The Return of the Stingray: Corvette C7 Debut

[gwoods]

I can't imagine taking a GTR over even a base model Corvette. Everything the GTR does wrong, the 'Vette does right. Simple, light, 2WD, clutch-and-lever, 2 seats, 8 cylinders.

Man we normally agree I could not disagree with you more on this one. 2012 Base Corvette weighs 3208 lbs GTR weighs 3821 thats a small price to pay for all wheel drive and 2 extra seat albeit small seats.

[Bubba1]

I can't imagine taking a GTR over even a base model Corvette. Everything the GTR does wrong, the 'Vette does right. Simple, light, 2WD, clutch-and-lever, 2 seats, 8 cylinders.

Man we normally agree I could not disagree with you more on this one. 2012 Base Corvette weighs 3208 lbs GTR weighs 3821 thats a small price to pay for all wheel drive and 2 extra seat albeit small seats.

I have to agree with MoD. Corvette before the GTR. Engines aside, The clutch/lever, RWD, 600+ pounds less, less computer intervention, less complexity, lower price, and sleeker shape make the Corvette an easy choice over a GT-R.

[flohtingPoint]

One of my biggest questions about the C7 is "DID THEY FIX THE DAMNED SEATS?!" Vettes, even the current C6's, have horrible seats that flop around and break fairly easily. It's fairly annoying when I'm out on course, stab the brakes and the passenger seat flops forward and goes BONK!

[RicerX]

They definitely fixed the look of the seats with the competition option. They also appear to have some decent bolstering. Are they still GM caliber seats (squeaky, noisy, clunky)? Only a test drive will tell I guess.

[flohtingPoint]

Look was not the problem. The problem is 100% engineering. The seat reclining mechanisms have been terrible for years. Reach in the window of any vette on any car lot and shake the seat, it moves about three inches side to side and about five inches forward and backward. The seat locking mechanisms dont sync up either and there are lots of times when your seat will be one click off from right to left. In competition driving, the passenger seat flops all over the place as you can see in Tony's runs ('99 FRC, just like mine):
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0z06Nx6qiOg[/youtube]

This is an issue in all vettes, even the new Z06's and Grand Sports. I'm hoping the C7 has this resolved.

[MinisterofDOOM]

I can't imagine taking a GTR over even a base model Corvette. Everything the GTR does wrong, the 'Vette does right. Simple, light, 2WD, clutch-and-lever, 2 seats, 8 cylinders.

Man we normally agree I could not disagree with you more on this one. 2012 Base Corvette weighs 3208 lbs GTR weighs 3821 thats a small price to pay for all wheel drive and 2 extra seat albeit small seats.

At 3800lb and for $96k, I expect four doors, four real seats, and a LOT of luxury. If I wanted 4 seats, I wouldn't be shopping for coupes in the first place!

And I despise AWD, so any price is too much to pay for it.

[RicerX]

Look was not the problem. The problem is 100% engineering.

Don't disagree with you about the engineering piece of it. That looks like a major issue if you're driving the car for what it was designed for - racing.

Where I'm coming from is the look/feel of the seats were very much undershot for a car that costs $70k +. Personally, spending that kind of coin on a car should have seats from something a bit more upscale than a $20k Pontiac Solstice. I think that, with the C7, they've at least fixed that part of it. They look like seats that you'd get in a premium-level sports car.

[flohtingPoint]

Look was not the problem. The problem is 100% engineering.

Don't disagree with you about the engineering piece of it. That looks like a major issue if you're driving the car for what it was designed for - racing.

Where I'm coming from is the look/feel of the seats were very much undershot for a car that costs $70k +. Personally, spending that kind of coin on a car should have seats from something a bit more upscale than a $20k Pontiac Solstice. I think that, with the C7, they've at least fixed that part of it. They look like seats that you'd get in a premium-level sports car.

I gotcha. Yea, the whole interior of the C5/C6 is kind of a mess, so I usually just gave the seat look a pass. The interior isn't much befitting someone who pays for a z06, very true. I'm very interested in seeing the first C7's hit the lots so I can shake the seats.

As it stands right now, on paper I'd rather have a C6 GrandSport. I like that the C7 is narrower, but it has a longer wheelbase and it's 1.4 inches longer in total. I guess we will have to see how the car gallops in competition to make a real call on it.

[NolimitZ32]

In a few words; looks great at a glimpse, warped camaro rear makes me go ewww, interiror looks like a goot attempt but i can still make out styling cues that exist in a malibu and as long as I can plainly see this I will not desire this car. I love everything about the vette's engineering I have since the c5 but charging that kind of money for something that can visually be related to a Aveo, no thanks.

[asoomal]

http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/16/chev ... -stingray/

[float_6969]

I just think, "it wants to be a Ferrari/Lambo" on most of the shots. Not that it's a bad thing, but I would hope for some more originality from Corvette.

[Looneybomber]

I just think, "it wants to be a Ferrari/Lambo" on most of the shots. Not that it's a bad thing, but I would hope for some more originality from Corvette.

Don't be jearous.

[float_6969]

LOL, don't get me wrong. If you gave me one, I'd keep it.

[AZhitman]

I like it. As a former Vette owner, I'm a little disappointed in the taillight treatment, but NO car nails everything design-wise... and realistically, who cares about aesthetics when a car outperforms almost everything else on the road?

With that said, I've got a major beef with some of these so-called car magazines who keep spouting ignorant comments like, "It looks like a Ferrari..." or "Big deal, it looks too much like a C6."

Psst - Hey, morons - The 911 hasn't changed much in FORTY YEARS, and yet you guys fap yourselves blind every time they move one body panel a couple millimeters. BMW's basic 3-series / 5-series designs have grown so stale they're growing green fuzz, and yet it's the Second Coming when they decide to add some useless new gadget or exterior color option.

The automotive press, in general, can't be consistent - so I don't put much faith in their evaluations or opinions.

BTW, my C5 had a few little annoyances, but the seats were rock-solid for, aft, and laterally. The interior was well-refined, devoid of squeaks and rattles, and had none of the flaws that some here have pointed out. I prefer the C5 interior to the C6 (C6 looks too stodgy / pedestrian), and the C7 interior appears to have returned to a proper sports car dual-binnacle design.

I'll definitely own another 'Vette - I miss mine, but I simply bought it for a stage in life that I hadn't reached yet.

[Jesda]

With that said, I've got a major beef with some of these so-called car magazines who keep spouting ignorant comments like, "It looks like a Ferrari..." or "Big deal, it looks too much like a C6."

Psst - Hey, morons - The 911 hasn't changed much in FORTY YEARS, and yet you guys fap yourselves blind every time they move one body panel a couple millimeters. BMW's basic 3-series / 5-series designs have grown so stale they're growing green fuzz, and yet it's the Second Coming when they decide to add some useless new gadget or exterior color option.

THIS. The Corvette has found its groove, one that's been carved deep for decades. It shouldn't surprise anyone that it adheres to an overall design theme that's consistently attractive while distinctly Corvette. This is America's dream car, and it gets dreamier with every revision.

Like the Mustang, 911, and to a lesser degree the Miata, its appearance is part of its status as a global icon.

[MinisterofDOOM]

In a few words; looks great at a glimpse, warped camaro rear makes me go ewww, interiror looks like a goot attempt but i can still make out styling cues that exist in a malibu and as long as I can plainly see this I will not desire this car. I love everything about the vette's engineering I have since the c5 but charging that kind of money for something that can visually be related to a Aveo, no thanks.

This complaint is entirely baffling to me. So you don't buy a car because it shares a steering wheel with a cheaper car? What the Hell would you have done in the 1960s when EVERY CAR HAD THE SAME STEERING WHEEL?! It was a WHEEL. WITH SPOKES. I think you're worrying about entirely the WRONG things.

I've never understood the complains about parts-sharing with the 'Vette. The reason it's a helluva lot of car for the money is that it uses a Cobalt steering wheel. If you can't be okay with that, it was never the car for you anyway. The parts that matter are unique to the Corvette.
And on the flipside of that, a lot of the benefit of cars like the Corvette is trickle-down tech, so it's inevitable that some of what it does will end up on lesser cars. This is a GOOD THING.

[NolimitZ32]

1. I am entitled to my opinion, no?
2. Glad I wasnt around in the 60s.
3. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I simply don't like the way Chevy does their interiors, never have, not in the 20 or so years that I have been interested in cars (I'm 27)
4. I said " I love everything about the vette's engineering I have since the c5" but again I believe that if I am going to spend that kind of money I want it to be asthetically pleasing as well as possess astounding performance. Nothing I said is a generalization its a matter of opinion, I'm not bashing the car in any way (except the tails, they really bother me), I'm simply stating what I don't like about it. I think it's absolutely fair for me to voice my opinion especially when I explain where my point comes from. Whether you agree or not is not my issue, it's my outlook on the car, I personally couldnt buy one and be happy for the reasons I listed. You may have a completely different outlook on the subject which may baffle me. Now please explain to me how trickle down aesthetic design is "a GOOD THING" (with the exception of the obvious lower cost of production). Trickledown tech I agree, tried and true, more reliable, design is different (in my eyes at least).

[MinisterofDOOM]

1. I am entitled to my opinion, no?

Certainly. As am I. We're exchanging opinions, which is the point of this thread.

[NolimitZ32]

1. I am entitled to my opinion, no?

Certainly. As am I. We're exchanging opinions, which is the point of this thread.

Ok just making sure we are on the same page. On a OT note: Damnit my job has made me so GD methodical and PC I can't take it anymore!!!

[mechanicalmoron]

They don't even share a single line.
I don't get it.

Looking at it like that, the GTR looks so bland.

That's because the GTR is bland.

They share a lot of general visual ques, and what they don't, the c7 just flipped upside down, like the rear lines or quarter window shape. But there's nothing subtle about the GTR, it looks like a stack of finely sculpted dumpsters.

This car looks generally really exciting, small visual design quibbles aside. At least to me.

I would take issue with the fact that it sounds like trying to modify it would be like trying to modify a fighter jet... but ehh, it sounds impressive stock. And an s13 with a fully driver programmable/setting selectable V8, complete with cylinder deactivation, with 450hp/ftlb and huge torque very low, and paddle shifters, sounds like what the doctor ordered.

[RicerX]

As a former Vette owner, I'm a little disappointed in the taillight treatment, but NO car nails everything design-wise.

I am still warming up to the tails myself, but everything else is pretty great.

As far as no car nailing everything design-wise, I present to you my argument:

[MinisterofDOOM]

As a former Vette owner, I'm a little disappointed in the taillight treatment, but NO car nails everything design-wise.

I am still warming up to the tails myself, but everything else is pretty great.

As far as no car nailing everything design-wise, I present to you my argument:

Ugh. The One-77 is hideous!

[PapaSmurf2k3]

I personally like the funds appropriation of the Vette.
It's like they took the approach of everything they had and applied it to a flow chart.
"If we upgrade this, will it make the car faster? Will it make the car stop better? Will it make the car handle better? Will it raise the cost?", if the answer to the first 3 are no, and the 4th is yes, you'd have a tough time getting it into the new vette

If you want all that junk, buy something Euro.

[gwoods]

After driving one I changed my mind the C7 is perfect

[AZhitman]

I would take issue with the fact that it sounds like trying to modify it would be like trying to modify a fighter jet

Not really. The LS series are pretty easily-modded. I've wrenched on C5's and C6's... In fact, I don't know of many cars that you can throw $2K and a weekend at and get SO much performance improvement in return.

I don't know how much modding people will want to do to the C7, but I typically don't own a car for more than a month before it's lowered, with upgraded wheels, tires and brakes.

After driving one I changed my mind the C7 is perfect

Uh, we're gonna need more info than that!


,,,,dammit, now I've got the itch for another C5. Doesn't help that the new owner of mine is enjoying the hell out of it... says it's the best car he's ever owned.

[mechanicalmoron]

I would take issue with the fact that it sounds like trying to modify it would be like trying to modify a fighter jet

Not really. The LS series are pretty easily-modded. I've wrenched on C5's and C6's... In fact, I don't know of many cars that you can throw $2K and a weekend at and get SO much performance improvement in return.

Well I don't rightly know, but I assume these new-fangled fully computerized deals, with advanced traction control and abs, transmission control, advanced specialized tunes built in and driver selectable, and all that jazz, are harder to just pop parts into. And you can't just replace the computer, without seriously compromising functions of the car's handling other than power.

But the closest I've ever been to a modern V8 was while getting a jump.

[AZhitman]

Certain things are difficult. Fortunately, GM's ECU's are easily modded. The mods I had on mine (brakes, rotors, headers, intake, struts, catback, tires, wheels) are all pretty universal and easy to do.

[gwoods]

New Road & Track came today its on the cover nice article inside and I had to use the bathroom anyhow. :-)

The release photos don't do a very good job compared to the car mag photo's? I've almost got over the 4 tail lights

[Bubba1]

New Road & Track came today its on the cover nice article inside and I had to use the bathroom anyhow. :-)

The release photos don't do a very good job compared to the car mag photo's? I've almost got over the 4 tail lights

I got my R&T yesterday too. Though I haven't taken my R&T reading dump yet, glancing at their photos, I'm still not liking the frown looking camaro tail-lens rear. I don't mind the interior's all business look. My neighbor is now in the market for a new 'vette. So I plan to accompany him when he visits Kerbeck (local dealer that specializes in vettes) for test drives As info, he's selling his garage kept, mildly customized 2001 C5 (lambo doors, ghost flames and a "split window") if anyone is interested.

[RicerX]

Ugh. The One-77 is hideous!

This might be more up your alley in terms of style then...