As we wait for the convertible to premiere in October 2019, Chevrolet used the 25th anniversary of the National Corvette Museum to share an interesting piece of footage with the C8 in the starring role. Towards the one-hour mark of the following presentation, you can see the Stingray without the Z51 Performance Package hitting 194 mph (312 km/h).
That’s one mile per hour better compared to the information in the General Motors booklet we’ve talked about in a previous story, and if you were wondering, the Stingray Z51 manages 184 mph (296 km/h). For the entry-level ‘Vette, you can’t deny that Chevy did a stunning job.
What is most impressive about the eighth generation of the ‘Vette is that the mid-engine layout, LT2 small-block V8, and DCT won’t break the bank either. It’s a bit of a steal to pay under $60,000 for a sports car like the C8 Stingray, more so if you take a look at the starting price Porsche asks for the 718 Cayman with the four-cylinder boxer turbocharged engine.
The top speed run for the C8 Stingray was done at a test track in Germany called Papenburg, and as you can tell, a lot of equipment and a passenger hunkered down the car in the process. Going downhill could take the ‘Vette past 194 mph but that scenario also puts a strain on the brakes.
As a brief refresher, the LT2 is tuned to produce 490 horsepower and ample torque from the get-go even though it’s a push-rod design with two valves per cylinder. The block is made from cast aluminum while the cylinder liners and main bearing caps are cast iron.
The dry-sump lubrication system works with 0W-40 synthetic motor oil, and as you’d expect, the engine further boasts direct injection with Active Fuel Management. AFM deactivates half of the cylinders when driving gingerly on the highway, thus improving gas mileage.
Opting for the Z51 Performance Package makes the C8 Stingray handle that much better, and if you were wondering, the sports exhaust adds five more horsepower and five more pound-feet of torque. In this specification, the ‘Vette is much obliged to hit 60 miles per hour in under three seconds.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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