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The Bowtie and the Beast

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Once upon a time there was the Chevette, but there was, at the same time, the Corvette. Verily I say unto you the day came where there was the Aveo, and yet over there, in a different part of the lot, was the Corvette. You see what I’m saying? It’s an auto manufacturer yin and yang thing; a wild phenomena that stretches the whole balance-of-opposites concept to extreme proportions. On one side of the spectrum resides a rental mule, the other has arguably one of the sharpest sports coupes in the world that can run with the best exotica out there. I mention this because even during its best moments of controlled moto-mayhem, there are still times when you’re in a Corvette and you sense the presence of Chevrolet. What I mean to say is during such moments you feel, albeit briefly, you’re in a vehicle that is a bit less exotic and polished than one might expect for a $70K plus price tag. 

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It’s OK, though, because such moments vanish quickly (like reflector markers on the side of the road) and to be honest it’s all part of the Vette’s unique charm. The car (in Grand Sport trim) has a wonderfully vocal and respectfully strong LS3 6-liter V8 that is as much a treat to listen to as it is to open up on an empty stretch of curvy tarmac. The engine audio was especially tasty because the Vette I enjoyed had the optional Dual-Mode exhaust that boosts horsepower to 436 and does both the Basso Burble and Banshee Blast with equal vigor. There are more powerful variants of the engine available in more extreme Corvette models of course, but I found this mill (in concert with a very sharp 6-speed manual) to be a fine fit for the chassis as a whole. It’s a balance thing, and involves everything working in harmony to get you down the road with great dispatch. 

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This of course is a segue to what makes a sporting automobile worth its salt, which is the handling. Anybody can drop an enormous engine under the bonnet and go like stink in a straight line, but it’s the process of straightening a challenging serpentine road that separates the muggles from the wizards. The Corvette has a very unique chassis, including composite body panels, a hydroformed steel frame with aluminum and magnesium structural and chassis components and the use of composite leaf springs (both fore and aft) to gobble up bumps. This is a really unusual way to suspend the car, and the single leaf at each end is incredibly feathery in mass and transversely mounted so low it nearly scrapes the pavement. The Z16 Performance Package includes stiffer springs and stabilizer bars, specially-tuned shock absorbers, larger brakes with six-piston front and four-piston rear cross-drilled rotors and high-performance AA-traction rated tires. This package also includes extra cooling for the engine, and a Z16-specific six-speed manual (when ordered with six-speed manual transmission).

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But wait: there’s more suspension goodness. The Magnetic Selective Ride Control option dumps all kind of black-box magic into the soup, including “magneto-rheological dampers able to detect road surfaces, and adjust the damping rates to those surfaces almost instantly for optimal ride control.” There’s Tour and Sport settings but I never messed with them as suspension response was just fine, thank you, and the sophisticated (and adjustable) Active Handling traction control lets you have a bit a tail-sliding fun but does a great job of keeping you going where you’re pointed. Pointing the Corvette is one of motoring’s great pleasures, too, as the steering feel and response is perfect for this package and is an integral part of why the car is such an entertaining ride. The Vette gets more comfortable the harder you push it (at least at the pace I ran which wasn’t near its limits-this is the street after all), and the finely molded sport seats both cradle and comfort your person whether you’re hustling or just cruising along. Some controls (like the turn-signal-mounted cruise buttons and a counterintuitive radio/NAV interface) are annoying and very Chevy-centric, which goes back to that yin/yang thing I mentioned earlier. But hey, that’s all part of the Corvette experience and there’s something strangely nostalgic about this kind of dated hardware. This GM icon is and always has been kind of special, and at its core is a seriously competent sports car that can really get your blood pumping at a pace that only a few serious road machines can achieve. The car is continuing to grow and evolve, sure, but it has managed to maintain the essence of what after all is a very entertaining beast; unique to the American performance ethos and a truly singular driving experience. Some things, it must be said, do age rather well. 

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