2011
Corvette C7: Dream Chevrolet Lineup
The
Corvette; such an iconic GM vehicle. It’s the
car that everyone loves, and has a place in the
hearts and minds of millions of people around
the world. It’s Chevrolet’s equivalent of the
911, and the two vastly different cards are
often compared head to head as ideological
opposites. The car that can compare with rivals
costing far more; that car is the Corvette. And
that’s the car we had the task of redesigning,
quite possibly the hardest of all the
Revitalization in Action cars we have done
before. Our hardest vehicle, in the hardest
lineup. Efforts in this lineup have culminated
with, and in our idea of what the next
generation C7 Corvette should be.
In
this RIA, our C7 Corvette’s styling follows an
more evolutionary, rather than revolutionary
path. Overall the car is much more emotional and
dramatic, with a more planted stance and low-slung
look. Things like a swooping downward character
line add drama and excitement to the car, while
still retaining that unmistakable Corvette look.
We
followed the mantra of “don’t mess with success”
in hammering out the details on the C7,
especially in regards to price. The corvette is
an attainable supercar, and that’s something
that shouldn’t be changed. The LT bumps up the
horsepower from current C6 levels to 450HP. And,
as is the case now, is available in a few
different packages, 1LT, 2LT and 3LT. Z06
increase the HP level to 600HP from its 7.0L LS7
V8. A new addition to the model line is the
“Super Corvette”, which we have called the
Corvette SS. The Corvette SS has a supercharged
version of the engine, making 850HP. The SS also
adds features like ceramic brakes, something GM
has opted out of the current car because of the
over $10k cost. The price has been brought down
though, however and it’s a feature that
certainly should be present on the very best of
Corvettes.