The new Corvette C6 is kind of like Las Vegas. Years ago Las Vegas used to be
steak, chicken and potatoes. It was as American as you could possibly get.
As they open up the world markets, it’s still the most American place there
is, but you can get proper Italian food, proper French food, all kinds of
different cuisines. It’s the same thing with the Corvette; it’s still
American but it has more of a European flavour.
As far as cars were concerned, Americans used to feel: “If you can’t see it,
don’t worry about it. If you can see it, chrome it.” Well that’s pretty much
changed. Those days are gone for ever. I think the American designers have
taken a look at what the Europeans are doing and realised that this is the
future.
Chevrolet has made a real effort to produce a European car and is officially
importing about 100 to Britain (in left-hand drive only) from the beginning
of next month, although early arrivals are on show in the recently opened
Cadillac Corvette showroom in Park Lane, central London. The European
influence is easy to spot. At a time when Americans’ asses are getting
bigger and wider and fatter and every other American car is getting bigger,
the new Corvette is smaller than its predecessor, which is a huge step in
the right direction.
I’m told that it’s an inch or two smaller than a 911. Visually, you think it’s
bigger, but it’s not. The Porsche comparison is important. A Corvette has
always been half the price of a Porsche or even a third of some equivalent
cars. And you could not only get it cheaper but you could build it up and
make it handle, make it do the things you wanted it to. Unlike other
supercars, this is one the working guy could afford. It’s one of the true
supercars you can own. And that’s been true from day one.
My 2002 Corvette Z06, which has 514bhp and lots of modifications, is only 60lb
heavier than my Porsche Carrera GT, which is all carbon fibre. There’s a
$39,000 (£20,000) price difference and only 60lb difference in weight. If I
skipped a few lunches I could probably get that down even more.
Exclusivity is cool, but when you can mass market something you can get it
right. One of the great secrets is the Mazda Miata or MX-5. It has one of
the best transmissions out there. It shows that once you have made 700,000
cars you can get the gearshift just right.
Right now the Corvette is the greatest value sports car in the world. I didn’t
always think like that. When I was in high school we had the Ford guys and
the Chevy guys. They were like rival gangs. Like Manchester United v
Liverpool. The father of a close friend of mine had a Ford dealership, so we
had access to all the cool stuff: the Falcons and the Mustangs.
I also worked at a Ford dealership in high school. I was in charge of
mileometer recalibration. A car came in with 80,000-100,000 on the clock. I
was told to change the “corrective mileage” to 15,500. This I did with a
Black & Decker drill hooked to the back of the mileometer, running in
reverse for four hours. The loyalties you make as a kid are hard to break,
so I never paid much attention to Corvettes.
In fact I got my first Corvette almost by accident. I drove the Chevrolet
Monte Carlo pace car at Indianapolis and did some other promotional work,
too, and GM was pleased with the publicity. I wanted something shiny rather
than something green in return so I said: “Oh, that Corvette over there
looks pretty good.” So they gave me the Corvette. It was a 1999 C5.
I fell in love with that C5, so after that the C6 feels quite familiar. It’s a
bit like going out with your girlfriend’s twin sister. There’s a family
resemblance, which is what I like and is one thing that makes the Corvette
successful. It’s the same thing that makes Harley-Davidson successful. It’s
an evolutionary process. The one you have is not a piece of crap just
because the new one came out. The new one is just a more sophisticated
version of the one you have.
Right away you know you’re in a Corvette. If I were blindfolded I would know I
was in a Corvette. It feels like a Corvette. There’s a directness to it that
you don’t have in almost any other American car, save for maybe the Ford GT.
That is saying something. I think it’s that good.
The great thing about the car is probably the liveability of it. You can
pretty much do anything with it. We’ve had some terrible rainstorms here in
California and I find myself having a great time turning off the traction
control, hitting the gas, getting a little bit sideways in corners and
sliding around with it. I’ve been using it to go to the market and run
errands. It’s not fussy, you don’t bottom out in it, and it gets pretty good
mileage — 26mpg on the highway.
I know a lot of magazines had taken the interior to task so they’ve made a few
improvements there. To be honest, it never bothered me. As American cars go,
I thought the interior was okay.
Obviously, the German stuff at twice the price is going to be a little bit
more sophisticated, but that’s okay. In the Corvette the money seems to be
in the drivetrain, and although it’s a pushrod motor I would defy anybody to
say it’s crude or anything of that nature. If something works, keep doing
it. Sometimes the cashier at the mini-market is sexier than a supermodel.
It’s almost bulletproof. You can’t really hurt it. I find myself doing things
with the Corvette that I would not do with some of the more sophisticated
European stuff, like constantly popping the clutch and doing power shifts
and burnouts. Doing things that, at least to my American mind, would stress
European machinery. It’s like I always say: “It’s a Chevy; you can fix it
with a hammer.”
In an American car you know there’s torque. They always say horsepower sells
cars but torque wins races. That’s what this kind of does. You’ve got plenty
of torque no matter what gear you’re in.
There were a few things that niggled me about the new Corvette. I’m not much
for electronics, keyless entry and all that kind of stuff. When you shut
down the manual Corvette, you have to put it in reverse and turn off the key
and that powers everything down. Except, using every conceivable form of
logic I’ve had since I first drove an automobile, I put the car in neutral
and pulled the handbrake. So when I came out the next morning the battery
was dead. Well, that’s all wrong! That doesn’t make any sense!
I was given the car so it was my fault: I didn’t read the manual. But manuals
are pretty much useless. They are designed to protect you from yourself.
They say things like “Do not drink the battery”! They don’t tell you how to
use the car in case you sue them. All this doesn’t make me like the car
less. It’s just different; cars now don’t have mechanical problems, they
have software problems.
I’m glad the Corvette is coming to the UK. Apart from not being right-hand
drive, which is a tremendous disadvantage, it’s value for money. I don’t
think there’s anything in Britain that can equal it for the price. It gets
good mileage, it’s fast, it handles, it stops. And most importantly, it’s
pretty much indestructible. There’s nothing finicky. It’s not a
high-stressed, high-revving motor that one has to pamper. It will work okay
on British roads, because most importantly it’s a good-handling, properly
sorted car.
Right now there’s a lot of interest in Corvettes. Corvettes are one of those
American things that even people who do not know cars go: “Hey what’s that?
Is that a Corvette?” When I read European magazines they praise the new
Corvette. GM really does seem to be trying to make it a world car. Now I
think the rest of the world is starting to believe it. And it does seem to
be making an impression. I’m not a big jingoistic guy, but whenever I see
British magazines testing the Corvette and saying it’s good, it’s like one
for the home team.
But here’s a final thought about the new Corvette. The standard base model is
now more powerful than the fire-breathing 427, the legendary car of the mid-1960s
with big side-pipes and all that nonsense. The standard car, the “here
honey, take the Corvette and pick up the kid”, is more powerful than that.
Having said that, as much as I like this one, I’ll wait for the new Z06 when
it comes out later this year. The Z06 has 500bhp, plus it’s an aluminium
chassis, not steel. From what I hear I believe it’s faster and will handle
better than the new Ferrari F430.
VITAL STATISTICS
Model Corvette C6 Engine V8, 5970cc
Power 400bhp @ 6000rpm Torque 400 lb ft @ 4400rpm
Transmission Six-speed manual Fuel 23mpg (combined cycle)
CO2 310g/km
Acceleration 0-60mph: 4.1sec
Top speed 180mph
UK price £45,850 (convertible, £51,850)
Rating 4/5
Verdict American beef with a European flavour
