“Jesus!”
The poor server at the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible launch had just dumped an entire tray of backwash onto her chest, thanks to the raucous, deafening, unholy rumble of the C8.R Corvette that had been started and revved up nearly fifty feet away from her. I stifled my laugh and reassured her from my nearby hi-top table.
“Don’t worry,” I said to her as she stood there shaking with a combination of laughter and disgust. “I don’t think anybody else saw that.”
If you want to read all about how great the new Corvette Stingray Convertible is, I encourage you to go to your web browser and read any one of the literally hundreds of stories that were posted the instant the embargo dropped last night. There, you will be able to read all about the nearly 500 horsepower and the 3-second zero-to-60 times and the 16-second-folding-hardtop and the $67,499 price tag, plus you’ll be able to see some very flattering photos of an orange Vette that have been photoshopped within a pixel of their lives. I was doing “Triometrics” at the hotel while everybody else was breathlessly regurgitating the stats, so I apologize that you’re only getting this vital information this morning instead of last night.
But, if you want to read about how the Corvette Stingray Convertible is the ugliest, most Playskool looking car I’ve ever seen in person, plus some stuff about how the C8.R shows us how terribly executed the coupe/convertible is, stick around and click the jump.
I should apologize for the poor quality of these photos, because in addition to being flooded by unnatural light, shadows, and being taken with an iPhone XS Max, they are also of an extremely ugly car, and I’m not sure that you can tell just how damned ugly it is. The front, profile, and rear of the car look like they were designed by three entirely separate teams who had received three completely different sets of directions. The nose of the car is budget McLaren 570S, the profile is budget Acura NSX, and the rear is leftover Camaro parts. The convertible also manages to pull off the trick of completely eliminating one of the few redeeming visual characteristics of the coupe, which is the glass engine compartment cover. Because that’s where the folding top has to go, duh.
The Rapid Blue that drapes over the bizarre contours of the ‘vert at the top of this page is the most popular color for coupe orders thus far, according to GM brass. But while it looks good on the Corvette configuration website, in person, it is a horrific shade of Smurf. Keep in mind, this is coming from somebody who bought a Nitrous Blue Focus RS with his own money. The color makes the car look even cheaper, if that’s possible.
The interior is identical to the one found in the coupe, but that’s not a good thing. The much-maligned center console, along with its row of confusing buttons, hasn’t gotten any better looking or less confusing in the last three months. Also, if you’re spending $70,000 for a Corvette, and the interior completely prevents even the possibility of receiving…well, you know…then what’s the point?
But there was a gorgeous Corvette in attendance at the Kennedy Space Center last night, and it was heard well before it was seen. Corvette Racing driver Tommy Milner rumbled the new C8.R into the center of the pavilion, and if there isn’t a flat-crank V8 under the hatch, then my ears are completely broken. Yes, the C8.R retains the basic silhouette of the road-going car, but there are subtle tweaks all around that just seem to effortlessly fix the visual atrocities committed by both the convertible and the coupe. There’s also the not-so-subtle spoiler, a feature that the C8 desperately needs — I have no idea if the downforce will be required, as there was no driving at this event, but for visuals? Hell, yes. It makes me hopeful that the forthcoming Z06 and ZR1 variants will have a big, honking wing like the one seen below.
In a perfect world, this is what the C8 Corvette would look like. However, this isn’t a perfect world, and the C8.R is here to remind us of that. This is what the Corvette could have and should have looked like. Yes, perhaps they couldn’t have sold it for $60,000 if it did, but it also wouldn’t look like a Chinese knockoff of a 488 — and then you could have sold it for $80-100k.
However, in what has become a bit of a worrying trend as of late, Chevrolet made sure that the Corvette Convertible would be met with roars of approval at its launch party by packing the crowd with dealers, employees, Corvette owners, and astronauts. I mean, who isn’t applauding an astronaut?
And the boomer owner group in attendance? Well, they were fawning over it like it was a midday Matlock marathon.
“I fit! I fit!” proclaimed one such portly gentleman to his wife on the other end of the phone as he sat covered in sweat on a nearby bench. Well, this was a bit of an exaggeration. You see, I had watched his attempts at entering and exiting the C8 coupe that was parked in the rocket garden. He fell backward awkwardly into the driver’s seat, feet in the air, his baseball cap spilling into the passenger seat. He then re-positioned himself behind the wheel and handed his phone to a nearby Chevrolet employee for a photo op. After the picture was taken to his satisfaction, he opened the door, but couldn’t manage to get himself into a position to exit. The only option appeared to be recreating his entrance in reverse — he fell into the passenger seat, then forcefully kicked the door open with both feet.
For this reason alone, most of the Vette’s target audience would be better off buying a previous generation of the car. This is why I think Chevrolet has made a mistake with this mid-engined car, but it’s also why the convertible is going to be so important to the future of the C8. The lower roofline of the coupe makes ingress and egress extremely difficult for anybody with, say, a hip replacement. The push-button nature of the folding hardtop will make this car a much more viable proposition for the older set.
And in the end, Chevrolet and GM will be able to get away with having such a hideous car — for now. After the newness wears off, after the 37,000 initial orders happen, then we’ll all see how the general public, and not just the Corvette faithful, feel about this car. I have a fair amount of seat time in the C7, and I can honestly say that I’d prefer a C7 Grand Sport over the C8 Stingray every day of the week, convertible or not. I’m pretty squarely in the audience that GM would like to be interested in buying this car — Gen X, upwardly mobile — and I came away from this event thinking Chevrolet would have been better off leaving the C5-C7 formula alone, and calling this new car something else.
Of course, there’s every chance I’ll drive it someday and feel completely different. Let’s hope.
[Images: Mark “Bark M” Baruth]
The Buick Cascada was much uglier, although I can see your argument as this uses a similar poor formula on the mid to rear end.
See, I actually LIKE the Cascada. It’s not terrible to drive, either. #RIP
Haven’t had the pleasure but did sit in one at the auto show a few years back, I guess if nothing was ever behind me worth seeing its great.
Mark is a known Ford shill. Every product he actually buys and loves and writes glowingly about on TTAC is a Ford. Mark, you should have ghost-written this for some other TTAC editor, so that those of us who have been here for years could hear what you have to say and not just interpret it as yet another “Anything That is Not Ford Sucks” piece.
The C7 should have continued on for a couple more years and this should have been named something different, maybe Fiero. A corvette this is not. I’ll take the garage queen C7 all day.
Speaking of Fiero, I’d like GM to bring it back. Mid-engine, 2500#, and uses the V-6 from the Camaro. Oh, and can be specced with a manual transmission.
IMO, the design is definitely not the strong suit of the C8, but I also think the C5 looks like a fat blob of crap and I like the looks of the new Supra so what do I know?
“I also think the C5 looks like a fat blob of crap and I like the looks of the new Supra so what do I know?”
Same here on first part, still debating the Supra however. I’m not against it as a design, price is another subject.
I’m okay with the price. My biggest fear is that Toyota dealers won’t have any clue how to maintain or repair the car. I can take it to indy BMW places but at that point why bother getting a new car with a warranty?
Still, the Zupra is likely to be my next car unless Ford brings out a high displacement Mustang or my income swings wildly.
I think that’s part of my issue, the BMW connection just makes the car worth a good chunk less in my mind. If it turns out to be reliable I wouldn’t say no to buying a used example. As is I don’t see $50k when I look at a new one.
You kidding? The Supra is a terrific performance car for $50,000. I can’t think of anything that’ll touch it for that money (and, no, I’m not counting “lightly used Corvette”).
Yes, I know…it’s not a V-8 and it doesn’t have a manual. And if you want that stuff in a car that’ll outhustle a Supra, you’ll be spending quite a bit more.
That’s a bit of hyperbole.
The V8 ponycars might not be appreciably faster in a straight line, but they generally are a tenth or two quicker and a few mph faster in the 1/4 when equipped with the automatic. The performance pack versions will probably outhandle the Supra as well. In any case it will be close. And those cars are available in the mid $40s.
For $60-65k you can have a GT350 that puts the Supra to shame and is closer to the real out the door price (How many Supras will be sold for $50k, similar to the $60k Vette that won’t exist in the real world)
I get that the Mustang and Camaro aren’t to everyone’s liking. But it’s disingenuous to say they can’t touch the Supra at its price point.
Real world it is about $8K more than the Supra to get into a GT350 or ZL1 and about $10K less to get into a SS 1LE or GT PP2.
However, you can’t get a 1LE, GT350, or PP2 with an automatic transmission and as I’m terrible, auto-loving scum the setup in the Supra is actually a selling point for me.
I’ve already seen new Supras locally listed for their $50K MSRP so I don’t think finding one for that price in a few months will be an issue. And in the end, the heart wants what it wants.
Drove a Supra back to back with a GT350 yesterday, on track — both are damn good. Biggest difference is the sound
Don’t get me wrong, jack4x, I would *love* a Mustang (but not a Camaro – I’m silly about being able to see out of a car). But the only Mustang that offers a decisive performance advantage over the Supra is a GT350, and the cheapest one I could find in my neck of the woods is sixty grand.
So, like I was saying, you’re going to have to spend quite a bit more.
Agreed, but my point is just that the Supra can’t decisively outperform the GT or SS that cost less either. They are fairly even competitors. I couldn’t disagree more with your statement that nothing else will touch it at $50k
This C/D comparo between GT350 and Supra shows the Supra wouldn’t have much difficulty with the regular Mustang GT.
https://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/comparison-test/a28783877/2020-toyota-supra-vs-2019-ford-mustang-shelby-gt350/
If we are going off C/D numbers the 10A version of the Mustang GT puts up impressive figures in comparison to both the GT350 and Supra.
caranddriver.com/reviews/a24847025/2018-ford-mustang-automatic-transmission-performance/
Granted, with the 10A you are locked out of the PP2 upgrades and you’ll definitely need something beyond the base all-season tires.
The V8 Mustangs are great performing cars, the sheetmetal on the nonShelby version just doesn’t do anything for me.
Saw a new Supra in white and covered in road grunge. It looked pretty sweet, actually, and far better than the online photos make it seem. The grunge made it look like it was 1/2 way through a 12-hour endurance race and I really dug it.
The proportions just look a little “off” with the top gone. And maybe it was the lighting but the interior didn’t look as good as it did with the intro back in July. I saw a camouflaged hardtop on the Kentucky freeways this past spring, but I’ll withhold judgment until I see a “real” one in person and on the road. I still think it is a performance bargain, but the convertible might take longer to grow on me.
Lighting has a huge impact on the perceived quality of interiors in photos. I’ve seen dealer photos of the insides of cars that I *know* have amazing interiors that somehow manage to make them look like a Murilee Martin u-pick-it pic of a malaise AMC compact.
Tool.
What, The band or like a Torque Wrench?
Neither- the boob of an author who quite clearly has a chip on his shoulder.
I don’t get it. Because he doesn’t share your opinion of a car that he’s seen and you haven’t?
At least you admit you don’t get it, and of course I’ve seen it.
I live in the Detroit area and have seen a few of these on the road already just feet away on the highway at times. I personally dont understand the hatred for the design. Maybe it is derivative, but really, most mid engine cars built for max aero and extreme downforce look pretty similar in many regards.
I cannot attest to the interior complaints, but from the outside, this car looks pretty darn good in my opinion. In the end, I am really not sure how much you can complain about some of the details when you have such performance at such a price. Sure, you want it to be functional, but inability to get beeejers while behind the wheel isnt really a deal breaker. Remember the old movie “crazy people” and the truthy advertisements they made……?
“Sure, you could never get laid inside the car, but you will get laid as soon as you get out”.
“Maybe it is derivative, but really, most mid engine cars built for max aero and extreme downforce look pretty similar in many regards.”
Yeah I agree and . I think they’ve done their best to optimize performance, cost, interior and cargo space, comfort, while still being a bit unique. And many cars are starting look the same due to trying to protect pedestrians on front end collisions.
“Sure, you could never get laid inside the car, but you will get laid as soon as you get out”.
This is probably badly put, but sometimes the best events happen spontaneously. And to wait for them just wouldn’t be the same.
yup, if you can afford the car you can afford the room.
back on topic, the car is overall OK, the back is WTF, and the interior conveys the capt. kirk/darth vader private shuttle they are aiming for…..
“I personally dont understand the hatred for the design.”
the personality type that inhabits this place is inherently scared and hateful of change. GM didn’t design this for the traditional Corvette buyer because the traditional Corvette buyer has already probably bought their last one before they have to stop driving.
I believe you may be right sir.
Wholly agreed. I like the design of the new Corvette. It looks like a large, fast go-kart and a whole lot of fun to drive.
Note to Mark – I cant think of a single Corvette that has been easy to enter or egress. But that’s not why people buy them. Want a fast car that is easy to get into? Charger SRT, etc would fit the bill. But the driving dynamics would be nowhere near the new Corvette.
Why do I have the feeling that the target market for this car is the standard douche YouTuber, the ones that still live at home but use their YouTube money to buy fancy cars to make dumb videos. Or, alternatively, it is designed for the guys who’d drive the Campagna T-Rex around Miami. Which DOES make that center console all the more perplexing.
New Corvette buyers are necessarily 50+….that is the group that can afford them.
That’s the target audience for the Ford GT, this is for the people who want to be said douchey rich youtubers but can’t quite afford it (but can afford $70k)
No, the “target market for this car is the standard douche YouTuber, the ones that still live at home but use their YouTube money to buy fancy cars to make dumb videos” buys a Nissan GT-R.
Too many hard angles, I almost feel the promotion should start, “If Cadillac made a Corvette…”
Maybe now we have reached peak greeble. It’s like the Chevrolet version of a Mad Catz controller.
It’ll please people who really wanted a Cien
Somebody tried to clone Billy Mitchell and Virgil Exner from toenail clippings found in the Dearborn Holiday Inn pool, and got the genetics all mixed up. The resulting 15 year old led the styling group, I’m pretty sure.
Barra does it again. Is her goal to destory the last good elements of GM design. Wasnt the Sierra bad enough.
One word adequately describes this car: Chaos. In the last three years, poll after poll has shown that 40% of the people of this country like chaos. With those numbers, this car should be extremely successful.
YES! Love having Mark back to bring the real “Bad Opinions Spoken Loudly” brand of journalism we all love so well. Maybe eventually you’ll have something interesting to say instead of just taking the opposite of the popular stance, but then what would your brand be? It’s tough out there I guess, you have to carve out an identity. Not sure whether “wet idiot rubbing his own feces into his hair” is the identity I would go with, but I guess do you my man.
Of course it’s ugly. It’s a Corvette.
It’s like expecting a Camaro to look nice.
Some colors camo the ugly just fine. Anyways, there’s about zero new cars that look good to me anymore, at least from the stock I’d want to own. I’d do a gloss black (and bright silver wheels) in this or any hideous car.
>>>Anyways, there’s about zero new cars that look good to me anymore
Porsche Cayman GT4? Aston Martin Vanquish S? Hyundai Genesis G70? Mercedes AMG C63?
Yeah those look good. So do many others except like I said, they’re nothing I want to own or would ever consider. I prefer the look of German cars above all others. But again, I wont be owning one.
Right now they’re not presenting any black C8s since dark cars don’t show good in pictures (or video) especially indoors.
Any new pickup, I would only chose black, since they’re all fugly to me. Preferably mono-chrome, color-keyed grills, bumpers, trim, etc, where ever possible.
Noble, agree! Where has elegance and cohesion gone in car design??….Thanks for naming the GT4 – glad you appreciate the design – I was responsible for the styling of all 981s and this version of the it was my last one for Porsche!
I am just as disappointed in the Corvette as many here – I have had many Corvettes in my time and still have a 63 split window.
I know it’s a great car, especially for the money, but visually the C8 is the opposite of elegant – bitty, cliched and generic without any real Corvette DNA. What a wasted opportunity!
Wow, I don’t know where to start. First, I get you may not like the design, I didn’t care for it a first but it’s grown on me a lot.
Second, looks are completely subjective to each person. The only really decent looking car from McLaren is the 720S, the rest look like 90’s concept cars, TO ME.
Third, other than the squarish steering wheel (a flat bottom would have been fine) the interior is gorgeous. That row of buttons down the center is genius in my opinion, as they are all ‘set and forget’ functions and are out of the way.
Fourth, the value here is simply ridiculous as it has always been for Corvettes. This car is going to shake up the sports car world whether you hate on it or not. This kind of performance (and upcoming versions) makes paying 2-3 times the money for the ‘exotics’ simply a stupid financial decision.
And last. If you don’t like the fact that you can’t get a BJ because of the interior layout, then buy a 70’s 4-door with a bench front seat.
Then we can all be happy.
Peace.
Don’t be concerned, such cringey writing ability seems to run in the Baruth family.
I don’t have any issues with the writing per say, I just can’t understand the sheer hatred for this car.
It’s just strange to me.
I guess we hate it because we remember when Corvette’s and Camaros, Mailibus, etc, actually looked good. Now they are either “sausage” cars, which almost all look the same except for the angry bug front ends, or the bizarro rear ends. The added on swoops and stuff just look ridiculous. Then you have the Corvette and Camaro school of hideous, and you think back to the first three gens of the Camaro, and a couple of gens of the Corvette (I was not a fan of the C3, but it’s better than the current mess), where it looked great, not the overdone mess it is now. I don’t understand GM’s styling lately at all. Well, actually, IMHO they went off the rails in the early 90’s and the train is still pancaking as time goes by. The trucks, the Vette and the Camaro are proof something is very wrong at GM. I used to say the same thing about Ford, but lately I like a lot of their stuff. I would probably never buy a Ford, but at least they aren’t “GM Ugly”. I like that expression, “GM Ugly”!
And the Blazer, Terrain, Trax, et al et al.
The sad thing is with GM, the ugliness transfers over to the interiors as well (both design and quality) much more than most of the other manufacturers
Agree with the snark about the center console. Otherwise, disagree 100%. Make mine red.
I agree with the Bark-snark about the rear-end design, but otherwise disagree 100%. Make mine any color but Smurf Blue, which looks great on Miatas and French racing cars, but not on Corvettes.
(It’s odd how often I agree with FreedMike and JimZ when they talk about cars, and how often I disagree when they talk about politics.)
Well, it *is* possible to have common ground if you’re in a different political party!
“(It’s odd how often I agree with [x] when they talk about cars, and how often I disagree when they talk about politics.)”
This is the essence of 2019 TTAC.
Lets not forget the unforgivable sin, 3600lbs and thats with a small block which is probably the lightest motor they will have. We have a car only 15-20% more stiff than a C7 which was not exactly carved from billet.
I agree the C8R looks way better, and for many of us a “street” version of this car is the interesting one. Maybe a bolted in place roof for the z06 “street” version will stiffen it up. Maybe the blackwing derived motor will launch the vette into new territory.
What will be hard to ignore in any version though is excess lard, and the cars sheer 12/10ths scale. Can they get the weight of the zo6 or Gs versions down close to 3000lbs, then its interesting.
I fear though that C8 will continue the same trend as we saw in the C7, just add lots and lots of Power, forget about weight and if it will do some lame magazine single lightening lap numbers all is good. Meanwhile the serious shop elsewhewre.
As to looks hey we forgive the Mac 720 and even the 488 their looks so Ill forgive the vette those. But weight and stffness are not things that can be ignored, esp with a new platform in theory designed to perform. So far the C8 is like its predessors twisty, almost there, questionable styling coherance(c7 does look good)except this time the engine is the the middle. In fact besides putting the engine in the middle as an objective fact, what makes this car different to what a front engined C8 would be.
So far its no world beater, other than being a cheap mid enginend car.
Sitting behind a computer you can’t do much but complain about the specs so I understand. Looking at them for a GT-R isn’t too impressive, but the performance speaks for itself.
The Vette was made to be practical, large cabin, lots of cargo space for a mid engine, inexpensive so it may weight a bit more. But just wait for more performance comparisons. And seriously? You think they can reduce the weight to 3000?
I’ll ignore the last half of your comment since you started to lose it.
I think the C6 z06 was 3150lbs and the c5 z06 weighted less. Some of us want an actual sportscar not another bloaty Gt car with excess Hp to fake it.
Reagardless of Hp or some fallacious magazine test 3600lbs is already way too heavy to be taken seriously if we’re talking real track prowess, ie the ability to run multiple laps all day, which is how many of us use our fast cars these days. Theres no way they’re getting close to 3000 or even 3200lbs, the quad cam motor is going to weight more not less.
Yeah I get it, vettes are designed to satisfy old duffers with two golf bags going to the club. Unfortunaltly thats not going to get the younger buyer who already is into 911s. Yes 911s are heavy but at least a Gt3 is not, and ferrari macalrens are going to go sub 3000lbs.
Yes the vette costs way less, although once you get the up spec ones they’l be cresting 100k into porche money, so not a cheap car. There is near no way they can get close to 3000lbs therefore for me the vette is a non starter. Its just a faster version of the C7 with the motor in the middle, in other words its no game changer, just a better vette thats faster than the one before on paper.
Its a cool car for what it is, and the zo6 or zr1 will be like an affordable aventador that works. Cool car, not not really a serious one, if you actualy track your car. But who knows, the vette team has the talent so maybe that mythical NA quad cam lighter stiffer z06 will get made.
meanwhile Im sure they wills ella lot of them to the core demographic as they always do, and after a few years sales will fall off a cliff as they usualy do too.
Its a pity corvette is not a sprtscar brand withign Gm, that way they could have kept the faithful happy with another Fe car, and freed the Me car be a tighter, lighter, stiffer, and better “real” performance.
“a GT3 is not, and ferrari macalrens are going to go sub 3000lbs.”
“Yes the vette costs way less”
That’s quite the hand-wave there. Even at $100K you’ll be a long way from a Ferrari or McLaren and it’s $50k more to a base GT3. However, if you’ve got Ferrari, McLaren, or GT3 money (and the cash to track them “all day”) then you 100% should go buy one of those.
It sounds like you are looking for the Corvette to be something that it has never been and never will be. There is always going to be a GT bone within the car no matter where they put the engine.
We agree, its a Gt car.
That’s a dissapointment to some of us.
C2 vette was a serious contender in its day.
You hit on the Cayman problem. The 911 sells to a core for any money they choose to charge. Meanwhile the Cayman is actually better, so we need to make sure it is just a notch slower. GM did the same thing with the Fiero, although Porsche does it in oil paint and GM did it in crayons.
The rear engine vette hit the max power you can get out of rear drive front engine. CD did an interview where over, about 600 hp you are at the limits and you need more grip. A mid engine is the next step up even if it tosses out the existing king.
I fell in love with an MR2 a while back. My dream Porsche is now a Cayman.
Once “real performance” is tortured into standing for “performance at some racetrack,” Chevy already has the street legal portion of that covered. With the Silverado.
Then all you have to do is add a trailer with a track optimized car, and all necessary sundry (up to a track side condo), to the hitch. And you’re, literally, off to the races. With much lighter weight and better “real” track performance than any street legal bloatmobile, no matter how “exotic.”
For bopping around on the street, the Miata beats them all as far as sports car is concerned anyway (as did the 3cyl Geo Metro…..). Unless you need room for more golf bags, and waist mounted inner tubes, than can comfortably fit in the Mazda. Hence ‘Vette.
I think actual curb weight is heavier. I remember reading that 3600# was a dry weight. I’m guessing it won’t matter to a wide swarth of people but it definitely blunts feeling and hinders nimbleness. Like you said, add weight, add power.
Miata v Vette
electric knife v chainsaw
Each has its purpose and its own distinct feel.
However a few have said the original Z06 felt like an XL size Miata to drive. But that generation was lighter and less electronically assisted than the C8.
Yeah, people also say that about the Viper. I haven’t had the pleasure though.
I have, and it’s true to an extent.
The Gen V Viper is an extremely forgivable track car for the performance on offer. Anyone expecting a Miata though is going to be disappointed. 1000 lb and 500 hp extra are hard to hide.
If you drive almost any gigantic, very powerful, low slung and stiffly sprung car fast enough; on a wide racetrack, you can beat it into “feeling” a bit like a Miata.
But on the kind of Vespa-narrow, poorly paved, twisty backroads; where traditional sports cars (and the Miata) shine, and police cruisers do not fit; the bloatmobiles, no matter the HP and Carbon-priced lightweighting, most assuredly do no longer feel that way. Then, it’s like sailing a dinghy, vs an Ocean 65. Inside a tight marina.
Opinions are like *ssh*les, everybody’s got one.
“Also, if you’re spending $70,000 for a Corvette, and the interior completely prevents even the possibility of receiving…well, you know…then what’s the point?”
A common misconception. Corvette buyers are not 20-something, single hotshot ballers. They are 50-something near-retirees, who mostly need an hour advance notice to get their little blue pills down the hatch anyway.
You drive your lil’ red corvette (or in this case big red corvette) to the shores of lake Minnetonka. This assumes that you don’t stop at old man Johnson’s farm.
Are you sure Jack didn’t write this?
Oh wait he would have helped her out of those wet clothes.
As to your other point..
Well I guess that makes my 67 Mustang a winner because even though there’s a floor mounted shifter and bucket seats there is no console to speak of.
…and that speaks to the dichotomy that was Jack. Loved the prose, and didn’t need the semi-erotic fiction, or the “I’m triggered because Audi commercials are questioning my manliness” rants.
I’m enjoying his stuff at Hagerty, though.
(Hip replacement comment in article) Hey, I have two hip replacements and those gave me the flexibility to get in and out of my E46 BMW and a Miata with no trouble. Of course, I am only 5′ 11″ tall and weight 190.
I think the new Vette is OK, but I am on the lookout for an older C5 for a great price.
I’ve spent a chunk of my life wanting a vette. About 10 years ago that dream turned into ordering one and taking museum delivery then having a nice ride home. As my last kid gets very close to graduating this dream is getting closer to reality.
Now that I have seen the C8 I think I am going to have to find another dream.
That steering wheel is terrible and the slanted row of buttons is ugly. Bang for the Buck though I’d probably overlook it on the cheaper end. The rest of the styling doesn’t offend, but it doesn’t do anything for me either.
But it is a Steering WHEEL!!! Why is it square in this car?
All in all though, I feel like they let Pontiac circa 1990 do the interior.
Apparently those 1992-1998 Grand Am designers haven’t all retired.
They may not have retired but dementia has set in if that interior is any indication.
All the modern supercars have the rectangle shape steering wheel! It was design for the Formula One racers back in the mid 1990s to have more control over their cars! It is great when you are using it! Feels much better then the conventional steering wheel in your hands and much better control too!
Square wheels are a GM thing. They used to fit square wheel wells on the Silverado. Now they fit square steering wheels on the ‘Vette.
Yeah it not the most attractive Supercar but it is 1/3 of the cost of a Ferrari, McLaren or Lamborghini supercar! I am on the dealership list because it one of my things on my bucket list! I am go with the C8 convertible for under $93K!
– Let it be noted that this is a vehicle which GM cares about.
– They had plenty of time for development.
– The development tools now available are arguably better than ever.
– Budget is not a huge issue with this vehicle.
– The Corvette team used to be some of GM’s best.
The issues with this vehicle are not a good indicator with regard to the current and future engineering and development capabilities of the once-great General Motors.
+1
GM has been gutted, their survival at this point depends on the entire upper management being tossed out of their offices and replaced with people that actually want to see GM succeed, not just their stock portfolio.
Super Ugly?
No, not in my opinion.
I’ll keep my 2001 M Roadster, thanks.
When Barra is finally fired after the strike normalcy may return to GM. How many disappointing cars has GM released in a row. Lets not even talk about GM’s poor showing in last years consumer reports annual addition.
When will this nightmare end?
Maybe she will exit in time to run for President? She would fit well with the Dems.
If she continues maybe she should consider renaming the company to General Malaise. That would accurately describe the dumpster fire she has created all to appease Wall Street.
In just a couple of short years she won’t have a single product left that I would consider.
I don’t want a gas swilling overpriced pickup truck
I don’t want a tall riding blob that every soccer mom in town owns
I don’t want a clown EV car
i don’t want this styling disaster being discussed on this page
So that leaves nil nought nada
Not a pretty picture you paint. I sure can’t understand whats happening here.For a car made of flowing plastic there seems to be a whole lot of little bits and pieces glued on everywhere. My guess is the front was designed to carry forward the corvette “signature look”, but being mid engined it just looks wrong. The rest – dunno, it had to continue and end somewhere. Curiously, when photographed from directly above, it looks kinda nice.
If I had the money I buy an E Type Jaguar, after all isn’t about owning a cool looking car? Sooner or later there will be a car thats faster or better in some way. It’s going to be a long time before someone makes better looking car than the Jag.
I still want to see the C8 for real before I pass judgement on its appearance but I have to admit, so far, it looks like someone’s been hitting it with the ugly stick.
I’ve said from the first released images of the C8 that:
– The C7 Stingray is one of the best vehicles General Motors (now Guangzhou-Guadalajara Motors LLC) has ever produced (overheating issues due to design defect in cooling system of supercharged 6.2 liter ZR1/Z06 issues aside; the naturally aspirated 6.2 liter in the “base” C7 along with the lightweight and smartly designed Targa top are brilliant, and the interior of the C7 finally was at least class competitive, even if not anything close to world-beating, in a high performance sports car in the 50k-70k range).
– The C7 Stingray was one of 4 good to excellent vehicles that GM actually managed to design and manufacture (the rest of their vehicles range from middling to rolling dumpster fires).
– The C8 was a huge risk, with cheap, plastic bodykit-looking Faux-rrari styling, in which the rear end was a total mess, and there IS GOING TO BE YUUUUGE MECHANICAL/RELIABILITY ISSUES with this new, ground-up, mid-engine design from a manufacturer that can’t even roll out halfway reliable new designs of very conventional vehicles (that often never become reliable even over their entire lifespan of manufacture).
– The C8 interior is a hot mess, looking just odd and fully of cost-cutting materials and design.
– Mary Barra is a disaster of a CEO who is on,y slightly better than Jim Hackett, and that’s the epitome of the very faintest of praise (it’s actually extremely pejorative).
I have renewed interest in a C7 as a beater in a couple years when the prices drop, I disagree however, Barra makes Hackett look halfway like he knows what he’s doing.
Yes, the sweet spot might be the base NA V8 with manual. Drove the supercharged engine in a CTS-V, and it is more overwhelming than useful.
Queen Mary was a GM engineer. Her first job in 1985 out of GM vo-tech was an Engineer at the Fiero plant. Really. The Fiero suffered engine fires from leaks, all were recalled. The Fiero engineers applied the female fix for leaks, the tampon solution. And then all the Fieros were recalled for the second time, to fix engine leaks. But Queen Mary was already on the fast track, EEOC and affirmative action and all that. As a white male for the past forty years you really had to be there, experienced that, to understand what i just said. White professional males be all retired out of the system now. Engineers be replaced by Class Action lawsuit lawyers to defend GM, not fix the problems. Six Class Action Lawsuits on the C7 alone.
Hello GM, this is mazda, i want my convertible roof solution back.
Hello GM, this is the missus of the corvette owner. i appreciate that the C8 has continued the chubby hubby growth pattern: Longer, wider, heavier than the C7, which was itself longer, wider and heavier than the C6.
I find the new Corvette different, but just as appealing. I have no intention of ever selling my 2016 Admiral Blue with chrome wheels (it is a Stingray with Z51 package and only 1100 miles, yes I take care of it in my garage). But for those new to Corvette ownership, I think it has the same virtues of standing out as the one American sports car that shows you have reached a stage of life that you have it made.
Let’s be serious here for a second. Corvettes are not cheap, have never been, and should never be. They are a end of career prize to oneself for a life of hard work. Most of us pay cash for them. Sure, now a few you tubers, and some worker bees may buy them on finance. But who wants to pay 1200 a month for car payment?
For those of us who hold on to them, the new one looks sharp and angular enough to convey a message of superstardom. It doesn’t have the long hood proportions, but it still has a star quality to it. I find it appealing personally in both coupe and convertible form(I haven’t seen one in person yet). I still love the C7 more, but C8 is a tremendous car.
As for performance, it really is secondary, isn’t it? Sure some may track it, but for majority of us, it is a state of mind, and based on looks I get when I drive it, i know it looks fast even when it is stopped (i have been told how beautiful it is more times than I can count at stoplights). So I say bring the new one on, and congratulations to all true members of Corvette ownership. C7 is dead. And long live C8.
Ungainly, over the top, and in the worst ways. Boy-racer, wanna-be looks/execution, almost tacky. God this car is unattractive. And the worst part of all… but for the name, it is just not a Corvette anymore.
Maybe you’ll redeem yourself in a future iteration, kinda like the off/on TOS Motion Pictures. all things considered, you had a pretty good run.
Your name lives on, but your heart and soul have been laid to rest. At least the world was blessed with C2, C3, C4 and went out on a high note with the C7 RIP Corvette 1953-2019
Looking at the interior, I have to say I liked it much better when American cars had their wings on the outside. I do not feel qualified to comment on the C8’s exterior however, since the only mid-engined sports car from this millennium that I like is the Audi R8. There must be something wrong with me there.
This is the result of performance above all else. Looks, driver engagement, enjoyment are out.
This is like the parent of a kid that is gifted that takes all the fun out of what the kid is gifted at by making the kids do it over and over and over so the parent can make money off the kid.
The manual had a higher take rate than the convertible.
Pathetic automatic scum.
As long as the dealers and customers like it, does anything else matter?
Also has there been a corvette made after about 1973 that didn’t look cheap and plasticky outside and in?
With a windshield that raked, and the tall rear cowl and “speedster” bumps, the “top down” experience is hardly different from rolling down the side and rear windows on a 4runner…….
‘Verts need upright windshields. Like a 993, Miata, Mini, Bug and S2000. Or better yet, K car Lebaron, 70s Eldorados and Azures. Think Speedboat. Once you rake the darned windshield all the way back over your head, “convertible” ceases to mean all that much anymore.
Mainly, your photographer isn’t very skilled. That top image is horrible. Did you just stand there, bolt-upright? Ever heard of ‘depth-of-field’? Is there a reason why the nose is nearly out of the image?
I get that it’s not exotic enough for some snobs, but it’s nowhere near as bad as you claim, visually. Maybe I’m not being fair to the journalist who needs to stir the pot. Apologies if I threatened the 4th wall.
If all makes a lot more sense when your realize that the author is paid to slap together something that generates discussion. Don’t take it too seriously.
“Slapped together” is precisely how it reads.
“Photographer”?? That’s hilarious. TTAC doesn’t hire photographers. As the piece itself states, those pics were taken by Baruth himself with his phone camera. He probably had to sort through a bunch to find enough sufficiently unattractive shots.
I am at a bit of a disadvantage, since new Corvettes haven’t been around Southern Illinois much. I will wait until I see one for reals before deciding if they’re unsightly. I own a torch red C5 and while it has longer and more undulating lines that got trimmed back with the C6’s design revamp, the C5 is the more aerodynamic of the two models. As my mom always said, “Everyone likes something different.”
Actually, the aerodynamic drag of the base C6 Coupe is 0.28, while it is 0.29 for the C5. Considering the smaller size of the C6 and the more open front of the car, which negatively affects the aero signature, this was an accomplishment. The C6 ZR1 is less aero than the C5 but has much higher downforce due to the ground effects additions.
“Slapped together” is precisely how it reads.
No snub-nosed mid-engined car will ever be hold a candle to a long-hooded, sleek front-engined care. No way, ever. It’ll never happen.
The C7 was a particularly well-proportioned car. C8 will always look like hell next to it. Except at speed on a track.
C8 is full of great little details. I’ll have to wait to see one before I make up my mind as to whether C8 is pretty nice looking for a mid-engined car. But I will say that the convertible that was leaked at introduction seemed cleaner looking than the coupe, a more attractive shape overall.
We shall see.
Ugly is in, man! Have you seen a Toyota lately?