2014 CHEVROLET Corvette Stingray Review

For the record, the sportier suspension configuration means going from 35 mm-piston dampers to 45 mm ones, both supplied by Bilstein. Along with this, you also get thicker stabilizer bars. And if we are to compare the Z51 to the SRT Viper (passive vs. passive damping), the Corvette is the more civilized one. Things obviously turn the other way around in terms of body roll, but it’s not like the Stingray has more than a microscopic hint of that.

On city roads, the visibility is basically the only thing that keeps you in a leash. It’s a pity then that those frugal door mirrors won’t cooperate too much.

The powertrain may be ferocious when you drop our right foot, but right now we’re driving this with almost the same ease as a Malibu. All hail the driving modes. There’s five of them: Weather, Eco, Tour, Sport and Track. These because they interfere with 12 variables, from steering effort and throttle mapping, through traction control, to the things displayed on the dash.

You can scroll between them using the switch on the center console. While it does take some time getting use to this controller, each of the mode brings out completely different manners of the Chevrolet Corvette C7. Except for Track, the car starts in the mode you left it in, unlike most other vehicles of its kind.

Given this, we don’t know why they didn’t go all the way with the tech and skipped a start-stop system. After all, even Ferraris have such options nowadays.

Despite other engines on the market offering start-top in conjunction with cylinder deactivation, Chevrolet only offers the latter. Yes, the all-new LT1 V8 up front features active fuel management. If you get an automatic, the V4 mode can be active in the first three of the aforementioned driving modes, while manual vehicles only have this in Eco.

It’s quite a cool piece of kit this new LT1. Using 6,162 cc of displacement, it delivers 455 HP at 6,000 rpm, but the real treat is the torque. 460 lb-ft (624 Nm) arrive at 4,600 rpm. Between 1,000 and 4,000 rpm, the LT1 offers the same torque as the ex-generation Z06’ 7.0-liter LS7 unit. For instance, while a Ferrari 458 Italia gives you 250 lb-ft (339 Nm) at 2,000 rpm, this powerplant serves 400 (542 Nm). To achieve this, the unit features direct injection and variable valve timing.

And that torque and power are being put to good use. The 0 to 60 mph sprint takes 3.8 seconds, while the quarter mile readings show 12 seconds flat at 119 mph (191.5 km/h). As for the top speed, this sits at 190 mph (306 km/h).