The ultimate performance bargain and a whole lot more
by Colum Wood

If the question is: what’s the most performance you can buy for $50,000, there is no doubt that the answer is the 2014 Corvette Stingray.

Starting at just $51,995 it makes 455 hp – over 100 hp more than a Porsche 911 Carrera. Even if it couldn’t handle, that would make up for a lot. Thankfully, the C7 Vette can carve a corner with the best of them; especially when equipped with the Z51 performance package.

Blasting down a stretch of twisting, undulating black asphalt drawn across the sunburnt yellow countryside outside of Montery, California the throaty V8 is roaring through the optional active exhaust system (a must have). Keeping the tachometer just off the redline for many miles, when we do finally reach a stopping point and check the car’s onboard stats the display reads a shocking 9.6 mpg.

The most fuel-efficient Corvette it may be, with a 29 mpg highway rating and cylinder deactivation that we saw regularly returning over 30 mpg on the highway, beat it hard and you’ll pay. You’ll also be rewarded.

PLENTIFUL PERFORMANCE

And how can you not touch carpet with the Vette’s right pedal, the torque surging you forward at speeds that, at least according to the Europeans, no mortal with less than $100,000 to spend has any right to. Chevy officially rates the car at 3.8 seconds to 60 mph – faster than a Carrera S with both the optional dual-clutch transmission and Sport Chrono package.

Attack a corner and the brakes have a streetable softness at the tip of the pedal before grabbing powerfully, smoothly and progressively. Hit a turn with too much speed and they’ve solved your terrifying problem before it’s even an issue.

Then again, “too much speed” is a relative term and the Stingray shows yet another card in its well-stacked deck, with incredible levels of cornering grip.

Built on an all-new aluminum platform that’s 100 lbs lighter, it feels it with a new sense of nimbleness, emphasized by a smaller steering wheel that means inputs are acted upon more quickly.
Read the complete 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Review at AutoGuide.com