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hi everyone.. I’m about to buy a c7 grand sport but having a really hard time deciding between the coup or the convertible. Iv never owned a convertible or a corvette so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Don't take the next sentence as harsh as it sounds; it really is the crux of the question.
Have you ever driven in a convertible?
If so, and you liked it, no amount of telling you a coupe is "just the same" will actually convince you it is the "same."
These next few questions may help you decide. Do like open air driving? If so, would you rather do this with a push of the button or after a couple of minutes manhandling the top? How much time do you imagine you will spend with the top off (after manhandling the top) vs. the top down (after pushing a button).
Don't take the next sentence as harsh as it sounds; it really is the crux of the question.
Have you ever driven in a convertible?
If so, and you liked it, no amount of telling you a coupe is "just the same" will actually convince you it is the "same."
These next few questions may help you decide. Do like open air driving? If so, would you rather do this with a push of the button or after a couple of minutes manhandling the top? How much time do you imagine you will spend with the top off (after manhandling the top) vs. the top down (after pushing a button).
hi everyone.. I’m about to buy a c7 grand sport but having a really hard time deciding between the coup or the convertible. Iv never owned a convertible or a corvette so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
When I was 25 yrs. old I bought my 1st new Corvette. That was 42 yrs. ago. Chevrolet only manufactured T-tops. That was a royal pain in the a** scr#wing with those GD T-tops. I'm a lot older and a lot smarter now. Do yourself a favor - buy the convertible. I did. There's nothing like it. 29 seconds down for top less - 29 seconds up for a ragtop. You'll thank me.
hi everyone.. I’m about to buy a c7 grand sport but having a really hard time deciding between the coup or the convertible. Iv never owned a convertible or a corvette so any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
Owning and driving a Corvette mean different things to different people. There is no concrete black and white answer. Only you can decide what it is about the vette that you like most.
For me, there is absolutely nothing like driving down a winding road on an 80 degree day or night with the wind blowing through my hair, the stereo blasting my favorite tunes and the top down on my vert.
To accomplish this with just the press of a button vs having to take the top off and on every time I stop somewhere means the vert was was the choice for me.
Some people could care less about the scenario that i just painted and just want to drive without the top off or top down and enjoy the extra room that the coupe affords.
I would suggest evaluating your needs and desires and then taking a ride in both flavors of the vette. You will find the answer you are looking for.
Is it a 1) regular driver that will be parked away from home and out in weather or is it 2) a pleasure toy that will live in the garage when not being driven? If 1) coupe, if 2) convertible.
FWIW all 5 of my Vettes have been my DD and the only car I now drive other than the wife's SUV when needed. First was an 1988 and all have been coupes.
I like that I can occasionally carry a lot of "stuff." I'm also not a "fan of wind blowing in my hair" (what's left!) Seldom remove the roof so a coupe fits my needs and a Vert would not.
This is a pic from August 2013 at Laguna Seca where GM had ~10 prototypes on display. First C7s I saw in person and I had ordered one months before, before production started!
If you want a large trunk space, get a coupe. If you want a quieter car, get a vert. I hear people often talk about how loud it is inside of the coupe. That was my sole reason for getting a vert instead.
1. Something to worry about being broken into/vandalized by any yahoo with a knife
2. A car with a piece of rotting cloth for a top which requires extensive maintenance (and $30/can snake oil) to keep it from rotting.
3. A car you don't want to leave outside to weather the elements.
4. A racetrack car, (especially if you opt for the track-prepared GS or Z06), which is an oxymoron. You cannot drive the convertible on most tracks unless you fit it with a rollbar. google c7 convertible rollbar....wait for it....wait, wait, wait
5. GM laughs at the thought of a rollbar in a c7 vert https://www.corvetteforum.com/forums...roll-bars.html
6. A car whose top collects tree sap, bird poop, and anything else that falls from the sky, as a stain.
7. A vette that has a very limited resale market, and climatalogically is limited to summer months for highest resale value.
8. A C7 with a bedonka donk butt compared to its more svelte coupe sibling.
9 A car with a passenger compartment storage capacity of 2 1-quart baggies.
10. A car with another set of motors, switches and fragile top framework to go wrong.
11. The only car I consider to be a true sportscar, my first car in 1975 (Sunbeam Alpine), my current C7 sportscar in 2018, un-replaceable by a coupe sportscar when I tried, and hopefully will be my last car when I punch out.
12. In the fall, top down on a cool day, on a backroad with vibrant colored fall foilage - priceless.
Last edited by SilverGhost; 04-06-2018 at 02:15 AM.
I like the idea of a Convertible, but a car has to be the “total package” for me. I prefer the coupe firstly because of the styling of the roofline. The C7 coupe has a really sharp fast back look that you just don’t get with the convertible. I don’t think they have made a nicer looking roofline since the ‘63 split window coupe.
Functionally, I can fit more luggage in the back, which is a plus because the car was purchased partially so that my wife and I could take a road trip once in a while. Also, if I want open air driving, all I have to do is take the top off. I don’t do as much driving with the top off as I used to with my other car. The traffic in my area has gotten worse over the years, and having the top down to sit in traffic is not quite as fun as it is blasting down a country road at 60 MPH. At the same time, a friend of mine has a C7 convertible, and his roof is always down if the temperature is above 50 degrees, and his Corvette is a daily driver. I guess it depends on what you like.
Was not my car as I clearly stated! That was what GM called IVERS, you can see others in the field in the background! They made about 100 of these preproduction cars and operated them for about a year to test various new construction and features.
In this case they were at Launga Seca Vintage Car races run the same weekend as the Pebble Beach Concourses. This fellow and the other ~9 drove them from planned GM event to event in the last months before production started!
However, I bring product to FedEx (when I occasionally can't "get" the wife's SUV) that would never fit in a Vert! Recently I needed to buy a lockable mailbox and post for our Dam rebuild project on our "Lake." Wife was using her SUV that day so no choice had to use the Grand Sport! Measured and could fit a 5' 6" mailbox post! So drove the 17 miles to town and had a post cut to 5' 6"!
When I brought it to the contractor to install, told him it was my Grand Sport pick-up!
PS: Fun working with the "Government Authorities!" Our Lake Homeownes Association was told, if DHEC comes to inspect the project and the weekly construction records including any rainfall over 1/2 inch was not properly recorded on the required chart they would shut down the project! Some who have "authority" love to exercise it!
The records are kept in the lockable box that has a removable rain gauge I added!
No room for a pick-up! (Pic was when we had a Lake! Will again in a few months!) Do miss my modified S10 pick-up when between Vettes! It had every HD option offered by GM; quick steering, HD springs, shocks, sway bars front and rear, hop shock and posi! Bought that when we built the house and liked it better for the 17 mile trip to work on I95 as the radar detector was not beeping by Troopers traveling in the opposite direction! Most important, no worry about 18 wheeler tire treads in the road! Now, since retired, I avoid I95 and take the back roads into town!
I had a 80 C3 for 31 years. Swore my next would be a convertible. Saw the C7 and fell in love with the looks of the coupe...Ordered a 14 Stingray coupe. Top is easy to take on and off.
So, to day I should be picking up my new GS, another coupe.
It just works better for me. The verts are nice, but like the looks and security of a coupe better
I hate dust, dirt, pollen etc in my interior so I don't often drive roofless. Got way too many other things I should be cleaning so don't want to have to wipe off my Vette's interior after each ride. I don't really like being on display when driving either.
My first suggestion to the OP, is to rent a convertible for a couple of days - they are not for everyone. Personally I don't like them - I much prefer running at speed with the windows up and the ac on. In 30 years of Corvette ownership (9 cars), I have had the targa top off no more than 100x - on my 2 C7's it was 4x with the 2014 & so far 0 on the 2018.
When the top is down, the wind whipping over the windshield and through the car at speeds over 65 mph is bothersome to say the least, and road noise at those velocities is no joy either. For slower speed cruising a convertible might be nice, but that isn't how I use mine.
I got my vert as a toy. When it is cold out and I drive my vert with the top up-it is just not the same as when I drive with my top down. Nothing beats the feel and look of a vert. A coupe with the roof off is not the same as driving in a vert.
As has been stated, drive both and make your decision as it doesn't matter what others prefer, only you. You will enjoy whichever you choose as both are amazing high performance sportscars.
I will list just a few points to consider:
Most important is the driving experience far surpasses that of a coup. Don't pay attention to those telling it's the same as coup with targa top off.
The convertible is better insulated which helps heating and cooling of the passenger compartment and is much quieter which is VERY important as excessive road noise is one of biggest complaints of the coup. The C7 convertible top is very high quality and needs little maintenance. The top mechanism is an amazing piece of engineering. Even operates at a speed up to 30 MPH.
Convertibles hold their value better.
I really like the look the "waterfall" adds to the convertible's interior. Much preferred to looking at a bunch of stuff stored in the hatchback.
I prefer having a separate lockable/concealable trunk as opposed to a hatch-back. The convertible does not have as much storage space as the coup however has space for two standard rolling airline carry-on plus a garment hanging bag even with the top down. Quite a bit more with the top up.
Last edited by Kevin A Jones; 04-06-2018 at 08:36 AM.
04-05-2018, 11:43 PM
Grand Sport coup or convertible
