, the late model Corvettes have been called, "sports cars for the successful plumber." This tongue in cheek insult goes right to the very heart of the Corvette's identity crisis. The fantastically powerful V8 engines, capable transmissions, and tenacious lateral grip, have been for years slathered with ill fitting plastic body panels and saddled with the interior execution of an optioned up economy car. The over abundance of cheaper looking plastics, off the shelf gauges, indifferently stitched leather trim, along with more squeaks and rattles than you could ever hope to identify, all betrayed the previous generation. Even the versions of the Corvette approaching $100,000 had interior details that would have been at home in an old Pontiac Grand Am.
That was then. GM, with the recently announced 2014 Corvette rolling into showrooms this fall, is seeking to reposition the brand as the no excuses super car it has long had the potential to be. For the first time since the 1960s, the Corvette is finally getting what promises to be a world class interior. Chevrolet has apparently silenced the bean counters this time around.
With the interior of the new 2014 Corvette, it is clear that details matter again for GM.
In the 2014 Corvette the details matter again. The first Stingray since the 1980s features revamped controls, a large navigation screen, and nicely stitched and supportive bucket seats with magnesium frames that wouldn't be out of place in its European competitors. There are also exterior details such as a carbon fiber hood and roof, that with the rest of the redesigned body, banish the previous generation's overgrown Mazda Miata styling.
Chassis improvements, such as a stronger, 60% stiffer and 99 pound lighter aluminum frame, promise increased performance. The car is also loaded with all manner of technology, such as a computerized "rev matching" seven speed manual transmission, cylinder deactivation for improved cruising fuel economy, and active stability control for increased driver control during violent maneuvering.
Come the 2014 model year, GM can finally say that the Corvette is truly "America's super car" without having to hedge. This autumn, the Corvette ditches its mullet, aviator glasses, and Thursday night bowling league image forever. It's all grown up now.
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