2021 Chevy Corvette

The 2021 Chevy Corvette, dubbed the C8 by its designers, gives you the opportunity to get a high-performance mid-engine sports car at a fraction of the price of its foreign competition. You can choose between a coupe or convertible, with the latter costing slightly more. The base model 2021 Corvette 1LT has a starting MSRP of $58,900, making it easily the most affordable mid-engine sports car on the market. The Corvette 1LT features a 12-inch digital instrument cluster that will make it really easy to control your Corvette. It also comes with dual-zone climate control so that you and your lucky passenger can each set the temperature to however you like it.

The Corvette 2LT adds heated and ventilated seats with carbon fiber fabric, a rear camera mirror, a heated steering wheel, and a blind spot monitoring system in addition to all the features on the 1LT. This model has a starting MSRP of $66,400. The top model is the Corvette 3LT, which features standard GT2 leather sports seats and a custom leather-wrapped interior with suede trim. The Corvette 3LT has an MSRP that starts at $70,850, which is lower than the starting prices of many of its competitors.

Customization

Each 2021 Corvette comes with a choice of 12 different exterior colors. The standard colors are Arctic White, Black, Torch Red, Ceramic Matric Gray, Elkhart Lake Blue, Shadow Gray, Silver Flare, and Zeus Bronze. However, there are also four premium colors that include Accelerate Yellow, Rapid blue, Sebring Orange, and Red Mist. Finally, the interior can be optioned in over 20 different color combinations depending on the trim. The only hard part will be figuring which colors you like the best.

Engine

The 2021 Chevy Corvette Stingray is equipped with a 6.2-liter 16-valve small-block V-8 gas engine. This engine can produce between 490 and 495 hp and 465 to 470 lb-ft of torque, depending on which options you choose. To get the added power, you will need to select the Performance exhaust of the Z51 Performance Package. The engine air intake features a Corvette insignia and has eight runners to maximize torque and overall airflow for each cylinder in the engine, improving overall performance. The engine utilizes stainless steel exhaust manifolds to provide efficient airflow and reduce engine emissions. Finally, the dry-sump lubrication and scavenge system ensures exceptional oil flow to areas that need it, especially when you are pushing your Corvette’s engine to the limit.

The 2021 model is the fastest Corvette that has ever been built by Chevrolet. The 2021 Corvette 3LT has been able to go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in under 2.9 seconds, and the other two trims are not that far behind. The Corvette Stingray has a top speed of 194 miles per hour, but unless you live near a racetrack, you may not be driving your Corvette that fast.

Transmission

The C8 Corvette has a standard 8-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission, which is paired with a set of steering wheel-mounted paddle shifters. Chevrolet refers to this system as TREMEC, and it allows the driver to use the paddle shifters to select a specific gear while driving. This transmission will give you the best of both worlds with the smooth shifting of an automatic transmission and the maximum overall control of a manual.

Chevy has added six different drive modes to the 2021 Corvette, further allowing you to perform in a variety of situations. You can choose from Weather, Tour, Sport, Track, MyMode, and Z mode. The last two modes can be customized to provide a personal configuration of the engine and transmission on your Corvette. By utilizing this option, you can tailor the performance of your Corvette to your personal driving style.

Handling and Acceleration

Moving the engine to the rear of the car from the front provides better overall weight distribution, improving the overall handling and acceleration. The Corvette is rear-wheel drive, and the extra weight of the engine over the driven wheels provides optimal performance. It rides on a 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels with Michelin Pilot Sport All-Season tires. These are incredibly high-performance tires that provide more grip than many dedicated summer tires while allowing you to drive your Corvette for an extended season all the way to winter’s first frost.

The 2021 Chevy Corvette rides on a short/long-arm double wishbone suspension with monotube shock absorbers. Magnetic ride control is also available, even without upgrading to the Z51 Performance Package. This will provide a very comfortable ride for you and your passenger, even at top speed. The Corvette also has Brembo antilock brakes, which really are a must on a performance sports car. These will provide exceptional braking and make the Corvette ready to drive straight from the dealership to the track.

Chevrolet is known for making some of the best infotainment systems on the market, and it has chosen to equip the 2021 Chevy Corvette with one that is truly state-of-the-art. The Corvette 1LT comes with the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 Plus system on an 8-inch diagonal HD color touchscreen. This system is really easy to use and includes many key features for your use and enjoyment. This includes Bluetooth connectivity, an HD radio, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, cloud connected personalization for certain system settings, a 4G LTE Wi-Fi hotspot, and a SiriusXM All Access trial subscription.

The 2LT and 3LT trims on the Corvette take this to a whole other level with the Chevrolet Infotainment 3 Premium System with Navigation. This also features an 8-inch diagonal HD color touchscreen but adds a navigation system as well. This setup is fully voice-activated so that you don’t have to take your hands off the wheel to make adjustments as you drive. These trims also feature a wireless charging pad that will allow you to dispense with annoying wires when you charge your mobile devices. This is just one more feature that really sets the 2021 Chevy Corvette Stingray apart from other more expensive mid-engine performance sports cars.

Audio

If you love to listen to music, then the 2021 Chevy Corvette is the performance car for you. The Corvette 1LT features a standard Bose Premium 10-speaker system that will turn your Corvette into a fast-moving concert hall. The black speaker grilles will look great against the 1LT’s interior. The Corvette 2LT and 3LT go a little further by offering a Bose Performance Series 14-speaker audio system with stainless steel speaker grilles. The Bose Performance Series utilizes a superior combination of subwoofers and tweeters to provide audio that sounds so good you’d swear the musicians are in your back seat - if your Corvette actually had a back seat.