2015 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray
Where, exactly, do you start with the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray? It's just so historical, modern, cultural and technological all at once; there so much going on with this drop-tropped, rear-wheel drive V-8 powered car, which started out more than 50 years ago as the classic American sports car.
Of course, even when the original 'Vette started appearing in showrooms in 1953, it was classic Americana, yes, but a technological marvel too, thanks to its all-fiberglass construction.
The new car is also made much from fiberglass, but there is a lot more going on now, to the point that the 2015 Stingray, as classic as it seems, could be looked at as a microcosm of the technically-advanced stage so many of the world's cars have achieved. (Overall score: 8.4)
Walkaround
There is no question that now, already a year after its initial release, the seventh-generation Corvette continues to turn heads wherever it goes; I recall an especially enlightening moment where I, driving a Porsche Boxster GTS finished in Carmine Red, was completely ignored by a gaggle of teen-aged boys as my colleague drove ahead of me in the Corvette you see here. Big thumbs up and "whoop-whoops" for the 'Vette, and hardly a sideways glace at yours truly in the Porsche. I felt just a little inferior.
But how could you not? I mean, just look at the 'Vette: those cooling ducts (functional, of course) on the rear haunches, that ground-sniffing stance and those LED DRLs—this is an extremely well thought-out design, even if you do see some Ferrari 599 in there, a car that the designers clearly turned to for inspiration.
Whether you like that or not, you have to admit that Chevrolet showed moxie in trying to challenge the Italian thoroughbred like that, on the styling front, anyway.
If there's one bone of contention I have with our tester, it's the wheel choice.
Our car had the $2,095 ZF1 appearance package, which provides bigger wheels—19s on the front, 20s on the back, up from 18s and 19s—which is fine; I just don't like the shiny chrome finish. It cheapens the look, like the wheels are fit more for a pickup than a sports car. (Score: 9.5)
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- Form follows function: A Q&A with Corvette Z06 designer Kirk Bennion
- The essence of Corvette: 60 years of innovation
- More expert reviews from Autofocus
Interior
Speaking of contention bones: this has always been one not just for moi, but for many of my colleagues and most people except for the most die-die hard Corvette fans. The interiors were plastic-filled, rickety, squeaky, and all-around cheap. Which didn't really matter, because Corvettes were always such good performers, but it matters now, as more and more compacts and crossovers are upping the ante in the interior department. Sports cars, then, should not be immune to this trend.
So, in that light, a host of new materials make for a nicer experience.
Microfiber suede covers the steering wheel, parts of the upper dash, the door cards and a few other nooks and crannies. The leather used on the seats is of good quality, and looks great finished in the baseball glove-like tan that was in our tester.
Everything is nicely fastened together, and while taller folk may feel a little crammed, they can always "pop the top" (which then stows neatly in the trunk) and get a targa out of the deal. I like that.
What I don't like so much is that there are still a few plastic touchpoints that I could do without. Getting rid of them is a possibility, but that costs an additional $1,045. I'd say do it. (Score: 7.9)
Tech
While you may not expect this from a sports car, there's actually a pretty healthy selection, here.
For starters, the gauge cluster is partially digitized and changes depending on which of the "driver modes" (that's right—"driver", and not "drive", according to Chevrolet) you select: weather, eco, tour, sport and track. What may have seemed gimmicky a few years ago is expected, now, with so many manufacturers going to modifiable gauge clusters.
Our car had the 3LT equipment group that provides deeper, more supportive buckets seats, navigation, Bose 10-speaker audio, heads-up display and performance data recorder which comes with video, so you can actually see what you've done, video-game style. That's a lot of tech for a rear-wheel, driver-focused sports car.
I rather like Chevrolet's MyLink infotainment system, too; it's well laid out, easy to navigate and looks pretty good, except for some slightly muddy graphics when it comes to the navi system. You can also use OnStar for directions, if you'd prefer. (Score: 8.3)
Driving
Which brings us to what really matters, here.
First of all, let's get it out of the way, right off the bat: our car came with the optional eight-speed automatic transmission. It's all-new, and Chevrolet claims that it can swap cogs as quickly as can a Porsche 911 Turbo. Which is to say, very quickly. So that should assuage my disappointment, really; this is a car that's gotta have a stick, right?
I would say so, but Chevrolet says the manual-automatic sales split is about 50/50, so I guess they're barking up the right tree when it comes to my tester.
And you know what? It really isn't that bad. Shifts are carried off fast, faster, and faster still depending on which drive mode you select. It doesn't get in the way of the astonishing power delivery of the big ol' American V-8, that's for sure.
Like the previous-gen, the engine is still a 6.2-litre unit, although it now falls under the "LT1" moniker, so-called because it's now a small-block V-8. The compression ration sits at 11.5:1, though, so power delivery is incredibly smooth, and helped along by the lighter engine.
Power is rated at 455 horsepower (460, if you have the dual-mode performance exhaust option that we had, and which also lowers the peak power rev count, from 6,500 rpm to 6,000) and 460-465 lb.-ft. of torque, which comes 2,000 revs sooner than does peak horsepower. What it all means is that when you depress the throttle, the Stingray sits back on its haunches, digs in, and just blasts forward, reaching the 100 km/h mark from standstill in about 4.5 seconds. Or, enough to give you a case of whiplash that would make Professor Fletcher blush.
It comes accompanied with such a feral sound, too; hearing this thing blast though a tunnel is like few things I've heard before this side of a race track. There are many cigarette boats out there that come powered with Corvette engines; when you drive one of these, it makes perfect sense as to why. You really do get that sense that you need the expanse of an entire ocean in order to find this car's limits. And I don't mean that in a "wow, it's so slow I need the width of the Pacific to get to 100;" I mean it in a "man, there's so much power here—I just don't want to stop" kind of way.
Eventually, of course, you do have to stop, and when that time comes, big Brembo brakes with four piston calipers (painted red on our tester, a $625 option) both front and rear are on hand to do the duty in short order; indeed, the fact they only have about 1,500 kilos to handle makes their job a little easier.
Grip both front and rear is exceptional (helped by 245-section Michelins up front, and 285-section rears), but the trouble is a bit of a disconnect between the wheel and front axle. So, even though front grip is strong, you're not entirely sure that's the case. There's some cigarette boat chops for ya.
That's a slight nitpick, though, appearing only when you start to push past 6/10ths, so it's hard to dock it to many points for that.
As far as the driver modes go, we spent most of our time in tour and sport, with the weather, eco and track settings being a little too extreme in either direction. Plus, even when in tour or sport, cylinder deactivation works to have you saving at least a little fuel when cruising or stuck in traffic. We still saw 15.8 L/100 km, though. It is a fire-breathing V-8 under that hood after all, which, as I've stated, is a HUGE part of the fun. (Score: 9.1)
Value
With the options our car had, you're at a hair over $82,000, which presents a bit of a problem.
That price tag has it in Porsche Boxster/Cayman territory, and a big part of the Corvette equation is that you get more power than even the most powerful versions of those cars, and similar options for less money. The thing starts at less than 60 grand in Canada, which is, obviously, pretty durned attractive.
My advice? Maybe skip the 3LT, go for the 2LT and choose the manual transmission. Now you're cooking with fuel. (Score: 7)
Conclusion
This right here is a car that absolutely works as advertised. There's power and noise in abundance, they've finally (almost) completely come around on the interior and, if we're honest, the looks are to die for. That's the complete package, really, and there's a reason—actually, there are many—why dealers can't keep these in stock, to the point of facing a backorder.
It's a tour de force, this latest Corvette. It really is.
Autofocus.ca is a Canadian automotive website dedicated to making car shopping easier and driving more fun. Follow Autofocus on Facebook and Twitter.
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