https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNGpKGnqDow
Top Gear UK has never been kind to the Corvette. Often giving praise for its power, performance and looks, they’ve always ripped on its size, cheap interior and build quality. However, the engineers at Chevrolet must have heard the Top Gear blokes from across the Pacific, because the review Top Gear‘s Richard Hammond had given the C7 during Season 22’s fifth episode would make the crew in Bowling Green, Kentucky proud.
Stacking the Stingray toe-to-toe against the Porsche Cayman GTS based on their similar performance and price point, revealed that the Corvette has what it takes to compete with Europe. Which is a bit surprising, as Richard pointed out during the review. Citing that they typically would pick the European alternative to the Corvette, and make excuses as to why the Corvette is still a good value based on its performance per dollar equation, that isn’t the case this time around.
Richard loved its steering, its handling the high-tech updates found throughout the car. The looks left him speechless and he was simply drooling over the ’60-style Stingray emblem on the fenders. Naturally, there were hillbilly references tossed in here and there, but he said in full-honesty that the C7 is the best sports car ever to come out of America (sorry, Viper). Not only that, but it was “properly good,” and can be seen as a serious alternative to anything from Europe.
Lap times around the track revealed something astonishing as well – even to us! The Porsche Cayman GTS pulled a 1:21.6, which is [amazingly] exactly as quick as the Audi R8 V10 from a few years back. The Corvette, however, clocked a 1:19.8 putting it door handle to door handle to the Porsche Carrera GT supercar, with Richard adding, “that’s a seriously-fast car!”
As Jeremy Clarkson jokingly says in closing, “there’s been a disturbance in the force.” Indeed, Jeremy – just wait until you get you’re hands on the Z06.
Rick Seitz is the owner and founder of GMEFI Magazine, and has a true love and passion for all vehicles. When he isn’t tuning, testing, or competing with the brand’s current crop of project vehicles, he’s busy tinkering and planning the next modifications for his own cars.
