THE STINGRAY IS BACK: CHEVY’S C7 CORVETTE
The latest version of the most iconic of American sportscars has just been revealed on the eve of the North American International Auto Show: behold the seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette. The C7 will be officially launched in 2014 but available towards the end of next year to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the famous Chevy model.
Perhaps the most striking thing, looks aside, is that the new Corvette has resurrected the StingRay name for the base model, almost 40 years after the last Corvette carried that epithet.
The name might be retro, but the styling definitely isn’t: although it has a visual lineage that ties into its predecessors, the C7 is a much more angular, aggressive beast with hints of other contemporary Japanese and European supercars. A dab of R35 on the rear three-quarter; a touch of Ferrari there along the long nose; a Lamborghini angle on the splitter?
It’s at the back where the biggest change is apparent. Although we’ve lost the classic round tail-lights and curved uplift tail, it still looks pretty dramatic: just check out the central, quad pipes. There are definite hints of Camaro out back, but little of the rather awkward prototype (quad exhausts aside) revealed a year or so ago.
The Corvette will be the most powerful standard model ever, with over 450hp and 450lb-ft of torque on tap from its 6.2-litre aluminium V8.
Rumours about the engine location changing to mid-mounted have been premature, and the block is up front as it should be.
There are two transmission options: a six-speed sequential or manual seven-speed with Active Rev Matching for smoother downshifts – although it appears that the seventh manual gear is ultra tall for going into highway cruiser mode and keeping from having to find a gas station every couple of miles.
It’s a radical follow-on from the C6, with a completely new chassis and powertrain, cutting edge technology applied throughout and carbon fibre elements used on the modern-looking interior– which may shock some Corvette fans whilst others sigh with relief…
Carbon is also used for the hood and removable double-bubble roof panel, and composite materials have been used for the rest of the body.
Chevrolet claim that the C7 has a perfect 50/50 weight distribution, so handling should be significantly improved in association with the lightweight body and stiffer frame – despite the kerb weight coming in heavier than the C6. The numbers ’911′ have been mentioned by Corvette engineers…
For that extra push there will also be a Z51 Performance Package, which adds an electronic limited-slip diff, shorter gearing, Bilstein dampers and dry sump oil system under the skin plus larger rims and a unique aero kit. This is just a taster of what’s to come for the new Corvette – we can expect Z-prefixed street racers in the near future – and as an entrée it’s all a pretty exciting prospect. Will the Viper’s 600hp be the target, but with modern handling to match?
Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
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1920×1200 2014 Corvette Stingray C7
Photo by Jonathan Moore
I love how people here call it overdesigned, then turn around and jizz about BenSopra's hideous bodykits. At least the vents on this thing are functional. Gotta agree though, the rear is overdone. And the vents should be body color. Other than that, incredibly sexy.
its busy, inspired, loud, i was really hoping it wouldnt get the camaro tail light treatment, and i totally LIKE it.
Surprised at all the hate on here. Especially for a place devoted to all things fast and performance orientated. Luckily on just about every poll out there from the non enthusiast perspective, GM appears to have a winner on thier hands. I'm sure it will sell in far higher numbers than the Euro and JDM competition. Which means that there will be plenty of affordable C7s (and C6s) on the used market in the future with great modability potential for us and future SpeedHunters to enjoy and abuse! It's funny how some guys can be all about car snobbery Nd show such love to European and Japanese cars that in reality are or we're little more than rare, expensive, and delicate trinkets or bland econoboxes (that just happened to be cheap to modify) yet hate on many awesome USDM performance cars that are both tough and affordable, and have far higher performance envelopes. It would seem if you are about performance such cars would trump modified Volvos or Corollas any day all day; US made or not.
From the ultimate car guy to the ultimate review, i'd like to see what Jay Leno thinks about this....He is a big Corvette fan.
I'll give serious credit to GM. They are one of the few manufactures with the exception of Nissan who put out something on par with world super cars and still make stuff the average Joe can buy.
Never read so many arguments by people who are clueless when it comes to automobiles. Opinions are fine, but how can all of you be engineers? I don't like some of the looks but you can actually see a photo comparison of all the cars mentioned on JALOPNIK and even next to the viper , gtr, and ferrari the vette is easily distinguishable. Posers and fanboys making comments...oh wait I'm on speedhunters not MOTOIQ!
LOL you guys are import guys for sure. If a toyota or nissan badge was on it you'll say its the greatest thing since water. I love it. Btw borrowing design cues is nothing new.Manufactures been doing it since cars existed.
I don't care what anyone says..................I love it! Would still prefer the c6 zr-1 though
MatthewScott1 By saying these words, you, my good man, actually agreed with everyone on the point that this particular car can't be called a great successor. :)
Sorry but that is hideous. When I saw the front I thought it was the new Viper. Not saying the Viper is ugly, quite the opposite, but it looks like Chevy have just ripped it off.
It looks like the Camaro and new Viper's mutant lovechild. Seriously disappointed.
I was blown away for about 5 seconds when I saw this. Looks great for an instant, then you start finding things that irritate you about the design. Why did they make this car try to fit into their mediocre lineup style-wise instead of taking the opportunity to make this the flagship car and design leader for the brand? "Let's make the Corvette look more like the cheaper Camaro". Really? Compare a front on view of this and the new Viper and I swear you won't be able to tell the difference. With all the trinkets and lines on this car, it will look outdated in 2-3 years and be a forgotten generation. It's a shame.
True, it's a curse for all these cars nowadays. I can't even tell, why would you even want this car if you own C5 or C6. And what they did with backlights is just ugly. :/ It seriously reminds of Camaro.
TheShinigami definitely agree with you! especially on the way the back looks! and the headlights must have been taken directly from the Viper...i still preffer the older C6...
Nikhil_P TheShinigami Fully agree with the above comments. The new Vette is not ugly, it's just bits of other cars (Viper, Camaro) put together. Surely they could have done much better than that. From the modern day corvettes, the C5 is best looking
Yossarian Nikhil_P That's exactly what I meant, since I do like pop-ups, C5 is my kind of choice, but I won't argue that C6 has an american feel and it was a Corvette to the core. The new one doesn't have anything special about it, the vette feature was lost here.
Years later, every race C5 I get to see still makes my heart bounce like crazy, they're stunning and brutal and passing years just doesn't get to them. That's class. :)
GM learned how to engineer a car for the 21st century.Still can't make it look good.Just no.
I don't know, I kinda like it but...it is a bit fussy, design wise; some nice elements and, personally, I think the proportions are nice. Seven speed manual though, come on...
Mighty_Mite50 Pretend you're driving a very fast bus. :D
@TheShinigami HA nailed it :-D
Larry Chen Back to old-school.. http://i64.photobucket.com/albums/h174/v10viper04/1987_chevrolet_corvette_convertible-pic-58486.jpg
But seriously, I hope this isn't gonna happen.
Larry Chen Ha, eat your words! http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/15/c7-corvette-reconfigurable-gauge-cluster-video/#continued
@wrohrl @Larry Chen NICE! Mine would stay in Race Mode.
And still leaf springs, maybe that's why its called Stingray
t.Menoncin does it really still have rear leafs......
zamm333 transversal leaf springs, yes
@t.Menoncin Spoken with true ignorance. Interesting how even with a elegantly simple, efficient, and compact rear IRS with "archaic" transverse leaf spring, it trumps every car out there in lateral grip and high speed handling. But no it can't be a good long lived solution to a complicated problem, like how the 911 still has its engine hanging out way over the ass end of the car. Oh wait. That's a terrible idea that had terrible and dire consequences for handling and was only refined compensated for (even though Porsche tried to move away from it) because cutomers refused to buy every 911 replacemnt Porsche put out. So with super fat rear tires electronic nannys and suspension geometry tricks they kind of tamed it so it's at least relatively safe to drive now.
I would definitely be a 911 buyer any time. Corvette? I dont think so.
You see, there is so much more passion in style at any Porsche that in any Corvette.
@greenroadster Passion? Sure, style? Hardly. A German car is about as stylish as a German tank. Cool, well engineered, great performing, and certianly interesting, but stylish? Please. The 911 looks the same as its looked since the 60s. And even then the equating front on a "Lilly pad" "styling" look is was and is dictated simply by the arangement of its drive train. Nothing more, nothing less. Styling in a German car is merely a strip of chrome here, or plaid seats there. There are exceptions but the 911 is hardly one of them.
Squating frog on a Lilly pad ( dang iPhone )
dadecode In parts I agree with you, its not a bad suspension, it will surely be well tuned but I can't help thinking about the potential. And the engine, what kind of monster could they build if they ditch the pushrod V8.
I gotta say I'm with greenroadster , I would choose the 911 in a heartbeat.
@t.Menoncin @greenroadster Ditch the pushrods v8? Are you serious? Ditch THE most dominat performance/ single engine design of ALL time because you think it's "archaic". That smacks of such ignorance about the inherent efficiantcies and advantages of the OHV pushrod design that again, it shows nothing but pure ignorance. You also completely disregard the Z06,ZR1 and the class dominating C5 and C6 racing programs. A small block Chevy V8 is anything but old fashioned. It's small, light, compact, and fuel efficient. It's easily and simply maintained and modified. It loves revs yet makes mountains of torque, it is huge in displacement yet small in external dimensions, and is stupidly simple to adapt to just about any situation. And as if to rub it all in "snobs" faces its CHEAP. Never mind that the basic design is actually newer than the OHC design as well. The valves are operated the way they are because of the inherent compact size of such a design, NOT because of old school engineering.
I agree with everyone who say the rear is messed up badly. I mean IT IS a wide car, it's large, you gotta mark it up for anyone behind.
Just to me the C5 is still the best corvette they've made, I liked C6 less since front lights weren't as good.
You should check out Jon Sibal's rendering...sick
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/01/14/jon-sibal-renders-the-2014-chevrolet-corvette-c7r/
They really fucked up up that rear end! This car could have been epic! Greatest history in the States, cool name for a long time. The front end and the performances are up to expectations....but thats it. Feel sorry for the fans, I know they dont like it either. Check the forums. :((((
If you want a Camaro, buy a Camaro, why they think that 2 Camaro end would sell well??
A little over designed for my taste, looks like they threw the kitchen sink at it. Already looks a little goofy and dated.
Wow, a dry sump system. GM is really stepping up their performance.
i feel this new corvette is just another sign were all soon gonna be saying "remember the days when sports cars came with 6 speed manuals"
The angles of the rear clash with the quad round exhaust tips. The whole thing is just too busy design wise.
I like everything but the back. It's absolutely horrible from the back. And when you say sequential gearbox, is that an auto with a manual mode or are we talking a true, flat-shifted, dog geared sequential?
Do not want.
tail panel is hideous, love the technology but not the styling
looks like something i would have drawn when i was young, ugly as sht, nothing flows
*Sees C7 Corvette
*Claps hysterically like a seal
*Looks at bank account
*Cries hysterically like a seal
the car is HOT. I'm no longer saving up for a C6 GS, or Z06. I now want a BASE C7 Stingray. my only question is; if the base Corvette is this good, what will they pull out of the hat for the Z06 and ZR1?!
You mean Z07 and ZR1 I think. Progressive thinking my young american mind. Remember. Thats why you think this car is cooler than the previous one. Well, its not. The rear end is Camaro. They ruined the name of Corvette and you think is cool because it goes faster. Good luck with this abomination for the future.
greenroadster no I mean Z06 as in it pays homage to the ORIGINAL Z06 form 1963.
The first Z06 package (known as RPO Z06) was offered on 1963 models and included an anti-roll bar, dual master cylinder, custom brakes, an over-sized gas tank and a stiffer suspension.
Nearly all of Chevrolet's performance designations are RPO (Regular Production Order) codes that happen to become public knowledge; like Z28, ZR1, ZL1, 1LE, Z34, Z24, Z51 and so on.
and I like it because i Like the way it looks...period. the fact that it will be faster is incidental and a bonus. side note: i happen to have liked and wanted just about every Vette except the 1974-1979...(on account of those being slow and loosing the awesome chrome accents of the 1968-73 Stingrays), I'm also not a big fan of the super soft plastic look of the C5, although i give the C5 Z06 a pass. to my eyes this is an explosive departure and a return to Corvettes being near complete departures from the last model design wise.
To bad the car will not be at all close to the pictures. Looks ok but its going to be cheap as crap build quality just like the Camero and everything else they build. Plastic poop is what this is.
Cool car I want one so bad
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