Corvette (C8)

I ordered my car and it was delivered in the middle of December 2021. 

Options:

  • G48  caffeine metallic color
  • HTA  jet black leather seating
  • Z51  performance package
  • roadside safety package
  • SDA safety hook
  • ZF!  aero delete (removes the rear wing
  • UQT  performance data and video recorder
  • EFY  body color exterior accents

The base LT1 trim package reduced the weight and the electronics.

The Z51 performance package includes Brembo anti lock brakes, performance rear axle ratio, tires, performance exhaust, limited slip differential, and heavy duty cooling system.  I added the magnetic ride dampers.

My only concession to cosmetics was the body color exterior accents which are the scoop surround and the front grill piece.

First Drives

I spent the next four weeks driving it constantly, trying to get it to pass the California smog test.  Cars purchased out of state need to have the California smog sticker and need to pass the smog test.  New Corvettes do not pass smog because the evap sensor is not ready and will not be ready until the car is driven roughly 1000 miles.  Driving was not a chore.

Size

My first impression was how big the car is.  It is huge!  This is manifested in many ways.  It is difficult to get the car into a typical two car garage.  It takes forever to wash it as there is so much body work.  The dimensions are huge.  Here are some of the cars I have or considered as an alternative.

  length width height weight horsepower power to weight
Corvette 182 76 49 3366 395 8.5
Lotus Exige 149 68 45 2070 240 8.6
BMW X1 176 72 63 3726 228 16.3
Porsche 718 173 71 50 3166 394 8.0

Interestingly enough, most of the size is in the back, almost three feet longer than the Lotus.  The car does not seem large when looking forward.

I remember, probably incorrectly because I cannot find a reference, that the original Mustang was designed to be less expensive by narrowing the car by 18 inches.  In order to gain back some of the room at shoulder level, the side glass was curved.  The result was less weight and less materials, thus reducing the cost.

The Lotus engineers were fanatical in their efforts to follow Colin Chapman's catch phrase, "add lightness."  For example, there is only one wiper blade for the whole window. It will be interesting to see how much weight comes off the Corvette in the future, and how much the size is reduced.