Chevrolet Corvette, Shorter, More Powerful And Less Wind Resistance

A new Corvette is quite an event in the US sports car world, and the C6, as the 2005 model year Corvette is known, is no disappointment. With a slightly larger engine, a shorter body, firmer suspension, and a drag coefficient of only 0.28 very much top class the new car will be worth waiting for. New for Chevrolet is a roadster, with an automatically raising and lowering soft top well, not quite new as there was one about 40 years ago! There's also an option of automatically adjusted damping a true innovation.

Droop nose, high tail and low drag

Visually, this is instantly recognizable as a Corvette, not least because of that huge rear wrap-around window and the high wide tail. The nose now droops down more, and the lower apron seems to almost sweep the road. There is a wide, shallow air intake at the front, and fashionable teardrop headlamps.

Presumably to reduce wind resistance and give adequate trunk space, the tail is higher than it used to be, and from most views the car looks rather heavy at the tail. Nonetheless, the C6 follows the Corvette line. The roadster looks more balanced than the coupe, somehow, particularly in light colors.

Curb weight is pretty good for a car of this size: 3,245 lbb (1,470 kg) which gives a very good power-to-weight ratio. That's the coupe; the convertible, to give the roadster its official name, is lighter at 3,199 lbs (1,451 kg) because the C6 was designed as a roadster form the outset.

V-8 engine bored out again!

To give the Corvette a bit more oomph, the venerable LS2 V-8, which despite having been in production more or less since the year dot in Corvette terms, has an aluminum cylinder block which has been refined further. The capacity has been increased a little to a nice round 6.0 liters, and despite looking more appropriate for a weighty sedan than a sports two-seater, it manages to crank out 400 bhp at 6,000 rpm. 

Actually, the power output and torque are just about the same as the current Z06, so performance will be just great, and no doubt accompanied by that nice burble you get with a big V-8.

To get plenty of weight at the rear the weight distribution is 51% front and 49% rear which is pretty near ideal the gearbox is mounted at the rear with the axle gears as a transaxle. Either a Tremec six-speed manual box or a four-speed slush-pump automatic can be specified. Quite a difference in character. If this Corvette were coming from anywhere other than the USA, I would expect the automatic to have five-speeds.

Aluminum suspension

Although the suspension specification sounds the same, everything is new. In redesigning the suspension, the Corvette engineers remained faithful to the double wishbone arrangement with a composite transverse leaf spring front and rear. The result is a simple, lightweight system that gives more roll stiffness resistance to roll than coil springs. Also, the spring rate is progressive, so it irons out big bumps in the road almost as easily as little ones.

To save weight, the double wishbones front and rear are aluminum; of course, the composite leaf springs are light, too.

Big brakes are part of the package, as are ABS, traction control and Active handling stability control. More and more sports cars have active handling to help you keep in control, and the Corvette is keeping apace.

Sensational new automatic damping

The new Corvette has the most innovative and advanced dampers in the business the Magnetic Selective Ride option. These are a new type of damper that are automatically adjusted according to the road conditions. This is done with a remarkable new fluid which is called a magneto-rheological substance.

There are tiny iron particles in the fluid and a magnetic flux can be applied to turn them. As the magnetic flux increases, so does the damping force. Sensors determine the conditions, and adjust the damping force continuously. Formidable!

Head-up display option

Inside the car, is a neat fascia with the option of another innovation, now finding its way into the more expensive cars head-up display. The speed and other relevant information are shown on the windshield so the driver doesn't need to keep looking down.

As before, the structure is based on a steel frame, with a pair of deep beams running back each side of the cockpit. Instead of pressings, the members are made from hydro formed tubes, which is ideal for low-volume manufacture. Not quite as advanced as an aluminum space frame, but a step in the right direction.

Other features include the cored composite floors, enclosed center tunnel, and aluminum cockpit structure. To save weight the front and sub-frames are also aluminum. In line with Corvette tradition, the body panels are all composites.

Sports package for the track

Where does the Corvette fit into the world? Well, it's got to be a supercar, and of course, there are plenty of tuners who've shown that you can get tremendous power from that V-8. The brakes are larger than before, and there's a sports package which includes stiffer suspension, closer ratios and oil coolers this is the basis for a track car. GM is certainly keeping the US supercar flag flying with this one.