2022 Chevrolet C8 Corvette Convertible Review | The Rolex of Sports Cars

Corvettes have had a long history of giving supercars a run for their money. And for quite some time, they were the textbook definition of performance value. But in 2020, everything changed. Corvettes went mid engine. Supply chains got messed up, Dealers gouged prices. There were long waits for delivery. So now will the hunter become the hunted? Let's find out.

If you follow the channel. You know that my love affair with Corvette runs deep. My first sports car was a torch red C6Z51 coupe. And then followed by two C7Z06s, a manual and auto. And then after that, I put a deposit down for an April 2020 build C8 Corvette, which I canceled in March of 2020 when the pandemic happened. And that's been the biggest regret of.

My automotive career thus far.

Fast forward two more years and I didn't even bother to put my name.

Down for the C8Z06 because the waitlist.

Would be miles long. Things just got ridiculous. So I gave up on Corvette for a little while. But every time I saw one driving on the road, I just had to know, did they pay MSRP for the car or did they get hit with that $50,000 dealer markup that some parts of the country saw? Regardless, the Corvette was finally a world class supercar. It had all the ingredients to compete with the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini and McLaren. Mid engine, V8, rear wheel drive, dual clutch, eight speed gearbox, a spaceship esque interior, and just a plain old beautiful design. All that with a starting MSRP of around 60 grand. What's not to like? Well, the problem was like Rolex, everybody wanted one. And with basic supply and demand, things.

Just got out of hand real quick.

One thing led to another and then suddenly, before you know it, you're paying over $100,000 for a barely specced 1LT car. I mean, imagine this thing. This is a fully loaded 3Lt convertible. But politics aside, I'm super excited because after three years of waiting, I finally get to spend some quality time with the infamous CA Corvette. And as a die hard Corvette guy, I'm going to see if the hype was worth the wait. But before we do, I want to talk to you about today's sponsor, Motor Envy. Motor Envy is a premium subscription service.

For high end luxury performance cars.

They specialize in a leasing program that.

Lets you switch cars whenever you want.

There's no penalty at all. And that's great because the weather is finally looking pretty nice up here in New Jersey, so I can fully enjoy it with this drop top C8. But when wintertime rolls around I can switch over to a Range Rover SVR or maybe a Porsche Cayenne Turbo. The beauty of Motor MV is that you can do all of that with.

One simple pricing structure.

Plus they have locations in the Tri.

State, California and South Florida, so go.

Check them out@motormv.com now let's get back to the show.

The exterior of the car is hard not to like. It's an attractive specimen from pretty much every angle, and despite the dramatic move to mid engine, the front still looks distinctively Corvette, albeit with a much shorter hood line. The grille and the headlights also have a much larger presence than the C7 generation, but the lines are still there.

I'm a big fan of all the.

Carbon flash detail bits that inhabit the front fascia. Doing away with the chrome was the right decision to make the C8 more supercar esque. The side profile of the car is the best part in my opinion. It's got that slick McLaren like aura to it, especially with the blacked out roofline. So something I really enjoy is those large air intakes on the rear half. The only thing that bothers me is the lack of some sort of grille or cover. It feels incomplete when you can see all the nuts and bolts that hold some of it together. Since this car has so many options, I also would have specced it with the Trident spoke wheels instead of the Open 10 spoke, but that's personal preference. The back is where things get a little controversial. The taillights are a big departure from the four circles of the past. Initially I thought I would hate them, but honestly they work. The same goes for the exhaust tips which are historically in the center. They brought it back for the Z06, but again I think the square tips flow with the more futuristic design design of the C8. I do wish it had a more aggressive spoiler and diffuser, but that's also why you get the Z06 or Z51 pack. In general, soft top sports coupes really disrupt the overall design of the car, so I'm glad that they moved to a hardtop convertible here. I actually think that the drop top C8 looks better than the standard coupe now. It also gives you a more invigorating driving experience than just having the removable targa. However, the price you pay is that you don't get to see that cool mid mounted engine bay with the wonderful 6.2 liter V8. All you get here is some little vents. Moving onto the interior is where things get really interesting. The most dramatic change that you'll probably notice is how driver centric the cockpit has become. In the past there was always a slight bias towards the driver, but the passenger could still access the infotainment or H vac controls. Now, as a passenger it feels completely walled off and you're suddenly an afterthought, which is probably why my wife isn't particularly fond of the C8 as much as she was of the C7, but for the driver the experience is undoubtedly awesome. The digital dash is something that was introduced in the C7 generation, so this doesn't seem like a huge deal, but it is a lot more responsive and there is a fair bit more customization available. Not to mention the heads up display is a little better. Not nearly as good as some of the German options, but good enough for most applications. My favorite display theme is still the sport mode because I'm a fan of the traditional tachometer. The infotainment feels a little bit on the small side and I wish it was more seamless with the instrument cluster. Wireless CarPlay and Android Auto is a nice touch, but the wireless charging tray back here is a little inconvenient. I also hate the new mode dial. Sure the leather overhang is nice, but switching modes is borderline annoying and requires an obnoxious amount of force. I never cared for sound systems in sports cars because I much rather listen to the exhaust note, but the Bose Performance series is actually really solid. It's on par with the upgraded system in my RAM 3500 and that's just really nice when you want to bump up jams with the top down. The H vac controls steal the show though. It's a very unique design that is rather difficult to operate while you're driving, but it does do a pretty good job of making you feel like you're piloting something special. The steering wheel is also high on the list of cool interior changes. The new flat top and bottom design make it feel very race car like and the thickness is just right. The paddles are also a huge upgrade from the past where they like to use plasticy tabs from their more civilian vehicles. Now it's a much larger extended design with a premium metal material that you would expect to find in a European exotic. I also really love the seats. They have great support and aggressive bolstering for sporty driving, but if you're a chunkier person it may be a little tight. And although some people may feel like the color combo in here is a bit excessive, I think the 3lt option really lets you make the car your own with all the different shades of blue. I could go on all day about this crazy interior and all the quirky design decisions, But I think it's time we get to the driving part. Back in the day, Snobby owners With fancy foreign exotics. Would always look down on the Corvette and most American cars in general, Claiming that they couldn't do anything but go fast in a straight line. Or that the interiors were leftover scrap parts from our pickup trucks. But we know that's far from the truth with corvettes starting with the C5 generation. Beyond that, American cars have also come a long way. The GT500, Camaro ZR1, the Black Wings. I mean, every American sports car can take a corner nowadays, except for the mopar stuff with the C8. Handling is something that's got in the bag, Especially if you option it with the Z51 package. Unfortunately, this car doesn't have that. So without it, it does feel A little bit more floaty around technical corners. It has some body roll that I wouldn't expect to see in a car of this caliber. But then again, the convertible does weigh at close to 3,800 pounds, which is 3, 400 pounds heavier than the C7. It's definitely no lightweight sports car anymore. Ride quality is pretty decent, Though. I'd consider this at grand touring levels of comfort. On top of that, there's a good amount of luxury amenities. That make it a very enjoyable driving experience. A lot of the car is now electronically controlled. Steering, exhaust, brakes, throttle. That's all fully customizable Based on drive mode settings. Even though I've never been a fan of electronically augmented braking, it feels pretty Natural in the C8. The steering feedback is great, too. Combined with the improved paddles and the faster response time, It's a very inspiring experience. Something I quite enjoy having is the Z mode button, which is a quick way for the driver to get into their custom individual mode. And I'd much rather press that button, Then use the hard to actuate mode switch. And we all know what my Z mode button is gonna do. I really do think they did a good job with the exhaust Note in the C6 and C7s. I always wanted a slightly more aggressive sound, but this one is 99% there. However, the car doesn't feel as fast as I think it should. I'm not saying it's slow, but because it's naturally aspirated, it doesn't have that boosted thrust feeling. That you get from a modern turbo sports car. For Having a hair under 500 horsepower, it feels very easily controllable, which is a good thing. Overall, there's really nothing to dislike about this driving experience and frankly, there aren't many convertibles out there that will give you all this for less than 100 grand. So just how fast is your typical loaded C8 Corvette? Before we do our acceleration test, let's just quickly go over the technical specs. 6.2 liter naturally aspirated, small block V8, 490 horses, 465 pounds of torque. It weighs roughly 3,750 pounds. So that puts our power to weight ratio at 7.65 to 1. Chevy claims a top speed of 184 miles per hour and that a 3 second 060 time should be pretty doable. So I think this is going to be interesting. Let's get this party started. For the time being we're only able to run our in house 40100 metric, but that's a pretty good indicator of everyday performance. The Corvette C8 convertible did that in 5.53 seconds, which is actually kind of surprising because that's way faster than the numbers suggest. And that's also faster than its closest competitor, the 992 Carrera S. It's actually almost as fast as a 650 horsepower ZL1. However, this might be due to the aggressive gearing because the top end falls a little short. Given 60130 data that was gathered online, the C8 gets outrun by cars that really shouldn't be outrunning it. Even if they are top of the line performance variants of luxury sedans and coupes. But since most of you folks probably won't see speeds like that, rest assured that the C8 will be pretty dominant on the street. Especially with the instant throttle and well tuned transmission response. For more times and metrics, check out the fastest link in the description below.

So then, does the C8 Corvette deserve the hype? After three years, is it still metaphorically the car it was when it launched? The short answer is unequivocally yes. And at its current MSRP of $65,000, 74,000 for the convertible, it has absolutely no equal jump the price to $100,000. I still think you have a pretty hard time finding a car that's just as well rounded.

There are cars that come close though.

The Porsche 911 Carrera S, Aston Martin V Advantage, and maybe the Lotus Emirate.

When it finally shows up.

But the Corvette is just arguably the most supercar esque of the bunch right now. My only problem is that because of its price point and popularity, they've become quasi comp. And to me that makes it just a little bit less special, but somehow not really because I still get a lot of thumbs ups and people staring at me when I drive it around. Maybe it's the color, maybe it's the fact that it's convertible, or maybe because it makes the right noises. Regardless, the Corvette still got it. The other day I was talking to my sister's boyfriend and he said something about his friend gawking at a C8 on the road. And then when he got closer, he was disappointed to find out that it was just another Corvette. I think people got to stop looking at Corvettes that that way because they really deserve a lot more. I mean, it's got everything in the segment beat. It's faster in a straight line, amenities and tech are on point. The handling is pretty darn good, even without the Z51 package.

And it's exotic looking.

The interior here makes you feel like a race car driver. And then the only thing that detracts from the whole experience is possibly the badge. But why? Because it's domestic and then suddenly it's less of a flex. I can see the merit in some ways because in Germany they use Mercedes Benzes as taxis. But we got to take pride in our sports cars because without them, the next best thing is to pay, I don't know, double the price for less car. Ultimately, as much as I love the 992 career S's when I first reviewed them, I think I much rather have a C8 Corvette in my garage. And you may ask me as a purist, do I miss not having a manual option?

Sure.

But I don't think this car needs it. The DCT is so phenomenal that you might actually be detracting from the way that the car was meant to be experienced. The truth is, there's a lot to like about this thing. I mean, the mid engine design, it's cool, it's practical. The interior, it's sleek, it's futuristic.

The build quality is a lot better than before.

But the transmission is the absolute MVP here, coming from the trashy eight speed gearbox that was in the C7 generation. This new dual clutch, it's simply world class. It's Porsche levels of good. Not only is it responsive, fast or, you know, aggressive, it's also super smooth. Put it in tour mode and then leave it in full auto and you're gonna forget that it was even there. You know, I even spent most of my time driving like that and you.

Know me, I like driving around in.

Track mode with the paddles and you know, I guess it's just that good. Do I want a Corvette again? Yeah, I think I do. After experiencing three generations of Corvette, I think it's pretty safe to say that the C8 is a mess. Massive leap forward. We finally built a world class supercar. Yeah, we came close to the C7ZR1. The Viper ACR is an absolute monster. GT500s are gnarly fast, but the C8, even the base model is worthy of being called an American supercar. It's refined, it's sexy, and ultimately it's extremely well rounded. Anyway, special thanks to Motor Emmy for letting me spend some quality time with the C8 Corvette. It let me know that I really.

Should have just gotten this car from the get go in 2020, but since.

That ship has long sailed, I think it's time I hunt down a Z06 allocation. If you're in the market or interested in this particular car, you can check it out through motorenvy.com they've got this and also tons of other cool stuff that we as car enthusiasts would love to experience. I think it's great because let's be.

Real here guys, where else can you.

Lease a C8 Corvette and then get all the financial benefits of leasing and not be tied into a long three or four year commitment? Plus they take care of all the scheduled maintenance. Overall, just a small, smooth and friction.

Free car buying process.

Anyway, that's going to do for me on this episode and as always, I will catch you all on the next one.

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