The mid-engined ‘Vette with all-season tires made Jason Fenske go “wow” by simply launching from a standstill, and that saying something about the C8 in Stingray flavor. Opting for the Z51 Performance Package for $5,000 translates to 2.9 seconds from zero to 60 miles per hour, almost matching the 2.85 seconds of the C7 Corvette ZR1.
It’s the blistering acceleration that prompted Engineering Explained to write “launches like an AWD supercar” in the title of the video review, but Jason should know better than that. Word on the street indicates an electrified front axle for the E-Ray or whatever the hybrid C8 Corvette will be called, supplementing a twin-turbo V8 with a flat-plane crankshaft to boot.
But until then, Chevrolet will level up from the LT2 small-block V8 to the LT6 in the Z06. As opposed to the preceding generation, the C8 is expected to go naturally aspirated. The engine in question is more or less similar in design to the flat-plane crankshaft powerplant of the C8.R racing car, and rumors suggest 600 ponies or thereabouts. On the downside, don’t expect a manual tranny to be introduced as an alternative to the eight-speed DCT.
Turning our attention back to the Engineering Explained review of the Stingray, “America's latest supercar killer,” don’t you think the upper part of the steering wheel sits high in comparison to the top of the dashboard? The steering wheel has this weird shape for taller people to see the instrument cluster effortlessly, and yes, it’s adjustable vertically and for depth.
“The suspension tuning is excellent,” said Jason after driving the Stingray a little in Las Vegas, and out on the twisties, the double wishbones and FE4 dampers help greatly in terms of handling. As with most other reviews of the C8 so far, Engineering Explained has also made a Ferrari reference even though we’re talking very different animals and price points.
Speaking of which, a mid-engined ‘Vette with superlative performance specs for under $60,000 including destination charge is a bit of a bargain. The 1991 model year Acura NSX used to cost pretty much the same, and in many ways, the C8 makes more sense to more people than the NSX Gen 2 does.
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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