In the Quest for High Performance, Some times You Have to Get Back to the Basics.

If you’re an automobile designer, there isn’t a more challenging or, ultimately, a more rewarding assignment than to be given the opportunity to create the next Corvette. It’s not something we take lightly. Great automotive design and Corvette have gone together since the very first one in 1953. It’s about heritage, passion, tradition and the future, all at once. And the fact that any new Corvette design must speak loudly of the performance potential that lies underneath the skin. The new Corvette hardtop would certainly have to measure up to some pretty lofty standards.

Our Future Must Start With Our Past.

Our past is really important to the Corvette Design Team. Each and every day, we live and breathe Corvette history. Legends like the Corvette SS. The original Sting Ray. The ’63 Coupe. The Mako Shark. It’s all there for us to see whenever we turn a corner in the halls of our design studios. From memorable streets cars and significant race cars to forward-looking concept cars and design studies, we feel the presence of every Corvette that ever came before. Which is exactly why it’s such a privilege to have the opportunity to design the next one. Because as designers, we don’t just create a new Corvette, we get a chance to make history.

The New Hardtop Is the Essence of Corvette.

Since the era of the competition Grand Sport, a fixed-roof configuration has always meant the ultimate performance Corvette, and the new hardtop is no exception. To accentuate the purity of the shape, we created a minimal “greenhouse,” getting back to the functional simplicity of all sports cars. By doing this, we enhanced the taut, muscular fenders, elegant wheel openings and aggressive wheels. We feel the look emphasizes the true spirit of the car. The net impact we were going for is one of no-nonsense power and pure performance; in other words, the very essence of what Corvette is all about.

For Purists, It’s the Ultimate Corvette.

We didn’t want this Corvette to lack for anything. After all, this was the first fixed-roof Corvette in 32 years, so it had to have all the performance ingredients that make the new convertible and coupe so special to begin with. The Corvette Design Team went to work from there. Starting with its lighter-weight structure consisting of a strong perimeter frame combined with a center backbone (the C5 was already over four times stiffer than the previous generation), the new hardtop configuration is even more rigid ffor enhanced road “feel” and overall solidity. From there, this new Corvette gets all the right stuff: all-aluminum 5.7-liter V8 with sequential-port fuel-injection, 345 horsepower at 5600 rpm, 350 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm and electronic “drive-by-wire” throttle control. Close-ratio six-speed, rear mounted manual transmission. Limited slip differential. Speed-sensitive, variable-effort, rack-and-pinion power steering. Huge 4-wheel, ventilated power disc brakes. 17”x8.5” aluminum wheels in the front, 18”x9.5” in the rear with Goodyear Eagle F1 GS high-performance, extended-mobility tires. Lightweight aluminum suspension pieces and standard Z51 performance Handling Package (which includes stiffer springs, larger stabilizers and larger mono tube shocks). In short, there’s enough performance hardware here to please even the most hard-core enthusiasts. And that’s what it’s all about, really. Performance for performance sake. For purists, it is easy to see why the hardtop is the ultimate Corvette.

Work? It’s a Labor of Love.

To say everyone here on the Corvette Design Team loves these cars is an understatement. We drive them. We collect them. We even race them. We’re Corvette enthusiasts through and through. That’s why we love the new hardtop. It represents everything Corvette stands for: Power. Passion. Advanced Technology. Performance. And The Future. Drive one and you’ll see what we mean.