2014 Corvette C7: The Stingray Returns

A brand new Corvette is a rare occurrence. So much so that it's almost a national celebration in America, which makes today... time to party! Chevrolet dropped images and details on the new C7-generation 2014 Corvette, and there's a lot to digest. Let's get started with the looks.

The C7 is a minor departure from older Corvettes - just as expected. Once again, there's no mid-mounted rotary and all wheel drive. It's still a big V8 in the front and a dart-shaped body, but it's the details that make it fresh. The sleek front end is reminiscent of the 1990 CERV-III Concept or the 1986 Corvette Indy - retro-futurism at work. LED running lights are sexy as usual, and the raised and vented hood is mean as hell. Blacked-out A-pillars give it the floating greenhouse feel, and axe-wound fender vents behind the front wheels pull the bodywork in nice and tight.

The influences visible in a rear view are many: Nissan GT-R in the greenhouse, Ferrari 599 in the fenders, Gen V Camaro in the tail lights, it's a veritable mish-mash of sexy. The departure from quad-round tail lights is something the Corvette faithful might not like - imagine a GT-R with square tails! - but I think the adoption of Chevy's family styling is successful here, especially with the tear-drop trailing edges. As the lolcats would say, "me gusta".

The centre quad exhausts are a Corvette trademark, and the centre high-mount is nicely integrated into the rear wing. There's still a bit of C6 to the car's side profile, but it's gotta look like a Corvette, right?

The interior is where the biggest changes have occurred. It's always been the Corvette's weak spot - floppy seats, crap navigation, ugly steering wheel and cluster, you could tell where the corners had been cut. No more: finally, the Corvette has seemingly been blessed with a good interior.  The centre stack is divided and angled towards the driver (shades of the old Supra, or more recently the Solstice), the centre screen in the gauge cluster is digital with analogue gauges on either side. Chevrolet say they've upped the material quality inside to befit the car's lofty pricetag, with real carbon fibre, aluminium and leather everywhere.

Eagle-eyed readers probably noticed there are four gates on the new Corvette's manual transmission, which brings us to another big change: a 7-speed transmission, just like the Porsche 911. Made by Tremec, the 7-speed will bring better mid-range gearing while still providing the surprising highway fuel economy the Corvette is known for. For those wondering how they'll keep track of which gear they're in with four gates, the manual will come with a new automatic rev-matching feature (similar to that in the 6-speed Nissan 370Z) that has predictive software - it knows which gear you're going into. Should be fun. A six-speed automatic is available for those who hate fun, or have knee problems.

The heart of the Corvette is (and has always been) its engine, which we'll get onto in a minute. But Corvettes are more than just a big V8: it has to be light, nimble, and good-handling. The biggest change here is that even base model Corvettes will ride on an aluminium frame, along with thin-walled aluminium front and rear subframes. To save more weight (and to counteract the weight gain from additional safety & comfort features), the C7 will have a carbon fibre roof panel, hood, front fenders, and other lightweight components.

And so to the engine.  Called the LT-1 (which has been used a few times now), this new generation small-block V8 is a mixture of old and new. At 6.2-litres, displacement is equal to the outgoing LS3, but it has some new features. It's direct-injected and features AFM (cylinder shutdown) for better fuel economy. Output is pegged at 450 horsepower, but what's interesting is GM says the new engine matches the old 7.0L LS7's torque curve from 1,000-4,000rpm. Meaning although the jump in power on paper is small (14bhp more than the LS3 with dual-mode exhaust), it'll have more low-end grunt.

Like all new performance cars, the C7's demeanour can be tailored to your mood with a switch - GM calls it Drive Mode Select. It's not just a sport mode button, able to fiddle with the electric power steering (sigh, welcome to 2013), Magnaride shocks, throttle mapping, AFM, and stability and traction control. The available Z51 package will add a host of performance improvements: dry-sump oil pan, an electronic LSD, close-ratio gearbox, bigger wheels and slotted brakes, and small visual details. The base model will be known as the Stingray, which is cool.

Now that all the details are out there, the only thing left to find out is how it drives. I can't wait. Check out the gallery of additional images below!