Despite the reduction in length, however, the wheelbase has grown an inch, thanks to shorter overhangs. It’s a tightly packaged machine communicating athleticism and performance potential, buzz words and concepts from today’s design language.
Perhaps the most notable styling characteristic in that language is the headlight configuration, which includes exposed lenses containing high-discharge Xenon bulbs. Corvettes have not had exposed lamps since 1962, but fixed headlights reduce complexity and weight while increasing effectiveness, according to GM. They’re also designed to signal a “lean, purposeful, performance oriented” look. It’s taken us a while to get used to them, especially since they look very Porsche-like. The taillights, however, are traditionally designed as four round lamps, a cue dating back to 1961.
A bulged hood and more sharply defined front fenders are cues that suggest fat performance is available when you climb inside, as do the standard 18-in. front and 19-in. rear wheels. Out back four circular tailpipes exit through the center of the rear valance, another Corvette signature.
So the look is good, and different. Getting in, however, is still a bit of work, somewhat like the plunge of dropping into a claw-foot bathtub in a low-slung room – but well worth the price of entry. Once there, you see that the inside is noticeably new. Soft-touch materials around the instrument cluster blend with aluminum trim plates and woven like surfaces to create an air of precision.
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