.....

 

Yeah, not as much c5 love over in the c7 gen thread on this topic.

Never been a white car person myself, but I love my white c7! Including the rear!

Hard to beat a bumper car, though. Well, as long as we're just talking aesthetics. LOL

My c3...

 

My dream car is to do something like this with a '71 (my birth year) body. Dear lord that is hot.

<edit> I just noticed this is in front of the same garage as the red one I posted. I am starting to hate whoever this guy is.

 

Well now there's a thread like this over at C6 and they have nothing good to say about the C5. I suppose it would be interesting to see a poll where folks can't vote for the one(s) they own.

Lots of pretty pictures in this thread. Keep 'em coming. One thing I'm learning is that every generation has its winners, and there are also a few stinkers around.

Still love the late C1s and the C5s. The C7 has me waffling. It's such a great vehicle it's hard to isolate the style from the substance. But if someone could offer me the C5 body with the brains and heart of the C7, I'd take it over the stock C7.

 

I don't consider myself extremely ignorant...Factoring in the design of the rear of the C7 I still prefer the C6. The jury is still out on C7 engineering but my C6 is everything that any one could desire!!

 

I think they all have a look suites the times when they where produced.
For me the first Vette I saw was a C3, and it still looks the best (with the right wheels and stance.
Here is my list:

1. C3 (mod, stance and wheels)
2. C2 (mod, stance and wheels)
3. C7
4. C6 GS & Z06
5. C4 ZR1 and C5 Z06
6. C4 GS

The regular C6, C5, & C4 are a toss up depending on (Viewing)angle, Color, Wheel and stance outfitted with.

 

C4 started off being my least favorite generation. After really absorbing the history behind it, it quickly became my favorite and I feel it was the pivot point for what we have today in Corvettes. It gets ripped on a lot on here but it's the gen that made Corvette relevant on the world stage and it hasn't stepped off since.

 

Yup - GM got it wrong with the rearend on the C7 - Corvettes are supposed to have 4 round taillights. I don't know why they chucked decades of tradition out the window.

 

There's some truth to that - it was a pivot point from cars that simply could go fast (or in some cases just looked like they could) to fast cars that could also handle well. And the basic design was smooth and clean, laying the ground for the more curvaceous (shall I say voluptuous?) C5.

 

Yesterday we asked you what you think is the best-looking Corvette generation. I voted for the C3. All the drama happening with those fenders really brings it home for me. When I created that poll, I debated whether I should segment the longer-lasting generations, namely the C3 and C4; after all, some pretty significant transformations happened between '68 to '82 and '84 to '96 ... but then I figured, a generation is a generation, and those longer-in-the-tooth gens would have to grin and bear the weight of their respective awkward years.

Read the rest on the Corvette Forum homepage. >>

 

The car in the 2nd is pic is mine. C4s are ugly. I could have got a C5, but I see them often. That said, they(C5s) look good and are good cars. As a Vette enthusiasts, have been one since I was in elementary, I like them all

 

C3 all the way baby!! (1980-82, that is)

 

I dig that pic - the early C3s are cool looking

 

C1 - love the blinged out 58
C3 - 68-72 - gotta have chrome bumpers, dont forget the sidepipes!
C2 - big block
C5 - vert
C4 - torch red 96 - clamshell hood, outside-in wipers
C6 - GS vert
C7

 

I could not agree more.

Each generation was a stepping stone to the next.
The C4 generation has some GREAT cars (and beautiful too !)

I like all generations because they ALL had something to contribute !

It was the C4 generation that GM finally learned how to put the BIG HP back into our beloved Corvette and still be emissions compliant !
Had it not been for the C4 generation and the engineering they put into it, there would be NO C5/C6/C7 Corvette.



1987 introduced the Twin Turbo Callaway. (345Hp / 465 Tq)
Callaway Twin Turbo's increased HP to 403HP / 582Tq by 1991 (last year of production).
That is a CRAP load of HP/TQ in 1991... think about it...
No Corvette had that much torque until the 2009 ZR1 was introduced.
That was 18 years of Corvettes that went by with "less" torque.

The Callaway Twin Turbo's, and the Callaway "Aero Body" Twin Turbo cars are still beautiful to see !
Very rare too !







Then you had the Corvette Challenge cars in the late 80's.
These are very rare to find these days.





The 1990-1995 ZR1's were a marvel of engineering with the LT5 Dual Overhead cam V8. Cross designed between GM and Lotus.

The motors were SO complex that GM could not build them in house.
They had to farm out the engine builds to Mercury Marine.

The ZR1 started out with 375HP/370 Tq and by 1995 had 405HP/385Tq.

The ZR1 production was only 6939 cars for 6 model years (1990-1995)

The ZR1 still (I think) holds the 24 hour endurance speed record for an actual PRODUCTION car.
It "averaged" 175.885 mph for 24 hours.
Thats including stopping for driver changes, fuel stops....etc...etc...
So when it was actually on the track it had to be averaging a LOT more than 175MPH !
Thats friggin FAST !
I don't think any of us would feel "confidant" running our C5/C6/C7's that fast... for that long...









Then there was the Sledgehammer Callaway.
Until 1999, the Callaway Sledgehammer Corvette held the World Street Legal speed record of 254.76 mph (410.00 km/h).
It is an emissions compliant, street legal vehicle, with all the creature comforts like Air Conditioning, Radio, etc. that you would find in any production street Corvette.




Then there was the 1996 Grandsport with the LT4 motor.
Rated at 330HP... The funny thing was that when folks had them Dyno'd they were actually dyno'ing close to 330HP at the rear wheels.
That put the flywheel HP around 370-380HP.
GM did not want to have the outgoing LT4 motor overshadow the new LS1 motor in the 1997 C5 Corvette.
So GM underrated the motor from the factory.
Not that GM has ever under rated a motor before...






I have never owned a C4 but I drove my fathers 1988 Vert a lot growing up.
I have a deep respect for what the C4 generation did for the future generations of Corvette's.

I think every generation Corvette was a grand slam by GM in looks and engineering.


Toque

 

Totally agree with Toque. Cannot convince the wife though.

 

again, i wouldn't say one is better than another, i think they are all cool cars in their own right. to piggy-back off the above stats on the C4, just read a bit by Reeves Calloway in the "Corvette from the Inside" book, and he was talking about when GM approached him to do the modified cars back in the 80s-of course these are the cars that folks say are "underpowered", etc, but yes, you do have to realize the times....trying to get gas mileage up and emissions stuff to be compliant...anyway he had a bit about how the C4 was really a great platform to mod and make the engine more powerful....and obviously he did that, as stated above.
i know the C4 in the corvette universe seems to get dogged most, but to think that he built a modified C4 that went 254mph!!! back in the late 80s is pretty impressive. and the fact that he stated that he drove it from his home in Connecticut to Ohio, set the record, then drove the car home again. that is impressive!

 

I can't remember how many times I've participated in these types of threads. Even created one of my own a couple of years ago. In reality, I like them all and wouldn't hesitate to own any.

 

I agree, but very seldom do I find an older sports car that looks better than it's newer replacement. For instance, I'm already liking some of the C8 concepts and hope it actually looks like the featured red one. To me the new BMWs, Ferrari, Porsches genuinely look better. I loved the Testarrosa when I was growing up but, I like the new stuff better. Of course, if we're still talking about Testarrosas, etc. that means they had a big impact; that was my main point. It doesn't mean I dislike the previous ones. In the end, it's all about preferences!

 

I really don't care for the C7. It looks like they skipped over a couple of generations and overdid it. As for the new technology .....you can have it. I really don't like things like traction control, active handling etc. They take away from the sports car driving experience.