Cincinnati.com's view

Can you believe it? Corvette is 50 this year.

If you can remember, as I can, when it came crashing onto the automotive stage, that has to be a sobering thought.

Not enough that the car itself was a neck-snapper – Chevrolet (yeah, how did the Corvette wind up in the bargain-basement division of General Motors?) soon forged a tie-in deal with the producers of Route 66. That show, not all that awful for the time, did much to plant the idea of idyllic, carefree motoring in the American consciousness.

Carefree, after all, is the essence of a two-seater – free from money worries, free from parental obligations, free from the modern cautions about melanoma, in the case of the droptop – the car as fun per se. There are many yummy two-seaters on the market, but the Corvette stands nearly alone as a veritable temple to torque.

Torque is not to be confused with horsepower. Torque is the twisting force that tries to wrench the rubber from the wheels when the driver is exploring the limits of adhesion in a burnout. Horsepower, a function of work and time, has more to do with a vehicle’s performance at the top end.

The only match for the Corvette, in terms of torque, in the quasi-mass-production segment is the aging Dodge Viper with its truck-based 8-liter V-10. While the output is similarly bountiful, a V-10 sounds nasty, thrashy, as if it’s about to come apart; a V-8 can be almost symphonic.

The ‘vette’s exhaust-system tuners deserve almost as much credit as the folks who labored over the engine to bring it to new heights of power. Hearing that wondrous old 5.7-liter (350 cubic inches) work its way up the tachometer scale to its 6,000-rpm power peak will give a car buff the shivers every time.

The exhaust sound starts out as a sort of ground bass, becomes assertive and finally becomes almost menacing as it comes on the cam and gives its all. Somehow the engineers have arranged it so that on throttle-off deceleration, a little fuel sneaks through to the mufflers to produce that classic rumble.

The venerable engine has more to give this year, at least in the step-up version of the coupe called Z06.

Starting with the same cast-aluminum block as the regular LS1, Chevy gave it a new head, new internal plumbing and a modified exhaust system. Being able to breathe more deeply means output is 405 hp (at 6,000 rpm) and 400 foot-pounds of torque (at 4,800). In standard, LS1 trim, the engine produces 350 hp and 375 foot-pounds – as if that wouldn’t be enough.

And this is at core the familiar Chevy “small-block,” not some exotic multivalve concoction, but rather an overhead valve design like the one your lawn mower probably has. The high power and torque peaks bespeak some serious friction-reducing internal work, too.

The advertising department is jumping up and down, with more than 400 horses to brag about, but where are you going to use them? The only legal answer is “on the track.” Top speed is in excess of 170 mph.

The torque, you can use – as in leaping from a standing start to 60 mph in less than 4 seconds, with just a puff of burnt rubber and the sound of a pack of agitated banshees. I wish they hadn’t put “405 hp” badges on the side of the car – that seems as tacky as flashing a wad.

I would be inclined to say the hopped-up engine is for the most part a waste of money in practical terms, but practical has nothing to do with it. Corvettosis is a disease; I know two guys who have spent more than some people spend for a new car at a super tuner shop, trying to wring more performance from this rocket ship. It’s a “mine is badder than yours” thing, and it’s surprising how many women love these cars – as owner/drivers.

The question at this power level is, how well does the chassis handle it? Suffice it to say they got that sorted out a long time back. This the fifth-generation ‘vette – that tells us two tings: it has undergone some serious development over the years, and it has a long life cycle – plenty of time for refining, fine tuning.

It doesn’t appear that we’ll see a new design for a year or two – GM’s attention is on larger markets at the moment.

I wouldn’t want to drive the Z06 for long stretches over less-than-perfect highways, but on the whole, the ride quality is sporty without being punishing.

Chevy brags about its optional “magnetic-rheological” shocks. With sensors at each wheel, they adjust their stiffness electrically by changing the density of the working fluid, with no moving parts. That might be worth looking at, because with the ordinary setup, the car felt excessively busy on anything but glassy surfaces.

The Z06 is shod with asymmetric Goodyear Eagle F1s. Their grip is amazing, although they do complain audibly when the edge is near. The fronts are 265/40 profiles on 17-inch cast-aluminum rims. The rears, the better to manage all that power, are 295/35s on 18-inch rims. Needless to say, they are Z-rated, which means very stiff sidewalls, such as they are, but that also means they can run all day in excess of 149 mph.

They’ll also wear out quickly and cost you around $300 each to replace – but there I go, being practical again. You wouldn’t want anything less on this bad boy.

Conventional wisdom would suggest such wide tires would be scary in the rain, but in fact they were very capable, shedding the water better than most.

And when it came time to burn off speed, that huge contact patch again proved its worth. With large disc brakes front and rear, backed by an antilock system, the Z06’s stopping was almost like hitting a wall.

The Z06 comes only with a six-speed manual transmission. It’s excellent, with short, precise throws, and they’ve scrapped that silly business of having it jump from first to fourth under mild acceleration to help the fuel economy numbers.

Fuel economy may be a concern to GM corporate, but it’s no biggie for owners. EPA ratings are 19 mpg city, 26 highway. I terrorized parts of Indiana with the tester, using the shifter more than necessary just to hear that lovely exhaust, and got 21.1 mpg, which I thought was creditable. The mandated fuel: The best you can find, 93 octane preferred.

Since it’s such a low-volume car, neither of our usual resources – the government and the insurance people – has crash-tested a Corvette.

The car felt solidly constructed, with no noticeable chassis flex or groaning from the plastic body panels, and it has dual front air bags, of course.

You can get a Corvette for about $44,000 in base, hatchback form. A convertible can be had for $51K, while the Z06 coupe is $51,895 with freight. The tester was painted in a garish “millennium yellow,” which costs $750 extra. It also had electrochromic mirrors, for $120, a nd a memory package for $175. Total was $52,940. Edmunds.com reports that Corvettes, on the whole, go for sticker, which indicates the factory in Bowling Green, Ky., has achieved the perfect balance of supply and demand. If you paid $52,940, the monthly exaction would be $1,065, assuming 20 percent down, 10 percent interest and 48 payments.