Chevrolet Corvette C7 Stingray

The saga began in 1953 when Chevrolet launched what is believed to be the king of American sports cars, the Chevrolet Corvette and six decades later, there has been six generations spawned with different tastes and different perceptions to keep "Kentucky's Pride" up and running and for every regeneration has a different story to tell, not to mention some terribly painful backstories later on, but now the whole world stood still as the seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette was finally unveiled and for this seventh incarnation, things are about to be a little more different.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

It's a brand new Corvette for a brand new year. It's the year 2013 after all and a new year demands a new Corvette and since 2013 marks the Corvette's 60th year, the brand new 2014 Corvette Stingray really is the perfect icing in the cake to celebrate 60 years of the king of American sports cars. One thing I'm not particularly noticed that why did Chevrolet revived the "Stingray" name and for further explanations, the Stingray was used from the C2 Corvette of the 1963 and the C3 Corvette of the 1969. This is the third time the Stingray name was used on the seventh Corvette.

The thing is though, when you manage to drive one of these, you might have a feeling that you are the sort of a successful human being who cares about yourself rather than anyone else around you. It's the car made for selfies who had no regard for socialism and better yet, it's an epic long-distance cruiser if you want to spend the whole day off in the open roads. It's all about the freedom you decide on the road and for the new model, it's still worth a beauty to drive.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

There's more beauty than just being a beast for the all new Corvette Stingray and judging by its modernized design, the new model is as slender as um...how can I say this in a Top Gear-ish tortured metaphor kind of way? Well, let's say in a Bella Thorne and Zendaya kind of way. Looks attractive and feels attractive. It seems that the whole R&D took several years and fundings to perfect the new model's look rather than tracing it from the 2009 Corvette Stingray Concept. One thing you may not like about it was the rear view because past Corvettes had these four-round rear lamps that became the hallmark of the Corvette design but for the new model, those were gone now and replaced by those Camaro-esque rear lamps to make it a bit more modern. It maybe a love-it-or-hate-it choice but the Corvette regeneration takes on so many forms to keep it fresh. So, do you like these new rear lamps rather than the traditional round rear lamps? Well, it takes time for decisions so how about the interior?

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Well, the new interior is starting to make any sense now and although it may hark back from the C4 Corvette, the brand new interior combines world-class craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. As for the seats, you can have either the Grand Touring seats if you're a bit mild on the road ahead or for the competition seats if you're a bit of a tangy type. Never forget that whichever seats you're in, it's still a well-honed craftsmanship because it feels as luxurious as a Rolls-Royce because all that time and effort in creating a well-defined interior is no rush. They didn't hurry up making one so everything around here feels so right all along. As for the new speedo, it's all in the drama because the speedo not only looks dramatic, it feels dramatic even though it's digital and there's more. Five modes feature five different speedo types at the turn of the knob. You can choose either WEATHER, ECO, TOUR, SPORT, and TRACK, and whichever driving style you choose, those speedos are really telling the truth while driving. With so much technology loaded on it, the brand new Corvette Stingray feels as futuristic as the pages of science fiction.

So, tell me about it. While I was saying there is much beauty in this beast, is it worth the beast I was expecting? Is the brand new Corvette C7 still the undisputed king of American sportscars? Well, this thing doesn't need any explanations because by the way it drives, it's a sheer sign that Corvettes still rule in the world of American sports cars. Then, there's the newly developed LT1 6.2L V8 engine that powers the new model. With direct injection and Variable Valve Timing, this new V8 engine churns up to 460HP of power, that's more than what you get on the latest 911 Carrera S! Also, having learned the idea from the latest 911 Carrera S, the new Stingray is the first ever American car to come with a 7-speed manual gearbox. I know, it maybe too much to have seven gears in a manual gearbox but with this, the weight distribution is just right and oh, the new gearbox comes with Active Rev Matching that simulates heel-toe shifting perfection at the touch of a button.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Here's a thing. Exclusive on the hard-top Stingray coupe model, there's this Z51 Performance Package that brings out the full potential of the new Corvette Stingray. You can expect larger rear wheels, dry sump oil system, Limited Slip Differential, bigger brakes, an improved suspension system, cooling systems, Aero Package, Magnetic Selective Ride Control and Performance Traction Management, and Performance Gear Ratios. Those special items available on the Z51 Performance Package really made it as competitive as the 911 GT3 without all the drama included.

The new Corvette Stingray from Chevrolet is starting to make further impressions to Corvette loyalists worldwide and with this though, I believe that this car finally made a benchmark on high-performance sports cars but as for me, I still had big doubts with it...

Think about it, while this is an entirely new model, it can still have its rear bumpers hissed over by its longtime rival, the V10-powered SRT Viper in the straight-line performance because, well as they said, it's less powerful than its C6 ZR1 predecessor that once proved to the world that Corvettes are better than Vipers but amazingly, there are some stuff that the new Corvette C7 Stingray redeem itself from the Viper. First of all, the braking distance because while the Viper stops from 60-0 in 110ft, the C7 stops from 60-0 in 99ft. Impressive isn't it? But there's more into the whole hellhole here because in the skid pads, the C7 Corvette does 1.05g, that's more G-force than the Viper's 1.01g! In slaloms, the C7 done it again by 73.5mph, 1.5 more than the Viper's 72mph. Unbelievable, those folks from Edmunds really know how the C7 Corvette can outsmart the big and powerful SRT Viper. Tsk...tsk...tsk...

There's this painfully emotional backstory facing between me and the new C7 Corvette and...am I gonna summarize this, right? Anyway, it all began when the folks from Gran Turismo feature this on GT5 and I had high regrets that this would be a Gran Turismo-series exclusive and this car should not be featured on any other racing games, including the Forza Motorsport franchise. This is like when the PS3 version of THE iDOLM@STER 2 didn't feature the outfit what the XBOX 360 version offered as a DLC and this is none other than the Punkish Gothic. I was so infuriated by this move and this is how I got infuriated by this. Then, when the upcoming Gran Turismo 6 announced that the Top Gear Test Track is not included, that made me angry as well. As angry as an angry bird, I tried to demand everyone that if they love Top Gear and like playing the Top Gear Test Track as long as they want, better buy the XBOX One and Forza Motorsport 5 but they didn't listen. Instead, they would rather go for PS3's GT6 and who cares about it? Gran Turismo hates Top Gear anymore so for now, it's Top Gear hates the C7 Corvette. I was just saying anyway but still, it's worth the pain to hate this latest Corvette for being a Gran Turismo-exclusive. This is the kind of Corvette The Stig would want to blow this up with explosives because think about it....No Top Gear in GT6? That will enrage Top Gear fans just for sure, even me.

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible

I kept explaining that if they would go for Gran Turismo 6 because for this, they are the kind of people who really hate Top Gear that's for sure and this is the first time I went into this super messy situation. The brand new C7 Corvette Stingray dislikes Master Chief, Gears of War, anything XBOX-ish, the Punkish Gothic from THE iDOLM@STER, even Top Gear and this is the only ride of the year I had ever expressed hatred to this machine. I just don't want Forza Motorsport 5 to feature cars that Gran Turismo-series only had. Alpines, the Jensen Interceptor, kei cars, Cizeta, the Nissan Deltawing, the Tesla Model S, the Fisker Karma, the Caterham, Daihatsu, Dome Zero, Tommykaira ZZ, Garaiya, GT350 Shelby, anything that the Gran Turismo series only had especially this. If that C7 Corvette showed up on Forza 5, that would be "unfair competition" and I really REALLY don't want that to happen so please do it a favor...

Anyway, enough about backstories and into the pricing because it begins at 51,000 US Dollars for the Coupe or if you want an open-top convertible, that starts at 56,000 US Dollars. Yes, the C7 Corvette Stingray Convertible has the same goodness as the coupe as well as the new V8, the 7-speed manual, the optional 6-speed auto, and the dynamic handling, only this time, with the open-top goodness on it. Let's not forget that they're still just the tip of the iceberg out here.

Available colors: Black, Laguna Blue Tintcoat, Crystal Red Tintcoat, Cyber Gray Metallic, Lime Rock Green, Night Race Blue Metallic, Torch Red, Blade Silver Metallic, Arctic White, and Velocity Yellow Tintcoat

Photo: General Motors