The latest Corvette Stingray is receiving great reaction from the leading lights in the automotive world. So it should come as no surprise that it’s up for a Motor Trend Driver’s Car of the Year award.
That means some time at (checks notes) WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca where the C7 Corvette lapped not too long ago. So how do the car’s stack up?
See Also: How Does The C8 Corvette Stingray Compare To The C7?
From what driver Randy Pobst says, the C8 is much more mature. It handles better, shifts faster, and is less brutal at the limit than the C7 Corvette. According to Pobst and co-host Johnny Lieberman, you don’t have to make excuses for the C8.
And, indeed, that’s borne out in the numbers. The C8 runs a 1:37.8 around Laguna Seca, which is a fast time, indeed. That said, the hosts say that the C7 ran a 1:38.2, which doesn’t sound all that impressive on its face.
A little light YouTubing, though, revealed that in 2015, the C7 Z06 – that’s the hotter version that makes around about 150 hp more than the C8 Z51- did the lap in 1:38.6. Not bad.
The power may be what’s hurting the C7 here, though. A few years later in 2017, the Corvette Grand Sport, which has all of the Z06’s performance parts (super sticky tires, big Brembo brakes, etc), with the Z51’s 460 hp engine–did the lap in 1:35.6.
That said, though, Pobst described the experience of being in the Grand Sport in track mode of being like wrestling alligators. A lot of work for no good reason. In sport mode, though, the experience was much more pleasant.
Still, since this is the base version of the C8 Corvette and it’s competing against some of the best drivers Corvettes from the last generation, that feels like a win for Chevrolet.