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| Launch Report Corvette C6 |
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Brash Fun
I'd been driving the latest Corvette C6 to the circuit along some mountainous roads - and was not impressed. It's big, brash, tacky and American! And you can only get it in left-hand drive. It may be a Stateside icon built in the heartland of the Good ol' Boys in deepest Kentucky, but despite Chevrolet's insistence that it is "credible alternative to a Porsche 911" I fear the truth lies somewhere else. For a start it's not an all-American Boy – incredibly the best bit, the classic V8 engine, is assembled in the Canadian State of Ontario. They won't like that in Redneck country! I'm not a fan American cars. They are aeons behind Europe and Japan in design, safety, handling and refinement and I have yet to pilot one that comes anywhere near changing my mind. Generally they handle like prams, ride like blancmanges and have the styling subtlety of a John Deere tractor. But the latest 436bhp 6.2-litre C6 with Dual Mode Exhaust delivers the acoustic tones of an orchestra. And yes, its mad 505bhp seven-litre Z06 sister model with titanium connecting rods, dry sump lubrication and alloy frame construction is a mighty beast that made my heart beat faster. But both are typically American - loud, styled like a 1970s Honda and about as refined as a Reliant Robin. Having said that, the 2008 models are big improvements on what went before. The Americans are not noted for listening to other people's opinions but Corvette has responded to criticisms of the C6's previous tacky cabin architecture and materials and upgraded the roomy cockpit with superb stitched leather and better trim.
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