Detailed technical information? Blah. Photos? Yawn. Those goods simply aren’t enough when it comes to the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray—all enthusiasts have been dying to know is what it can do, in units of time, g, and mph. We’re talking about performance figures, and Chevy finally has placated enthusiasts and released its estimates for what the C7 Vette, equipped with the Z51 performance package and magnetic ride control, is capable of.
With 455 horsepower on tap—yup, Chevy didn’t even employ the active exhaust system, which adds 5 horses—the Stingray Z51 can hit 60 mph in a claimed 3.8 seconds and trip the quarter-mile lights in just 12 seconds at 119 mph. Chevy says the Stingray can haul itself down from 60 mph in 107 feet and hang on for 1.03 g of lateral acceleration. We test braking from 70 mph to a stop and typically use a 300-foot-diameter skidpad to test lateral acceleration, so in the absence of skidpad details or a direct braking comparison, we can’t really speak to those claims. Of course, we’ll be strapping our test gear to the new Vette very soon to draw our own conclusions, but taken at face value, Chevy’s performance estimates are impressive.
In fact, the 2014 Z51 nips at the heels of the last 2012 Corvette Z06 we tested, and it even keeps the 2013 Corvette ZR1 we recently tested in sight, too. The Z06 reached 60 mph just three tenths of a second sooner, and ran the quarter four-tenths and 7 mph quicker. The mighty ZR1 shaved another tenth from that 0–60 time, matched the quarter-mile time, and achieved 2 mph more in the quarter. Allow us to state the obvious: If the regular Vette can match Chevy’s claims, we’re positively giddy for what the next Z06 or ZR1 will be capable of.
Chevrolet also says it eked out a 2:51.78 lap time around Virginia International Raceway’s 4.1-mile Grand Course configuration. We conduct our annual Lightning Lap performance-car lap-time test at the same circuit using the same Grand Course configuration. We’ve tested several Corvettes at VIR over the years, and compared to those, the new C7 Corvette’s time falls directly between the two C6-generation Corvette ZR1 models’ performances.
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Those cars rode on near-racing-slick Michelin Pilot Sport Cup and still-zesty Michelin Pilot Sport PS2 tires, and were capable of 2:50.7 and 2:51.8 lap times, respectively. For reference, the two ZR1s currently rank as the fifth- and sixth-quickest cars we’ve ever tested there. We suspect that Chevy’s lap time at VIR was aided slightly by plenty of driver practice—our Lightning Lap testers have just three days to set a best time in several cars. Still, it bears repeating: impressive stuff, and once again, we can’t wait to get behind the Vette’s wheel.
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