Good news for Corvette enthusiasts. The current Chevrolet Corvette Stingray also gets European asphalt under its wheels. For whom every horsepower is important, there is also less good news. In Europe, the first mid-engined Corvette is less powerful than in the United States.
The eighth generation Chevrolet Corvette presented in mid-2019 broke with all its predecessors in an important way. Chevrolet’s sporty flagship got the engine not in the front for the first time since the launch of the first Corvette in 1953, but behind the front seats. That power plant is again a large eight-cylinder, in line with Corvette tradition, a 6.2-liter V8 that stomps 497 hp and 630 Nm to the rear wheels in the United States. If you, as an American consumer, check the Z51 package, which is available at an additional cost, you will receive, among other things, a modified exhaust system that increases the power to 502 hp and 637 Nm. Unfortunately, during the homologation of the Corvette for the European market, some horsepower and Nm were lost.
The Corvette that Chevrolet supplies in Europe is equipped with the Z51 package as standard and is therefore equipped with the exhaust system that gives the car a few extra horsepower. Even with the Z51 package, the European ‘Vette is less strong than the US base version without Z51 extras. With the Z51 impulse in Europe, the Chevrolet Corvette is 482 hp and 613 Nm strong. That is of course absolutely nothing to be ashamed of, with that power the Corvette launches itself in 3.5 seconds to 100 km/h. Its top speed is an absolutely unbelievable 296 km/h.
In the United States, the Corvette is available in trim levels 1LT, 2LT, and 3LT, but the 1LT is not available in Europe. The 2LT includes a head-up display, navigation, an extensive audio system from Bose with 14 speakers, a reversing camera and heated and ventilated seats as standard. Regardless of whether you go for the 2LT or 3LT, you have the Z51 Performance Pack. This includes not only the exhaust system already mentioned, but also manually adjustable springs, Brembro brakes with larger discs, aerodynamic extras, extra air intakes in the front bumper, an electronic differential lock and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S tires. A system that lifts the nose of the Corvette up to a speed of 38 km/h with a maximum of 5 centimeters in order to be able to take thresholds properly is available as an extra.
Chevrolet offers the Corvette Stingray not only as a Coupé, but also as a Convertible. The Corvette has a starting price of €93,400 in Germany. In the Netherlands, about which more later, there is at least a considerable amount of money on top of that.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl