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The Corvette;
such an iconic GM vehicle. It’s the car that everyone loves,
and has a place in the hearts and minds of millions of
people around the world. It’s Chevrolet’s equivalent of the
911, and the two vastly different cards are often compared
head to head as ideological opposites. The car that can
compare with rivals costing far more; that car is the
Corvette. And that’s the car we had the task of redesigning,
quite possibly the hardest of all the Revitalization in
Action cars we have done before. Our hardest vehicle, in the
hardest lineup. Efforts in this lineup have culminated with,
and in our idea of what the next generation C7 Corvette
should be.
In this RIA, our
C7 Corvette’s styling follows an more evolutionary, rather
than revolutionary path. Overall the car is much more
emotional and dramatic, with a more planted stance and low-slung
look. Things like a swooping downward character line add
drama and excitement to the car, while still retaining that
unmistakable Corvette look.
We followed the
mantra of “don’t mess with success” in hammering out the
details on the C7, especially in regards to price. The
corvette is an attainable supercar, and that’s something
that shouldn’t be changed. The LT bumps up the horsepower
from current C6 levels to 450HP. And, as is the case now, is
available in a few different packages, 1LT, 2LT and 3LT. Z06
increase the HP level to 600HP from its 7.0L LS7 V8. A new
addition to the model line is the “Super Corvette”, which we
have called the Corvette SS. The Corvette SS has a
supercharged version of the engine, making 850HP. The SS
also adds features like ceramic brakes, something GM has
opted out of the current car because of the over $10k cost.
The price has been brought down though, however and it’s a
feature that certainly should be present on the very best of
Corvettes. |
