The Corvette Stingray is one of those iconic cars of boyhood dreams. It represents the quintessential American sports car and since it made its debut in 1953 six generations of the car have come and gone leaving behind a mixed but mostly admirable reputation.
Very early examples of this car are collectors items, there then followed a little mid-life crisis with two generations of the Stingray when it floundered a little with a few frustrating engineering and build quality problems before the fifth and sixth incarnations put it back on the right track. And then came the magnificent seventh which has taken the motoring world by storm.
The Corvette Stingray C7 is now the American dream it was always meant to be. It delivers everything you expect from a legendary sports car. It is more beautiful to look at, it is faster, lighter, and ticks all those boxes that were left empty by some previous models.
Everything worth mentioning has been changed for the better in terms of chassis, aerodynamics, engine and handling.
The coupe with its aggressive but sleek super car looks is a modern work of art and made an instant impact when it was introduced two years ago. It also has a removable roof if you want to put a bit of wind in your hair but if you are a fan of drop-top motoring there is now a convertible Stingray which is just as stunning to look at, if not more so, and maybe even a bit more exciting to drive.
Go for a drive in this little beauty and you will give people neck ache because I guarantee they will not stop staring as you cruise along, especially if, as in the case of our test car, it comes in the gloriously loud Velocity Yellow colour with gorgeous black wheels.
The interior is a huge improvement from the last Corvette which had a drastic plastic overload. Now there are classy leather seats, soft touch materials, optional carbon fibre trim and aluminium.
The steering wheel is smaller, making it more appealing and the LED instrument cluster is ultra-bright so it can be read clearly with the roof down when there is more sunglare. Our convertible also had an excellent eight-inch infotainment touch-screen with the Chevrolet MyLink infotainment system.
But what you really want from a Stingray is performance and it doesn’t disappoint. There are five drive modes operated through a single dial selector on the centre console: Weather, which you will probably never use, Eco, again pretty pointless, Tour, which is ok for cruising around, Sport which livens things up a bit and Track which gives you the ultimate drive experience but probably best left for the circuit unless you are a particularly good driver. Once selected the car’s computer does everything else with the car’s setup. I stuck with Sport mode and it provided a very engaging and smile-inducing experience.
I flirted with Track mode for a while which was entertaining in a terrifying sort of way and in this mode the instrument cluster is dominated by rev counter and lap timer as seen on those fabulous Corvette racing cars.
The standard Stingray is the most powerful ever with the 6.2 litre V8 packing 455bhp and 624nm of torque. However, our test car was equipped with the Z51 performance package with ups the ante with retuned suspension, slotted brake discs and boosts power to 460bhp and 630nm of torque, courtesy of a performance exhaust system.
This car is supremely fast. Put pedal to metal and you will get from 0-100kmh in 3.7 seconds (with the Z51 package) and the noise that comes from that V8 is pure bliss. With the roof down is an orchestral masterpiece. The engine is mated to a new eight-speed automatic gearbox with paddle-shifts and it delivers supremely swift and smooth gear changes. The handling is also brilliant, thanks to the car’s lightweight chassis and Magnetic Ride Control which is claimed to be the world’s fastest reacting suspension, a real-time damping system that monitors the road every millisecond. The driver mode selector adjusts these setting.
Make no mistake, this is a superb convertible which proves once again that, for this Stingray, the sky really is the limit.
