This Maybe a repost but! C6 Corvette: Reality or Restraint?

[JBsC5]

C6 Corvette: Reality or Restraint? Its always interesting to sit back and read all the love/hate mail thats published in car magazines after a new generation of Corvette is unveiled. As soon as the fake body panels, plastic shrouding, duct tape, and plastick chincks are removed from the prototypes and the final production version is shown to the public, the Corvette community mutates into a frenzy of blood thirsty sharks nipping and tearing at the newest Corvettes tucked and tightened body.

The lines are immediately drawn and the camps develop. On one side you have the enthusiasts who love the car. On the other, you have the enthuisasts who now consider themeselves ex enthusiasts, taking every chance to bemoan, belittle, and incinerate the car, engineers, Chevrolet and all of GM.

Did Corvette engineers fail with the new C6? Did they do a poor job of designing the next generation of our pride and joy? Could they have gone much further with it? Should they have? Lets take a look at the history of Corvette Design .

In the 53 -62 Corvettes we saw some significant Changes in design. The 62 model looked nothing like the 53. The 63 -67 models were once again a drastic change in design from the first generation models. In 1968, the third generation of Corvette hit the streets and featured a radical design change from the previous generation.

In 1983/1984, the fourth genreation Corvette was unveiled, and yet again we saw another extreme change in design. Not as radical as the C2 to C4 production, but it was a significant redesign in Corvette history.

In 1997, the fifth generation of Corvette was unveiled to the public and as expected, response was mixed. It featured an obvious redesign compared to the C4 generation, but could it truly be considered radical? In some ways, Yes, and in some, NO...From an engineering perspective, it was a radical change, but from a design perspective, you could still see the evolutionary changes in the skin from the C4. The "visiual " redesign was not as radical as from the C2 to the C3, Is it possbible we could be seeing a slow down in the Corvette's Evolutinary design?

Now that the sixth genration of Corvette is prancing around in its birthday suit, a large group of enthuisasts are stark raving mad. Why? Because even though it's a new generation, visually it doesn't look much different from the previous generation. Regardless of what it may look like, as Corvette engineers have stated, 80 percent of the parts used in the car are new. They basically stated all along it would not be revolutionary , but evolutionary in design. For all intents and purposes, the redesign isn't radical at all, and nowhere near the degree of change we've seen from previous generations.

In my opinion, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. Lets face it: the C5 is a dam good Corvette and until the C6, its the best Corvette yet. It does a tremendous job meeting the needs and demands of a finicky segment of the market, and you can't deny it's the best bang for the buck out there. That's one thing the Corvette has always been known for. From the hydroformed steel frame rails to the chassis/suspension setup, Chevrolet has one hell of a winner on its hands and they know it.

If you have a winning product, why look a gift horse in the mouth? Why invest an astronomical amount of money into developiniong a complete and radical redesign when alll that's really needed is a makeover that will greatly improve upon what has already been established?

A couple of the main goals of the Corvette engineers for the C6 were to continue getting the weight out and increase quality, features and potential without adding more weight. From the preproduction prototypes we've seen so far, its fair to assume they're not too far off the mark.

So what if there is an apparent similarity between the look of the C5 and the C6? Is this really a bad thing? For 40 years, Porsche has been building incredible sports cars capable of attracting many different customers from all types of income levels. From the Boxster to the $400,000 plus Carrera GT, one thing remains, visually apparent design. You can't mistake the obvious look of a Porsche.

In looking at the design changes of the Porsche 911 over the years. I think it's fair to say the model has never really seen a radical redisgn like the Corvette has during its lifetime. Yet the Porsche continues to win on the street, the track and in the hearts of its owners and enthusiasts. You could say Porsche has a winning and accomplished design theme on its hands.

So isn't it possible that maybe, just maybe, Corvette Engineers have a winning and accomplished design theme for the first time in Corvette history! I think so!
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Rob Loszewski! Site Administrator of Corvette Action Center(he wrote this excellent letter to Corvette fever and I wanted to share it with you guys)

Excellent... and very well said!



Thanks

What do U think?

[koolaid117]

Exactly, well said. I was thinking the same thing about the Porsche 911. Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I love the C5 and the C6.

Nice letter, Rob!

Thanks for posting it.

Jim

[OLDGOAT]

Great letter thanks. The one thing it seems to have left out is that the C6 costs about the same or less than the C5. That's not in "adjusted dollars" for inflation etc. It costs about the same ( we'll skip the Z06 for now ). I think this proves the success of the design, manufacturing, and quality engineers ( used to be one of these ) in producing a BETTER product that is not more expensive.

Also, to amplify the point in the letter it was also very excellent that the vette engineers made the car smaller! Think back to the history of proven designs like the Datsun 240Z. The car was a bloated hog by the time it was discontinued. The same thing happened to the vette several times along the way in its half century lifetime. They got bigger and heavier as the hp went down. But the C6 did not go that way....it's leaner and meaner, shorter but faster.....how can you beat that?

The single thing that I really think could still stand improvement is the rear end of the C6. I was ready to buy a C5 in '97 but the rear end appearance was a deal breaker for me. I did not like it at all.The C6 is better but could still use some resculpting.

BTW, I agree that Porsche has a "look" all its own. I never did like it in the least and even though I could afford a mid level model won't ever own one. It would never occur to me to own a car for the nameplate and I think far more Porsche owners ( not to mention BMW ) than vette own them purely for status. Porsches are common as fruitflies in Oregon where I live but vettes are pretty scarce. I think that far more vette owners buy their cars for WHAT IT IS rather than WHAT THEY THINK OTHER PEOPLE WILL THINK IT IS!

[Edmond]

I absolutely love the looks of the C6. Haven't rode in one and definitely haven't driven one but if I had the dough, I would buy one.

There's nothing wrong with evolution. It's what makes the species survive. There will always be the traditionalists out there who want to stick to their guns, even if it's failing.

Reminds me of the way Bruce Lee started pioneering the martial arts in the 60's. The old masters weren't too keen on it but the classical stuff wasn't working that well in the "real world" so he evolutionized it to fit the needs. That's what the Corvette is doing now.

[LT4man]

I absolutely love the C6. I have driven one. Very impressive. Will I give up my C4? Not yet. I am having too much fun with my C4. I have done a lot of mods and I do not think I am done yet. Plus, I am starting to get "good press" now. For an explanation of that, check out the thread: Vette Featured on Mid America Catalogs in the Off-Road Lounge. Some things just get better with age and Vettes certainly belong in that category. I am very happy with the Corvette Design Team. They are going in the right direction as evidenced by the new Z06. What a car! What a Vette!

Save The Wave!

[fourjohn]

JBsC5 - Did you type the entire article in yourself or did you find a link somewhere? Nice work.

I agree, Rob's comments are well put. I read it out of the May 2005 issue of Corvette Fever while sitting at a CarX store. Thanks for the good reading Rob!

As far as the C6 - I've driven one and I like it. They fixed most of the bugs I've had with my C5 and there's many to list. Very clever are those GM engineers!

[JBsC5]

I retyped it from the magazine! I thought it was so cool a review...I thought you guys would enjoy it!


Way to go Rob!

[Carol]

Have a look at www.modernracer.com and find the comparison of the Mclaren F1, Saleen S7, Ferrari Enzo and the Koenigsegg CC. A C6 right out of the box has comparable aerodynamic drag (0.286), lateral acceleration on the skidpad (0.92 g) and braking performance ( 60mph to zero in 110 feet).

For the price of the sales tax on any one of these cars, you might be able to put on better tires, jump the hp to about 650 by turbocharging and beef up the suspension. The result could easily be comparable performance numbers all round if you wanted.

McLaren F1Saleen S7Ferrari EnzoKoenigsegg CCAcceleration : 0-60 mph3.2 sec.3.3 sec.3.3 sec.3.2 sec.Acceleration : 0-100 mph6.3 sec.8.9 sec.6.6 sec.7.1 sec.Acceleration : Quarter Mile11.1 sec
@ 138 mph 11.8 sec
@ 120 mph 11.1 sec
@ 133 mph 10.8 sec
@ 130 mphTop Speed241 mph220 mph (est)218 mph (est)245 mph (est)Aerodynamic Drag Co-efficient0.32 Cd0.29 Cd (est)0.36 Cd0.30 CdLateral Acceleration Around 200 ft Skidpad0.86 G0.99 G1.01 G1.15 GBraking : 60-0 mph127 ft125 ft109 ft105 ft









The Fastest Cars in the World
Introduction
McLaren F1
Saleen S7
Ferrari Enzo
Koenigsegg CC
Side-by-side Performance
The Future : Bugatti Veyron 16/4

[Ken]

Excuse me if I'm out of line here, but the article in its original form can be found right here in Rob's Wheelspin column: May 2004: C6 Corvette Design: Reality or Restraint?

[tschux]

I was one of the guys that loved the look of the C6 at first glance, but then again I am biased. Like most (if not all) of you, I am partial to Corvette, for me it started when I was 8 years old and it will end when I die. As far as the C6 goes, Chevy engineering and designers did an awesome job of creating such a powerful, well handling and beautiful car. And because Chevrolet has us "Blue collar" workers in mind, we can actually purchase this killer ride. Enough said!
Tim

[Edmond]

And because Chevrolet has us "Blue collar" workers in mind, we can actually purchase this killer ride. Enough said!
Tim

Tim,

That's my attitude towards the Corvette as well. You don't have to be a millionare to be driving one. It is a blue collar sports car that can run with the worlds best.

As for the amazing numbers of those other cars, I hope I don't make anyone made but I always wondered if those were "real" numbers or if they were numbers that were calculated based on the specifications of the vehicle.

[JBsC5]

HI Ken,

I never saw it in the various forums so I went ahead and took the time to retype it word for word out of respect for Rob! and because it was such a great editorial.

Really hit the nail on the head as far as how many of us see the C6 Corvette...

Very well said.

Thanks and sorry I didn't find it in another section of the forum.

JB

[Rob]

I retyped it from the magazine! I thought it was so cool a review...I thought you guys would enjoy it!


Way to go Rob!

Thanks guys.