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 cars 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 RIA 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 then 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 starts at
$47,150 and 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, which starts at
$70,250, increases the HP level to 600HP from it's 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,
starting at $115,000, 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. |
