Corvette Design History Article
In 1911, after William C. Durant had been ousted from General Motors, he joined forces with Swiss-born racecar driver Louis Chevrolet to found the Chevrolet Motor Car Company. The company's first offering was the Classic Six. Introduced in 1912, this five-passenger touring sedan boasted an engine that could top 65 miles per hour, and a standard features list that included electric lights and a folding top. Chevrolet's storied bowtie logo made its first appearance in 1914. According to Chevy lore, Durant created the logo after being inspired by the wallpaper pattern of his Paris hotel room. 1997 began the new generation of Corvette, C5. The Corvette Team faced many tough decisions when designing the new Corvette. They didn't know if they should change the Corvette design drastically, or make the C4 to C5 transition look like natural evolution. Another question they faced was whether or not to change the engine. Corvette did end up deciding to use the LS1 5.7L V-8. Some Corvette enthusiasts were surprised that their "new" engine still had pushrods but there were plenty of reasons to use that engine. The engine has 345 net horsepower which is plenty for the Corvette. Lastly, it was much cheaper for Corvette to use a pushrod engine, which in turn, made the car a much more reasonable price to the customer. Along with the C6's power came efficiency. Its low vehicle mass, world-class chassis dynamics and 6.0L LS2 V-8 engine allows the Corvette to be an efficient vehicle on multiple levels. The 2005 Corvette has the best combination of horsepower and fuel economy among the entire world's top performing vehicles including Porsches, Ferraris and the Dodge Viper. Not only did the power of the Corvette significantly increase, but the body designed changed drastically. It was a completely "fresh" design, yet unmistakably "Corvette". They reduced the overall length of the car while still leaving plenty of room for the passengers. They also redesigned the front grill, the hood, and the fenders to give the car a very indistinguishable front. The Z06 also came with a high-performance suspension system that features a larger front stabilizer bar, a stiffer leaf spring and specific camber settings, all of which were calibrated for maximum control during high-speed operation. The 2002 model Z06 also had new rear shock valving for a more controlled ride.Other upgrades in the 2002 series Z06 Corvette include aluminum front and rear stabilizer bar links, aluminum automatic transmission cooler case, and cast aluminum wheels. Magnesium wheels were no longer available on the coupe and convertible.
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