Performance

Corvette coupes (they all have a removable roof section) and convertibles (see sidebar “C6 Convertible”) come in three forms: base, F55 (add about $1700) with adjustable magnetorheological shocks, and Z51. The Z51 package, which will cost about $1500, includes a stiffer suspension, tires that offer better dry-road grip, larger brakes, a six-speed manual with shorter ratios, and a transmission-oil cooler. Expecting a Z51 to be the best performer, that’s naturally what we tested.

Before we get to the numbers, a word about ride quality. It’s impressively smooth. The suspension communicates the contours of the road and filters out the harshness. Frost heaves cutting across entrance ramps that used to make the hind end jittery are now soaked up nicely. There’s a resilience to the suspension that reminds us of BMW’s 3-series.

The tires grip fervently, generating 0.98 g on the skidpad. That matches the best of the three Z06s we’ve tested and vastly surpasses the 0.90 g that our grippiest non-Z06 C5 generated. The C6 has the same balanced feel as the old, with a willingness to slide either end depending on how you play with the pedals. Now, however, it sticks to broken pavement better and is much more accommodating over midcorner bumps. The brakes, too, are wonderful, with good modulation, zero fade, and a stopping distance from 70 mph to a standstill in 166 feet, about the same as the previous car.

The stability-control system has a button that either shuts it off or selects a competition mode that allows more slip before intervening than the fully active mode. It is perhaps the best version of stability control we’ve ever sampled because it offers an appreciated safety net and yet permits 0.96 g on the skidpad in both fully active and competition modes.

With the system off, the Vette galloped to 60 mph in 4.3 seconds and through the quarter-mile in 12.7 seconds at 113 mph. The C5s we’ve tested have averaged 4.9 to 60 and 13.4 at 108 in the quarter, and the quickest Z06 [ C/D , December 2001] ran 4.0 and 12.4 at 116.

Of course, the C6’s more powerful engine is partly why it outruns the C5, but so is its weight. Our test car weighed a minimalist 3224 pounds. That’s lighter—by about 60 pounds—than any C5 coupe we’ve tested. Moreover, the C6 is only 78 pounds heavier than the carbon-fiber $448,400 Porsche Carrera GT. And this mass efficiency was achieved even though the C6 has more features and more sound deadening to quiet the interior. Although our sound-level meter didn’t hear a noticeable improvement, back-to-back comparison drives with a 2004 Z06 suggest this new Corvette is much quieter.

 

One of the goals, Hill says, was to increase performance while improving the Corvette’s refinement. This is now a car with an amazingly wide range of capabilities. Around VIR, we drove a Z51 for maybe 20 laps as if it were someone else’s, but its performance was so strong that we never tapped the limit of its potential. And it didn’t show a single sign that the hot laps were detrimental. It’s the perfect everything sports car: fast enough to keep you interested during a day of lapping and refined and comfortable enough to make the slog home, or the daily commute, a relaxing experience.

But even though the C6 is better in every way, Chevy says it will cost roughly $1000 less than the C5. The base car will start at about $43,500 and comes standard with the six-speed manual, which was a $915 option. Our test car had the $1500 Z51 package, a head-up display, heated seats, and OnStar and would probably run about $47,000.

Take any sports car within 20 grand of the Corvette’s sticker, and the Vette will flat smoke it. We think the Corvette may also prove a match for the upcoming $70,065 321-hp Porsche 911 and could very possibly outgun the $79,865 350-hp 911S. Oh, and don’t bet against the Vette’s earning another 10Best spot.

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