OPPOSITE
Sturdybackbone
chassisdesign
meanttheChevrolet
designerscould
employverylowsills
foreasyaccessto
thelow-slungcabinRIGHT
Brake-by-wirewill
bea Chevyfirst.
Stoppingpower
comesfrom321mm
frontand339mmrear
discsclasped
byfour-piston
Brembocalipers➜
➜
THECORVETTE’Snew,all-aluminium
LT2small-blockpushrodV8isbased
ontheexistingLT1.Thesetwoengines
sharethesamebore,stroke,forged
crankshaft,connectingrods,pistonsand
valvetrain.Assuch,theyhavethesame
revlimitof6600rpm.
Fundamentally,theLT2differsfrom
theLT1witha revisedcamshaftand,
mostimportantly,a dry-sumpengine
lubricationsystem.Thedrysump
eliminatestheneedfora traditionaloil
panandallowstheenginetobemounted
25mmlowerinthechassis.Thereare
threescavengepumps,onefixedinthe
centreoftheV andtwointhecrankcase.
Inthepast,dry-sumplubricationwas
reservedforhigh-performanceCorvette
models,butisnowstandardinthebase
model.Themainbenefittoa drysumpis
thatit maintainsenginelubricationduring
sustained,highG-loadconditions– those
youwillexperiencewhileenjoyingyour
Corvetteata trackday,forexample.
Furtherbenefitsincludelesscrankshaft
draginthecrankcaseanda reductionin
oilcapacityfrom9.2to7.1litres.MEETTHENEWLT2
inthechassis.Solow,infact,thatlookingundertheengine
coverislikepeeringdowna deepwell.Theplacementofan
AudiR8’sV10isostentatiousbycomparison.
Thereisonlyonetransmissionavailable,a Tremec-supplied
eight-speed dual-clutch unit. Practical considerations
eliminatedthenotionofa manual,Juechterexplainingthat
thenewcar’slayoutmadeiteffectivelyimpossibletoensure
acceptableergonomicswitha three-pedalset-up.
There’snoquestiontheDCTshiftsquickerthananymanual
andcontributestotheCorvette’squoted 0-96km/htimeof
“underthreeseconds”.
Moving the cabin 42cmforward inthechassis puts the
driver’sfeetnearthefrontwheels,whichnowencroachinto
thefootwells.Sonoroomfora clutchandfootrest,
puttingthefinalnailinthemanual’scoffin.
Theshiftpaddlesarewireddirectlytothegearbox,
whicheliminatesanysignallagthatcouldotherwise
occur had those signals been run through the
Corvette’selectronicarchitecture.
Foroptimalweightdistribution,thegearboxand
theelectronicallycontrolledlimited-slipdifferential
sitbehindtheengine.GMhasbeenusingthesee-diffs
inmanyof theirperformancevehiclesandthey’re
oftentheunsungheroesofcorner-exitacceleration.
Unlikea mechanicalLSD,thesemoderndiffscan
varylock-up fromzeroto 100 percent,but that’s
not the real story. Under acceleration, lock-up is
almostinstantaneously determined bya range of
parametersandvariesasconditionschange.Butit
hasanotheraceupitssleeve.Forstabilityanddriver
confidence, an e-diff caninstantly switch tofully
openunderbraking.
The singleoptionthatmakes thisnew Corvette
alittle quickeris the desirable Z51 package.This
haslongbeenthechoicefortrack-daydriversand
isalso requiredif youplantoattemptthosesub-
three-second sprints. For C8, the Z51 package
includesa mildfrontsplitter,tallerrearwing,more
aggressive suspension settings with adjustable
spring perches, optional magnetic-ride dampers,
moreeffectivecooling,throatierexhaustanda lower
final-driveratio.
The new chassis is based around six large
aluminiumcastings,enablinga signatureCorvette
featuretoberetained– a removabletargatop.
SincetheC7,allCorvettecoupeshavebeenfitted
witha targaroofpaneltoenableopen-airmotoring
whilemaintainingtheconvenienceandsecurityof
ahardtop.TheC7’stopcouldbeconvenientlyand
easily stowed under the hatch, with some cargo
spacetospare.
StorageintheC8iscomprisedofa bootinfrontandonein
back.There’smorethanenoughspaceinthefrontfora single
pieceofcarry-onluggageanda smallbackpack.Rearstorage
isadeepwellthat’slargeenoughtocarrytwofull-sizegolf
bags,oneatoptheother.Ontheotherhand,thetargatop
stowsverticallyinthereartrunk,subsequentlyeliminating
anycargo-carryingutilitybackthere.
WithoutatallV8underthebonnet,thecowlheight has
beenlowered,andthedriverisfacedwitha generousviewof
theroad.Fromthedriver’sseat,thecabinfeelsspacious,and
thelargewindowopeningsaddtotheexpansivefeel.
A further benefit of the mid-engine layout is a vastly
improvedsteeringsystem.Bydesign,thesteeringcolumnis
shorter,whichshouldlendmoredirectsteeringfeel,andat
d motorofficial f motor_mag^53