65 years of bow-tied brutes: seven of the best Corvettes of all time
America has switched fairly a bit in the last sixty five years, and fittingly, it’s longest-running sports car has too. While there are rumors of the next Corvette ditching a front engine design to go mid-engine and take the fight right to Europe, we still have slew of Corvette history to look back on, and (almost) all of them have V8s right up front.
With the debut of the Carbon sixty five edition, Chevrolet is celebrating sixty five years of the Corvette with the two thousand eighteen model year, so we thought we’d take a look back at our beloved models of each generation over the last half century plus.
The Chevrolet Corvette debuted in one thousand nine hundred fifty three as a hand-built, “polo white” convertible with a “sportsman red” interior, and as sports cars go, it was a bit of a dog. With styling that could lightly turn goes, the ‘Vette lacked the guts to back up its looks, with an underpowered two hundred thirty five cubic inch inline 6-cylinder under the fetish mask.
But true to the American spirit, there are few car-based problems that a big V8 and lots of horsepower can’t fix, and the Corvette has followed that timeless formula ever since, much to the joy of car fans from sea to shining sea.
Join us as we feast the introduction of the largest and baddest ‘Vette ever with seven of the best Corvettes of all time.
1955 Corvette V8
The original Corvette from one thousand nine hundred fifty three remains an American icon, but it indeed came into its own with a V-8 under the bondage mask, suggested at last in 1955.
While the Corvette did debut two years earlier, many claim that it became a true sports car legend with a V8 under the spandex hood, and we’d agree. For 1955, Chevy suggested their now iconic fiberglass-bodied sports car with a 265-cubic-inch engine as an option in 1955, proving that the ‘Vette could treat the best the world had to suggest. Tooled with the three-speed manual transmission, 0-60 time improved from 11-seconds with the inline-6 to 8.Five with the V8. This upgrade in spectacle likely saved the Corvette from being axed from the Chevy stable, and we’re more than appreciative for that.
1963 Corvette Stingray Split Window Coupe
Suggested for only one year in 1963, the split rear window Corvette coupe is one of the most collectible American cars of all time, and one of the best looking.
There are some that argue that the 2nd generation of the Corvette is one of the best looking cars of all time, and judging by our practice with one last summer, we’d have a hard time disagreeing. The famous split window coupe is the holy grail of C2 ‘Vettes, and for a very good reason. This was the very first Corvette coupe in history, and the split window design was dropped after only one year because of visibility issues. Powered by a 327-cubic-inch V8, the one thousand nine hundred sixty three Stingray boasted 360-horsepower or more when ordered with optional fuel injection, and treated better too, thanks to an all-new independent rear suspension.
1970 Corvette Stingray LT-1
Chevy suggested the puny block LT-1 engine in 1970, suggesting the best combination of power and light weight of any Corvette to date.
Love it or hate it, the curvy C3 Corvette is one of the automotive style icons of the 1970s. Based on the famous Mako Shark concept, the C3 unluckily fell victim to the oil crisis of 1972, which coerced automakers into downsizing engines and power figures for the sake of fuel economy. Fortunately, the C3 had a few years to open up its gams before the downsizing began, and one of the best Corvettes to come out of this generation was the LT-1. Powered by a 350-cubic-inch petite block V-8, the LT-1 ran the quarter mile in 14.36 seconds at 101.69-mph, and remains one of the most desirable Corvette trims ever made.
1990 Corvette ZR-1
With one hundred twenty five more horsepower than the base model, the C4 ZR1 was one of the fastest spectacle cars of the day, boasting a 0-60 time of Four.9 seconds.
The C4 Corvette, with its unashamedly 80s angles and digital dashboard, is largely credited for saving the Corvette brand after a dismal open up in the 70s and 80s for the underpowered C3s. While they dropped in value for a while, buyers are snatching up flawlessly restored C4s at rapidly enhancing prices.
The ZR-1 is the king of 80s American spectacle cars, featuring a Lotus-designed and Mercury-Marine-built aluminum Five.7-liter V8 making 375-horsepower, a whopping one hundred twenty five more than the base Corvette. This gave the ZR-1 a 0-60 time of Four.9-seconds, and a quarter mile time of 13.4-seconds. While its spectacle has since been eclipsed, the ZR-1 remains one of the greatest spectacle bargains of its time.
2002 Corvette Z06
With a more powerful engine, lightweight components, better suspension, and custom-built goopy Goodyears, the C5 Z06 was the most track-capable Corvette ever when it was introduced in 2001.
The C5 Corvette of the late 90s and early 00s brought the Corvette into the modern era, with sleek styling, a refined interior, and even more go-fast tech. No story of the C5 would be accomplish without mention of the Z06, a spectacle bargain that could make even the most discernable of supercar buyers look twice.
With an all-new Five.7-liter LS6 V8, the Z06 churned out 385-horsepower in 2002, and 405-horsepower the years afterwards. This was good for a 0-60 time of Trio.9-seconds, and with stiffer suspension, goopy custom-built Goodyear tires, and lightweight technology, the Z06 was no scrub in the corners either.
2009 Corvette ZR-1
Called the “Blue Satan” by those inwards GM, the two thousand nine ZR-1 was the very first supercharged Corvette in history, and the fastest at the time!
After a 14-year absence, the ZR-1 returned for two thousand nine as the fastest Corvette of all time, with a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 making a whopping 638-horsepower! The LS9 V-8 was the very first factory supercharged Corvette engine in history, and put up some insane spectacle numbers: 0-60 in Trio.5-seconds, quarter mile in 11.5-seconds, and a top speed of 205-mph. This put the ZR-1 in the pantheon of the best supercars of the last decade, and while it couldn’t fairly hold up in refinement or build quality, it could certainly hold its own on track.
2017 Corvette Grand Sport
The original Grand Sport was a purpose-built race car, but decades on, its descendant is still a track-tearing monster, and arguably the best-driving Corvette ever.
You may be wondering why the absurdly rapid, supercharged monster that is the C7 Z06 didn’t make the cut for this list, and frankly, we don’t blame you. With six hundred fifty horsepower and a 0-60 time of around three seconds, it’s the fastest and baddest Corvette ever. But problems with the supercharger have plagued ‘Vette-zilla, and sometimes too much power is just. well, too much.
Gratefully, the Grand Sport takes all of the go-fast goodies and bad caboose figure cladding of the Z06, adds a duo of achingly cool optional stripes to echo the original model and C4 generation tribute trim, and adds it to the C7 Stingray. A bump of five horsepower brings the total to 460, and with the upgraded suspension and brakes, carbon fiber panels, and Michelin tires, the Grand Sport can pull 1.Two g of cornering force, and hit sixty mph in Three.6 seconds with a quarter mile time of 11.8. In fact, it may just be the best-driving Corvette ever. Who needs a supercharger?
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