Wen | Jiashipai fish is not a fish.
In our impression, American car manufacturers don’t seem to be very active in treating real sports cars. Detroit’s Big Three have had many classic muscle cars and small carriages in history, but there are very few sports cars in a narrow sense. Although both Ford GT and Dodge Viper have made a blockbuster, the former has only been revived for two or three years, while the latter has been discontinued for two or three years, and there is still no sign that it will continue to be updated. The historical accumulation can not be compared with Porsche 911, or even as long as Nissan Z series.
But there is also an exception, that is, Chevrolet’s Corvette.
In fact, Corvette is probably the oldest car in the world. The first generation of Corvette appeared as early as 1953, which was better than the other two senior Nameplate— — 9/11 and Mustang were 11 years earlier. Since then, Corvette has produced seven generations without interruption, and the eighth generation will be launched next year.
The 2019 Chevrolet Corvette I test-drive this time is the last model of the 7th generation Corvette(C7). The version is Corvette Stingray Coupe, that is, the power is the basic model of natural inhalation, and the car body is Targa Top created by 911. The carbon fiber hardtop can be disassembled manually, and behind the detachable hardtop is a high roll cage, so it is more like a semi-convertible feeling after opening.
At first glance, you can feel that Corvette is obviously different from Camaro, which belongs to Chevrolet. Corvette’s body is much lower, and the height of the car is only 1234 mm. Although the 6 th generation Camaro has lowered the body in order to get closer to the sports car, the height of the car is still 1350 mm. At the same time, Corvette is much shorter, the length of the car is only 4493mm, which is nearly 300mm less than that of Comalo. The low car height and short body, combined with a large car width (1877mm), give this car a tight feeling of lying on the ground. On the other hand, Corvette’s posture is more backward, which is very similar to the GT model like Ferrari 812 Superfast.
The feeling of driving this car is actually more like a GT than a sports car.
Why do you say that? First of all, although this car has a huge displacement — — Although it is only a V8, it has 6.2 liters, and the maximum horsepower of 461 horses is not low, but this car will not make people feel particularly "sporty" or "fast".
Just looking at the technical parameters of the chassis, you may think that this car has a very good sports foundation.
The first is the layout of front center and rear drive. This layout, in which the engine is placed between the front axle and the driver but driven by the rear wheel, is generally considered as one of the most balanced and maneuverable automobile layouts. This is the layout of Honda S2000. The 7th generation Corvette does have a 50: 50 front and rear axle weight distribution.
The suspension structure does not hold back at all, and its front and rear suspensions are generally considered to be the most suitable double wishbone structure for sports cars. In addition, Corvette’s unique point is that its front and rear suspension damping mechanism is not a coil spring, but a Leaf Spring.
Generally speaking, leaf springs are generally used on trucks because they are harder and have poor shock absorption effect, but they are more rigid and have stronger load-bearing capacity.
However, Corvette’s spring has several major differences: first, it is single-layer rather than multi-layer; Secondly, its material is not steel, but fiber reinforced plastic, which is much lighter than steel plate under the same strength; Finally, it is arranged horizontally rather than vertically, running through the whole axial direction, which can not only reduce vibration in the vertical direction, instead of spiral spring, but also play the role of transverse anti-roll bar. This damping system is considered to greatly reduce unsprung weight, thus improving handling. In fact, this kind of damping structure is also called Corvette Leaf Spring— — Corvette leaf spring.
However, its real sports performance experience is not as beautiful as the technical data said.
In fact, the feeling of driving, the rear of this car is very unstable. First of all, it still shows a certain tail flick in the corner, which makes it feel difficult to control. Secondly, its suspension seems to be a little too soft, its travel is too long, its movement is still slow, and the ups and downs of its body posture will be obvious, and it also lacks confidence because of too little road feeling. Finally, although many lightweight designs are used and the figure is not big, its weight still reaches 1.6 tons because of the excessive displacement of the 6.2-liter engine. Although this figure itself is not too high, it is particularly cumbersome to cooperate with the body that is not stable enough. There is always a feeling of dragging one’s ass around the corner quickly, which is easy to make people panic.
In addition, although its steering virtual position is very small, and the steering wheel has a small width, these are closer to a good steering feel. But on the other hand, its direction is not particularly clear, the steering ratio seems to be a little small, and it will not make people feel particularly easy to control.
And the displacement of 6.2 liters, although it is already the largest displacement among hundreds of cars I have driven, is not fast.
This aspect is the problem of vehicle orientation — — Its sound insulation is good, and the suspension is stable and comfortable at high speed cruising, which leads to its weak sense of speed.
On the other hand, it is the problem of dynamic response — — GM’s 8AT gearbox has a good shift comfort, and there is no obvious setback in fierce driving, but the downshift action is obviously a little slow. It takes one second to think about it when stepping on the accelerator. The exercise mode will be better, but the improvement will be limited.
The only thing that makes the whole car feel passionate enough is the sound of the engine.
In fact, the sound of S2000 and Bosxter are also very good, but compared with this 6.2-liter LT1, it is still slightly inferior. With the advantages of displacement and cylinder number, it is still more detailed and vigorous. What makes people want to stop most is its backfire sound. I don’t know whether it is because of the design of exhaust or something. This car is prone to backfire sound. Just step on the accelerator a little deeper and then take it all away. Sometimes it will sound several times in a row, even when it is ignited. It seems that there is a temper in exquisiteness.
Excluding the sound, just looking at the driving pleasure, it is actually obviously not as good as many cheaper cars, such as Honda S2000, Ford Mustang, BMW 2 Series, and even Subaru Impreza.
So I don’t like this car? Not really.
It’s probably the most comfortable sports car I’ve ever driven for high-speed cruising. That’s why I say it’s more like a smaller GT. Corvette’s chassis is neither as hard as Bosxter nor as dynamic as S2000. This suspension is like a typical American adjustment — — It is soft and the journey is long enough, so it is comfortable enough, and the big ditch will not have excessive impact; The gasket is made of enough materials to look thick. However, because the rebound damping of the suspension is relatively large, the movement is slow, and it feels that it can hold the car body, which is more stable.
And its sound insulation is also quite excellent, especially when driving beyond the legal speed limit in the United States. On the one hand, the rigidity of the car body is good, on the other hand, the 8-speed gearbox is matched with a large-displacement engine with good low torque, and the speed ratio is set low enough. At 130 km/h, the gearbox is in the seventh gear, and the engine is only 1000 rpm. Although the engine is not particularly passionate at high speed, the torque at medium and low speed is quite good. Everyday driving overtaking, lightly stepping on the accelerator, there is enough power without downshifting, and it is very easy to drive.
In addition, its sitting posture is also very comfortable. Although the sitting posture is very low and very backward, it will be more difficult to sit in. But after sitting in it, you can find that the ergonomic design and seat material are comfortable enough, and they are also open and unyielding. I have been driving for 4 hours without any discomfort, which is much more comfortable than Porsche Boxter. The only slot point is that for people who are a little taller, because the roof is too low, the upper edge of the windshield will obviously block the line of sight.
So will I buy this car? It seems unlikely.
The price of this car is not cheap. The starting price of $56,000 in the United States is only 10% cheaper than that of Porsche Bosxter, and after all, the brand, design and interior and exterior workmanship are not as high-end as the latter — — Although the leather and stitching of the interior of American cars are not low-grade, they still have a little flavor. At the same time, although the horsepower is greater, both the power feeling and the control feeling are far behind, and it is not a car that can make people enjoy the feeling of driving too fast.
The place that can make it more like a duck to water is actually Autobahn in Germany. When you really drive 160 km/h or even 200 km/h just to get to your destination faster, this Corvette is relaxed, stable, quiet and comfortable enough, and it can really make the eighth gear useful. But embarrassingly, because of the strict emission, fuel consumption and displacement restrictions in Europe, its price in Europe is very expensive — — It is more than 50% more expensive than Bosxter, which makes it equally uncompetitive.
It’s not easy to say I love you!
Figure | Fish is not a fish