Chevrolet Corvette C7 (2014 - ) Review

Date: 05.10.2015

Chevrolet Corvette C7

Chevrolet Corvette C7

Chevrolet Corvette C7

Chevrolet Corvette C7

As we look at the seven generations of the Corvette, this time the focus is on current gen C7, beginning from 2014

CHEVROLET CORVETTE C7
2014 -

If the C6 was the Corvette that eased GM into the upper echelon of performance cars, the C7 Stingray hammered home the point in case anybody had missed it. Despite this, it wasn’t the car some had hoped for. After all, the skinny was that the General had been planning to pay a tribute to Zora Arkus-Duntov and launch a mid-engined Corvette to mark Chevrolet’s centenary in 2011. A Vette with the engine behind the driver was tinkered with, some reports claiming it was fitted with a Saab-sourced dual-clutch transaxle, but the global financial crisis of 2008 led to GM’s bankruptcy in 2009.

Tom Wallace, had taken over as Chief Engineer from Dave Hill in 2006 but lasted just two years, getting the C7’s development started before handing over the reins to Tadge Juechter in 2008. Given this lack of continuity in the C7’s gestation, it’s no wonder GM lowered their gaze somewhat. Thirty-seven years after the last Stingray rolled off the line, the C7 Stingray was unveiled at the 2013 Detroit Show. Only two parts were carried over from the C6, the passenger compartment air filter and the rear latch for the coupe’s removable roof panel.

The hood and roof were carbon fibre, the frame aluminium and the underbody formed of a carbon-nano structure, with the weight balance being 49.4 percent front, 50.6 percent rear, making this the first Vette with a rearwards weight bias. The 455hp LT1 V8 featured active cylinder shutdown and was mated to either a six-speed automatic or a seven-speed Tremec manual box with rev matching on downshifts. The C7 might have looked evolutionary, but its sharpened styling hid some huge technical advances.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT

Fuel economy hasn’t traditionally been a Corvette strong point. Back in 1975, a C4 Vette would return around 13.8L/100km on the highway while delivering just 165hp. Fast forward 40 years and the C7 now features the most fuel-efficient 450hp+ engine in the world, netting 8.1L/100km on a cruise. Active Fuel Management shuts down half the cylinders when cruising, making the C7 the first four-cylinder Corvette. Sometimes.

- Back to Corvette History 

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