2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray: Everything there is to know [w/video]

Chris Paukert — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 19:00:00 EST

Filed under: Detroit Auto Show, Coupe, Performance, Videos, Chevrolet, GM, Design/Style, Deep Dive

2013 is shaping up to be a frantic year for Chevrolet, with over a dozen reveals and launches on its calendar. New iterations of the most financially and emotionally important vehicles to the brand are launching little more than a few weeks apart - the 2014 Silverado (financially) and the 2014 Corvette (emotionally). Better than any other models, these two lines form the bedrock for the Bowtie's identity and bookend its portfolio. The pickup is the backbone of the brand's profits (and indeed, those of General Motors) and the Corvette is its spiritual core and flagship.

The 2014 Corvette Stingray will slay a few sacred cows.

It's fair to say that upon first impression, the new Silverado didn't exactly bowl over the assembled media - or the Autoblog commenteriat - with what many see as largely incremental improvements. (This, at a time when rivals are rewriting the book on what it means to be a full-size pickup). By contrast, the 2014 Corvette Stingray will slay a few sacred cows along the way to what is its arguably its biggest model-over-model change in decades. And at least at first glance, the Vette appears all the better for it.

We'll get to the specifics of its genetic makeup and appearance in a minute, but for now, you'll want to focus on these key bits: The all-new LT1 small-block V8 holds on to the same 6.2-liter displacement as the C6, here producing 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque backed by either a seven-speed manual or a six-speed paddleshift automatic. And although GM has yet to release the car's weight (we only know it won't be under 3,000 pounds as previously rumored), it's promising a better power-to-weight ratio than the Porsche 911 Carrera and Audi R8. In fact, Chevy pledges the C7 will run from 0-60 in less than four seconds and Z51 Performance Package examples will achieve cornering grip of over one g right out of the box. Further, 60-0 braking distances are said to be consistent with that of the outgoing Grand Sport and so are its lap times - impressive for a standard model.

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