You'll corvette it

The chevrolet corvette is the kind of car you drive with conviction, concentration and connection to the here and now. There is a feel of good workmanship in the build and the handling is razor-sharp, says Paolo Rossetti

The Corvette scared me – in fact, it scared the living daylights out of me; but I still loved it!

The overall impression I was left with was you'd better know what you're doing with this super-car, because if you think you can waltz into the seat and not respect the machine, the Corvette will deposit your sorry self off-road-side.

It is a beast – more than a beast as other super-car beasts tend to be ... it is a beast that lets you live the feeling. You really feel like you're driving, not cruising along, not going for a drive, not taking a ride – no, in the Corvette you drive with conviction, concentration and connection to the here and now.

OK, let me tell you what I felt – this is a car that responds to the driver's commands absolutely perfectly. If the driver tells it to cruise straight at 80 kph, that's exactly what it will do. But if the driver is one who is new behind the wheel and throws the Corvette at 80kph into a 90-degree tight turn with the intention of accelerating out of the curve, then, well ...

Don't get me wrong. It has splendid stability. Read what the specs relating to the Corvette's Active Handling System have to say: "While no system can overcome the laws of physics, Active Handling compares driver steering input with actual vehicle response.

When necessary, it uses individual wheel brake application, the Traction Control System and Magnetic Selective Ride Control to maximise the driver's ability to maintain stability and stay on track."

The Chevrolet Corvette puts other super-cars to shame in that it offers comparable performance for about a third of the price.

A drag coefficient of less than 0.29 – as well as indexing door glass for tighter seals – contributes to great aerodynamic efficiency and a fantastic sleek super-car look. This also affords impressive fuel efficiency, quiet highway cruising and a 300 kph top-speed capability on the test track.

Naturally I didn't even come close, although I did appreciate the heads-up display so I could keep my eyes on the really narrow pin-point of a tarmac strip ahead of me, which usually is a wide 3-lane highway!

The heads-up display projects the speedometer, in various configurations to include rpm and other information, directly onto the windscreen at eye-level.

This means you don't have to lower your eyes, moving them away from what's directly in front of you, to glance at the gauges.

The 6.0L LS2 V8 powerhouse explodes into 400 horsepower and 540 Nm of gross torque, and can propel you to 100 kph in less than five seconds.

And the Z06 version is even more thrilling, hitting 100kph in the low 4s, the quarter-mile in the low 12s and rocketing up to a top speed approaching 200 mph. The Z06 comes with a 7.0-litre V8 with 505 hp mated to a six-speed manual – hmmm ... I guess that's what I drove!

It is long, and it is wide (though a bit less than its preceding generation), and it is low to the ground; but at the same time extremely comfortable – as if you had a racetrack car and bolted in a plush armchair.

With such a sporty-looking car you feel like a million dollars just clicking the remote and then the keyless start button to fire up the beast. Plus, you are driving one of the famed brands and models that every car buff the world over instantly recognises and secretly dreams of – even if they are committed to others.

The Corvette in fact made its debut in 1953, and has remained true to its sports car bloodline since then, currently entering into its sixth generation, called by enthusiasts
the C6.

And for 2008, the Corvette receives a boost in the form of a new LS3 engine with displacement increased to 6.2 litres, resulting in 430 hp (321 kW) and 575 Nm of torque.

The manual transmission also has improved shift linkage, while the automatic is set up for quicker shifts giving the C6 Automatic a 0-60 time of 4.3 seconds, faster than any other production automatic Corvette.

The drive is intense, though, and despite the obvious comfort, I found it hard to relax. In traffic, the gears kept wanting to push me faster, and shifting too early did not have a calming effect on the beast's engine – it wanted to run, and it fought at the bit when it was reined in.

Eventually I solved this by shifting into third directly from first gear, and I let the ample and flexible torque keep me cruising along at urban traffic speeds very nicely.

On the highway, the cruise was effortless, and in any gear, at any time, the engine is ready to respond. I drove Dubai-Al Ain, and I was there in no time at all, felt completely fresh, and I could easily have turned around and done it all over again!

But it is when pushed that the Corvette excels and gets into its rhythm. It's as if it says: "Finally I can breathe!" and then it runs riot.

Extremely fast, with incredible grin-and-your-cheeks-flap accelerations from all speeds and in all gears, the Corvette is an absolute blast to drive.

The brakes are fabulous and overall there is a feel of good workmanship in the build, and in the integration of safety standards, with awesome xenon lights at 900 lumen and a very sturdy safety cage around the cockpit.

The handling is razor-sharp, and the tyres are phenomenal – I will again mention the fact that the driver must be keenly aware to control what essentially is a street legal track car.

You could race the Indy 500 with a stock Corvette, that's the kind of car it is!

The Corvette puts other super-cars to shame in that it offers comparable performance for about a third of the price.

The Z06 version is long and wide (though a bit less than its preceding generation) but at the same time extremely comfortable.