Thanks to its optional Z51 Performance Package and the performance exhaust system that comes with it, our test car made 495 horsepower at 6,450 rpm and 470 pound-feet of torque at 5,150 rpm, up from the standard car's 490 hp and 465 lb-ft of torque. They’re good for bragging rights, and not much else.
By now, you’ve probably heard that modern 'Vettes are fast. That’s true. Put one on an arrow-straight road in the middle of nowhere—say, at dusk following a photoshoot—and the 6.2-liter V8 engine will pin you to the back of the seat as the surroundings blur past the edges of the windshield.
What you might not realize, given its low-slung, cab-forward, ground-missile styling is that a C8 Corvette is also nearly as easy to daily drive as a typical family sedan or SUV. We say nearly as easy because there are a few driving situations that require special care.
Reversing with the top down can prove an exercise in blind faith. The high-definition reversing camera definitely helps, but when exiting a driveway and trying to look down the road for approaching vehicles, you need to lean well forward so that the seat and flying buttress don’t block your view.
Also, it's really important to remember to use the front suspension lift function. Otherwise, you’ll regularly scrape the car’s nose. Gratefully, this option includes a memory function that stores up to 1,000 GPS-recalled locations. That way, if your driveway poses a problem for the car, you can set it as a location and the Corvette will automatically raise each time you arrive home.
The Corvette also has a fantastic eight-speed dual-clutch transmission (DCT). Some people don’t like DCTs due to their occasional bouts of hesitation as the gearbox automatically applies and releases the clutch. While this behavior could irritate some people, it sure does give the Corvette a big dose of character.
Multiple driving modes are available, including My Mode and Z Mode settings that allow you to create two different custom configurations. We mainly used Tour around town and on the highway, and changed between Sport and Track while driving in the mountains.
The Z51 Package preps the Corvette for maximum driving enjoyment. In addition to its performance exhaust, it comes with a performance-tuned Magnetic Ride Control adaptive dampers, performance brakes, a performance rear-axle ratio, and an electronic limited-slip rear differential. A heavy-duty cooling system is also along for the ride, as well as high-performance run-flat tires.
There is more capability baked into this car than a typical driver will ever use. And it is impossible to safely explore a Corvette’s high limits on public roads. But that doesn’t mean the car isn’t a sheer delight to drive, and the mid-engine layout contributes significantly to its gratifying dynamic character.
An unobstructed forward view, framed by the Corvette’s trademark fender swells, adds an intimacy with the road missing from the previous front-engine, rear-drive models. During this test, it may have prevented contact with road debris, too.
Exiting a tunnel on California Highway 33 north of Ojai, plastic tubing that had fallen off of a truck littered my lane. The low hood helped me to see the mess immediately upon exiting the tunnel, and the stout brakes brought the car to a near-instantaneous halt. In part, I credit the easy visibility for preventing possible damage, or an accident, in this situation.
This outstanding forward visibility, coupled with the car’s newfound rotational handling talents in corners and curves, delivers an intensely satisfying driving character. Switch the car into Sport or Track mode, and it comes alive in your hands, the steering firming up, the suspension tightening up, the transmission delivering gear changes with more punch, and the exhaust system adding a proper soundtrack.
So calibrated, when you take a Corvette Z51 down a road you know better than the lines on your own face, a transcendent experience awaits.
We understand that the new mid-engined Corvette isn’t to everyone’s preferences. But to know and love this car is to drive it. And the dramatic changes to its engineering philosophy, exterior styling and interior layout, and driving dynamics have the power to win Chevrolet new customers who may not have wanted a previous-generation Corvette.