When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
Had a C5 & C6 coupes and now a C7 coupe for over a year and a half. I used to take the roof off quite a lot during the summers when I lived up north with my C5 & C6. Down here in SW FL I'll take it off during the cooler months , October to May. But actually since I've had the Stingray I've only had it off twice. My wife seemed to like the roof off more before we were married than she does now. For some reason her hair gets more messed up now than it used to!?
I like the feature but to me it wasn't an incentive ever to buy a Vette.
I see many photos of C7's with the removable top on the car.
A few questions.........
1) How often are you removing the top?
2) Under what conditions?
3) Would you still buy a C7 if it did not have a removable top feature?
I remove the top in the summer when there is unlikely to be rain for a few days and when I do not plan on a lot of highway driving. At speed on a highway, the noise is too much for me and my wife, although just fine on country roads,
Would not have a convertible because of the negative trunk space and fear of vandalism damage or wear over time. A convertible hard top would be a definite option for me.
Although the top is off 99% of the time, I have to admit that if I didn't park in a garage at home and at work, I probably would take it off a lot less frequently. Kind of a similar situation with electric cars... pretty hard to own one if you don't have a convenient place to leave it plugged in.
I didn't take the top off my C6 coupe very often. That's one reason I opted for a vert when I bought my C7. Push a button and it's topless. Far less wind noise and buffeting in the vert with the top down than in the coupe with the top off is another advantage.
100% correct my friend! Most people don't understand the c7 was designed as a convertible (per GM) The improvement from my 2007 vert to my 16 is awesome. The comments about the wind and noise being more than coupes is crazy. I can have conversations going 75 with regular voice.Then the comments about the way the coupe looks better than the vert with the top up I'll agree to that, cuz when I'm driving it the top is always down which looks way better than the coupe IMO. The best improvement is being able to put the top up and down while your moving and while your approaching the car you can put it down and let the heat escape.All said they are both awesome cars.
I always bought convertibles before. My C6 was a Z06 so fixed top only, and I missed the open air driving. I ordered the C7 early in 2013 because of the removable top - if fixed only, I would have waited for a convertible. I regularly have it open.
WOW! Im shocked at the number of owners dont take the top off??? I mean its a sports car and that open road feeling and the sound of the pipes makes it such and experience that I cant imagine for the life of me that anybody wouldn't enjoy...Oh well!
For me, my top STAYS OFF! If there's a reason why the top has to go on I simply don't drive the car unless I have too.
The only thing I disliked about my '09 Z06 was the FRC (w/out the cool roofline of the C5 FRCs). I never drive with the top up if it's over 50 degrees unless it's raining. So I guess it's safe to say that if I were to buy a coupe, I would drive with the top off as much as possible.
Being a redhead, I use lots of sunscreen, and I don't worry overmuch about my hair; I call it either "Convertible Curls" or "Ragtop Mop", depending on whether I look gently tousled or like I stuck my finger in a socket at the end of the day.
I had two Corvettes (C4 & C6) with targa tops before I knew better. Last two Corvettes have been Convertibles. The C7's totally power top is the best ever. I cycle the top often, even threat of rain isn't a deterrent, a push of the switch and the top is up. With the targa top I would only have it off about five times every summer, then only with super nice weather forecast.
Weather permitting (temperatures between about 45/50 and 80/85; no rain) and assuming I'll be in the car at least ten minutes.
3) Would you still buy a C7 if it did not have a removable top feature?
If a fixed roof coupe was the only model, I would not buy a C7. Would probably have bought the C7 convertible but I like the targa top as the best of the three possibilities. Not as convenient as the vert push button up/down but I don't mind the inconvenience of the targa in exchange for more security, styling and cargo space. Easier than dressing up for a motorcycle ride.
Top removed about 20% of the time. Comes off when it's sunny, not too windy and temp is under 90 degrees F. Easier to do than with the C6's non-CF weight. If the top weren't removable, I'd have to buy the C7 Convertable, but would miss the extra space.
Ditto. So nice to have it both ways. Very different experiences.
I see many photos of C7's with the removable top on the car.
A few questions.........
1) How often are you removing the top?
2) Under what conditions?
3) Would you still buy a C7 if it did not have a removable top feature?
1. I remove it when there is no threat of rain and the temp is between 55*-90*. Anything over 90 and the San Antonio sun bakes me! My beast is in the parking lot topless right now
2. See above
3. Probably, but it would be the vert
Rarely ever took the top off. If the car was outside , you'd have to put gloves on to hold the roof. The thing might as well be a burner on a stove. Plus, the thing took up all the space in the rear to stow it. Vert is the way to go.
Rarely ever took the top off. If the car was outside , you'd have to put gloves on to hold the roof. The thing might as well be a burner on a stove. Plus, the thing took up all the space in the rear to stow it. Vert is the way to go.
You must have had the clear top. Painted top doesn't get very hot.
Had mine off today and yesterday for probably the last time this year...temps in the low 80s, which in upstate NY in November, is pretty unusual. One more warm day tomorrow, so time to put the roof back on and do a wash and seal.
Had the oil changed today (thanks GM) and the car inspected...
Designer Imagines A Corvette That Looks More Like a Corvette Than the Corvette
Slideshow: A Jaguar designer's personal project imagines what a modern front-engined Corvette might look like if Chevrolet revisited the golden age of the Stingray.