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By Royal FordBoston.com
October 21, 2007
Base price/as tested: $45,170/$56,185 Fuel economy: 17.5 miles per gallon in Globe testing, using premium fuel Annual fuel cost: $2,206 (at $2.97 per gallon, premium, 13,000 miles per year) THE EARLY LINE Corvette keeps getting better without the stratospheric prices of world-class performance cars. THE SPECIFICS Drivetrain: Rear-wheel-drive Seating: 2 Horsepower: 436 Torque: 428 lb.-ft. Overall length: 174.6 inches Wheelbase: 105.7 inches Height: 49.0 inches Width: 72.6 inches Curb weight: 3,299 pounds THE SKINNY Nice touch: A finer interior with less plastic showing. Annoyance: I know it's an option, but the transparent roof makes no sense. The removable solid roof is the way to go. Watch for: One day, maybe, a Corvette with a truly refined interior featuring rich leathers, and premium woods and metals. At the wheel of today's test car, the 2008 Corvette Coupe, is the ghost of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the progenitor of what has become an American-made, world-class, high-performance car - at a reasonable price. It's only fitting that a Russian-born kid who escaped an icy drowning in a St. Petersburg river and came to America to give us one of our hottest cars, should be at the wheel of the finest 'Vette yet. We are talking 436 horsepower from a 6.2 liter V-8. And it's linked to a six-speed manual that is the tightest clicking machine I've seen yet in a 'Vette. A six-speed automatic is also available. What really astounds me is that a car priced at "only" $56,000 (our test model) is recognized globally, just like the Porsche, Ferrari, and Lamborghini. And having driven all of those cars in recent months, I can say that if speed and performance are your goals - but at least some monetary restraint is in order - this new Corvette is the car for you. Start with a base price of $45,170. With that you get that engine-tranny combo, an active handling system, traction control, power heated outside mirrors, a removable roof panel, push-button start, leather seats, with a power-adjustable driver's seat, and four-wheel disc brakes. We climbed the pricing ladder quickly, however, with a "preferred equipment group package" ($4,505) that, frankly, the discerning buyer could do without, aside from the fact that it included side-impact airbags. The group package also came with a power-adjustable passenger seat, heated seats, head-up display, upgraded sound, and steering wheel audio controls, among other goodies. Tack on a performance package (about $1,700) that includes upgraded brakes and suspension; polished aluminum wheels at $1,295, a dual mode exhaust for $1,195, and a removable transparent roof that adds another $750, and this becomes a car that costs well over $50,000. Still, put it up against foreign competition and it rocks, despite the upgraded but less than stellar interior appointments. As all that power is transmitted rearward, what is most noticeable is an interesting dance of the heavy and the light. Grunt and grip are paramount in the feel from aft. Use the power for straight ahead thrust, or for steering with the throttle to toss the rear in a controlled manner. But there is also a tactile lightness to the feel from up front - a far more responsive sense of steering. Where once pushing a Corvette using its nose was sometimes like trying to parse the movements of the bow of a cabin cruiser, this one cuts delicately like a water-ski boat. Cornering is whatever you choose to make it: firm and sure with subtle gas, or back-end kick with oversteer-countersteer if you want power turns. The stability control system leaves plenty of room for the enthusiast in you before it kicks in. We did not take the car onto a racetrack, but I believe that its touted 190-mile-per-hour top end is reachable. That's a remarkable achievement when combined with the better fit and finish of the interior, a steering sense you can feel with light grips of thumb and forefinger, and a smooth quiet broken only by the sound of its quad exhausts. Especially since the price remains well below those of its prime competitors. Shop it against: 2008 Cadillac XLR This is essentially a Corvette done up in designer leathers with a drop-top and a 443-horsepower supercharged V-8 tossed in. You can easily top $90,000. 2008 Dodge Viper Not as primitive as it used to be, the Viper better handles what is now a 600-horsepower V-10. Of course, at almost $90,000, that kind of juice is expected. 2008 Jaguar XKR An elegant rocket, designed with the muscular look that future Jags must adopt. Add the 420-horse supercharged V-8, opt for soft or hard top, and whistle down the road to the tune of $90,000 or more. Royal Ford can be reached at ford@globe.com.
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