into showrooms with a coefficient of drag rating of 0.29, better than any
other General Motors offering save for the ultra-slippery EV-1 electric.
Aerodynamic efficiency pays dividends in high-speed stability, fuel economy
and reduced wind noise, just one example of the painstaking attention to
detail that went into this all-new car.
All-new is always a relative term in the car biz, of course, but it's
truly appropros here. Beneath its plastic body panels, the Corvette has
a new chassis with rigidity numbers that make its competent predecessor
seem like a piece of spaghetti. Chassis rigidity is the starting point
for good handling, ride quality and noise isolation, and the new Corvette
is vastly improved on all three counts.
As before, the strength of the chassis lies in two massive siderails.
However, thanks to a new production technique the rails are one-piece units,
rather than a multi-piece fabrication, and are far stronger as a result.
The front suspension is anchored to sturdy sub-framing, and the rear suspension
has been redesigned so that the halfshafts, which transfer power from the
differential to the rear wheels, no longer have to double as suspension
components. All of this conspires to keep all four tires solidly in contact
with mother earth, regardless of the road surface.
Wheelbase is another key ingredient in ride quality, and the new Corvette
has more of it--8.3 inches more, to be precise. That's a big stretch, and
the car's track has been widened proportionately. The body is also substantially
wider--almost three inches--but overall length has stretched by just over
an inch, which means there's less car extending beyond the axles, fore
and aft, a plus in the weight distribution scheme.
A bigger plus in this regard is the transmission location, which has
been moved to the rear of the car. It all adds up to a 51/49 front/rear
weight split, a key factor in the new car's outstanding handling balance.
And speaking of weight, the basic Corvette scales in 69 pounds lighter
than its predecessor, a noteworthy achievement considering the increases
in structural rigidity and overall dimension.
You expect power in a Corvette, and the new Vette's 5.7-liter V8 has
plenty--345 horsepower, enough to produce consistent 0-to-60 mph dashes
in less than five seconds with the standard six-speed manual transmission
(an electronically-controlled four-speed continues to be the automatic
option).
The intriguing element here is the engine's design, which preserves
Chevy's classic small-block overhead-valve concept, dating to 1955, even
though virtually all its components are new and it's all aluminum. Why
didn't Chevy go with a contemporary overhead cam, multi-valve design? Chevrolet
cites tradition, but the key elements were probably the relatively low
cost of production (fewer moving parts) and packagability (tidier dimensions
overall).
In any case, there's plenty of thrust and fuel economy is surprisingly
good for a car in this performance class. Next Page