The new Chevrolet’s Corvette C8 was unveiled yesterday in Orange County – and it came with quite the basketful of surprises.
Of course, as a Corvette and all, it didn’t come as too much of a surprise that its engine boasts 495 hp and jets from 0-60 in less than 3 seconds. The detailed design of the engine is a true work of art. The doors have hidden handles. On top of that, the auto features inside resemble other luxury vehicles more than any of its Chevy counterparts. And there are a LOT of them, all neatly lined up in clear, simple view and at an arm’s reach.
The interior is is full of smooth, cold metal, buttery leather, and suede-like surfaces – and very little plastic trying to mask itself as something else, as so many cars these days do.
And it only costs $60,000 – the value of a luxury sports car for the price of a GM.
Where the hood used to interject itself in your line of sight, its now lowered and underneath the driver’s vision – quite a considerate and often overlooked detail.
But the first thing you will see before your eyes even stare longingly out the front windshield is a square wheel, which gives the driver an even better full grip, as explained by Tristan Murphy, the Interior Design Manager for Chevrolet.
And it was his every intention to take this model up a notch to its luxury inspirations – so much more that its interior is barely detectable as GM. “We really wanted to take advantage of having the engine behind you,” explains Murphy. “That’s a big shift not only from the exterior perspective, but from the interior point of view. Now you no longer have to look over this hood. You have great sightlines, very aggressive downvision. And we pushed the dashboard as low as we possibly could to increase that,” he says.
