Five Things You Didn’t Know About The 2014 Corvette
1.The base car has aluminum rails:
Remember how, for the current-generation Z06 and ZR1, GM did an unprecedented thing and replaced the hydroformed-steel main spaceframe members with aluminum ones? Well, now even the base car's rails are alloy.
2.More carbon fiber:
GM has aggressive weight targets for this car, so the panels, bulkhead, and floor-of the base car-will be fashioned from composites.
3.Michelin won the tire war:
No more Goodyears as base fitment. Pilot Sports, y'all.
4.Manual, saved:
Porsche did the 7-speed-manual thing first, and ingeniously so, with one box for both self-shift and PDK applications. Here, the 7-speed stands alone, but needs only four gates rather than the Porsche's five to get the job done (don't forget reverse).
5.The Stingray comes later, with a V-8:
Although rumors had it bearing a twin-turbo V-6, the Stingray, the Corvette that jams econo, will be powered by a 400-hp 5.5-liter V-8, and should give 30-plus mpg on the highway.
