Retooled Chevy Corvette guns for new generation of enthusiasts
2014 sports car packs more power, improves fuel economy
Photo credit: BLOOMBERG
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DETROIT -- General Motors aims to capture a new generation of sports car lovers -- many raised on video games and extreme sports -- with a complete overhaul of the Chevrolet Corvette that promises additional power, a more refined and comfortable interior, and modern styling.
GM believes the ground-up overhaul of the next-generation Corvette deserves a badge not worn by any 'Vette since 1976: a Stingray. The 2014 Corvette Stingray, the seventh iteration of the 60-year-old Corvette franchise, was unveiled here tonight on the eve of the Detroit auto show.
Chevy saved the Stingray designation for the most-extensive makeover of the iconic sports car in decades. Design and engineering changes were aimed at enhancing driving dynamics while delivering improved fuel economy and global appeal.
When it goes on sale in the third quarter, it will be the fastest and most-powerful standard Corvette ever, putting out an estimated 450 horsepower and 450 pounds-feet of torque and covering 0 to 60 mph in less than four seconds.
The car, codenamed C7, will get up to 30 mpg on the highway, thanks in part to a new V-8 small block engine with cylinder deactivation, a feature that the current Corvette lacks.
GM has also addressed perhaps the biggest gripe historically among Corvette enthusiasts: a bland and uncomfortable interior. Cockpit enhancements include swaths of soft-touch materials, aluminum, and optional carbon fiber.
Chevy's latest infotainment system, an 8-inch video screen for the gauge cluster, and a choice of seats for either touring or racing, will also be available.
The exterior styling is evolutionary -- making it unmistakably a Corvette. But it includes departures such as rear-quarter windows and hexagonal taillights, eschewing the round taillamps seen on every Corvette since 1961.
The futuristic styling touches reflect Chevy's bid to cultivate a new generation of fans for the Corvette and move beyond its longtime base of Baby Boomers. The average age of a Corvette buyer today is 59, according to Strategic Vision Inc., a California market research firm.
"Like the '63 Sting Ray, the best Corvettes embodied performance leadership, delivering cutting-edge technologies, breathtaking design and awe-inspiring driving experiences," GM North America President Mark Reuss said in a statement. "The all-new Corvette goes farther than ever, thanks to today's advancements in design, technology and engineering."
In the big picture of GM's humbling recovery from its 2009 bankruptcy -- its bid to construct an ironclad balance sheet, rebuild its U.S. market share, reduce costs -- the C7 won't mean a whole lot for GM's bottom line.
Despite sales of over 1.5 million over the years, it's never been a high-volume car, and that won't change with the latest Corvette.
IHS Automotive predicts that sales will eclipse 21,000 in 2014, its first full year on the market. That would be a roughly 50 percent jump from the 14,132 Corvettes GM sold in 2012, but less than 1 percent of Chevy's U.S. sales.
But the Corvette -- long GM's most-powerful halo car -- will be a showcase for the company's current design and engineering talent. It could serve as a rallying point for a product development organization still buffeted by charges that it hasn't shaken off enough of the Old GM dysfunction.
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In one of the biggest breaks from Corvette history, the 2014 model lacks four perfectly round taillights, until now seen on every 'Vette since 1961. Photo credit: GM |
"It punctuates who we are as a company," Reuss said Sunday. "The soul of the company is indeed sitting right here in the Corvette."
GM CEO Dan Akerson calls the C7 "one of the most beautiful cars" the company has ever made.
"It's a real statement about the new GM, today's GM," Akerson said last week, and "a statement about Chevrolet and our prospects and what the brand stands for."
Tall mission
In embarking on the Corvette's redesign, chief engineer's Tadge Juechter's mission was formidable: It had to perform better than any Vette that came before it, be more comfortable than the car it replaces and help GM meet ever-tightening fuel-economy regulations, or at least do as little harm as possible to its corporate average fuel economy score.
Juechter could not get by with a mere makeover of the sixth-generation car, a car that's been in production since the 2005 model year and is itself based heavily on the 1997 fifth-generation Corvette.
Juechter and his crew tore up the Corvette's chassis, exterior, interior and, while at it, the assembly plant, too.
The Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Ky., underwent a $131 million makeover, including a new body shop to weld the car's aluminum spaceframe.
Unlike the current Corvette, which kept the basic chassis layout and styling of its predecessor, the C7 is a clean-sheet overhaul. Just two parts have been carried over from the current car: a roof panel latch and a cabin air filter.
All 2014 Corvettes receive an aluminum frame, rather than the steel bones of today's base and Grand Sport models, which makes it lighter and stiffer.
 | The Corvette's new V-8 cranks out more power while sipping fuel at cruising speeds via direct fuel injection, variable valve timing and cylinder-cutoff technology. Photo credit: DAVE VERSICAL |
The new V-8 has the same displacement as today's base 6.2-liter engine, but it cranks out more power while sipping fuel at cruising speeds via direct fuel injection, variable valve timing and cylinder-cutoff technology. It is mated to a rev-matching seven-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
"We set out to redefine modern performance," Juechter said. "We scanned the world for technology. But we didn't make changes just to be different. It had to enhance the driving experience."
Today's Grand Sport model combines the base powertrain with a Z06's wider body and is the best-selling Corvette. The 2014 Stingray brings that wide-body look to the base model.
Stingray styling
GM conducted a global design competition from within its ranks to craft the C7's rakish look. Juechter says the team considered more than 300 design proposals.
Ed Welburn, head of global design for GM, called it "a far more international design" and "exotic" Corvette.
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Inside the 2014 Corvette. Photo credit: GM |
"It's like it's grown up in many ways," he added.
Much of the new Stingray's final design is traced to a 2009 Stingray concept that played a role in two of the Transformers movies. It's a so-called technical design, with several subtle surface features:
• A flat surface along the front fender's edge marks a transition from fenders to hood. Four character lines flow from its nose to the rear edge of the hood, which features a raised center section.
• It has rear quarter windows, a feature not seen on a Corvette since the 1962 model. The change was needed to make room for air vents above its rear wheels.
• High-intensity discharge headlamps light the way, framed by LED daytime driving lights.
• And in one of the biggest breaks from Corvette history, there are not four perfectly round taillights, until now seen on every 'Vette since 1961.
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This 1/3 scale clay model emerged as the winning design theme for the '14 Vette about 2 years ago, according to John Bednarchik, lead aeroperformance engineer for the Corvette. Photo credit: DAVE VERSICAL |
The hexagonal shape and use of indirect LED lighting give the 2014 Corvette a futuristic look.
That change was deliberate, program manager Harlan Charles says. He said the Corvette needs to attract a new generation of fans, one that has grown up playing video games and going to events like road rallies.
Inside, the Stingray's gauge cluster uses an 8-inch video monitor behind a smaller, 14-inch steering wheel. Gauges for speed, fuel and water temp flank the video screen. The display can change based on the drive mode selected: An info-rich screen appears when in touring; a large tachometer for sport mode; a race-car-inspired layout with tach band and lap timers for track mode. A full-color head-up display is an option.
A second monitor -- bright enough to be viewed in direct sunlight -- dominates the center stack. The driver can use hand-swipe gestures on this monitor to control GM's MyLink infotainment system. The screen also folds down to reveal storage space with a USB connector. There are knobs for controlling the radio and ventilation.
Seats have long been a sore point for Corvette critics, so the Stingray offers a choice: a moderately bolstered touring seat and a highly bolstered competition seat.
For GM's full press release on the Corvette, click here.
Dale Jewett is Techical Editor at Autoweek, a sister publication of Automotive News
Dave Versical contributed to this report
Inside the National Corvette Museum
You can reach Mike Colias at mcolias@crain.com.
