I was on the Corvette Nation site and a fellow there said he was trading in his C5 for a 2018 C7 Sting Ray and asked: "What's the Difference?" So doing some reading I posted this and thought it would be useful here also.
Having just upgraded to C7 myself I can say the difference is remarkable. The C5 was a simple and quick car, while the C7 is a state of the art performance car with the heart of the C5. Let’s look and compare. But if you look at the weight and the other demensions of the cars, GM stayed rather true to their original weight and size.

The C7 uses Aerogel, a material developed by NASA, to keep heat from the transmission tunnel from transferring into the cabin. The under-body panels are made of "carbon-nano" composite. The chassis is made of hydro-formed aluminum. The rear tail lights use indirect LED technology. The new Corvette LT1 engine, the first of the fifth-generation family of small block engines, retains the push-rods acting on overhead valves design. It implements direct fuel injection, Active Fuel Management (cylinder deactivation), and continuously variable valve timing.
Layout Front mid-engine
Rear-wheel-drive
Platform Y-body
Engine 6.2 L LT1 V8
Transmission 7-speed Tremec TR-6070 manual
8-speed GM 8L90 automatic
Wheelbase 106.7 in
Length 176.9 in
Width 73.9 in)
Height 48.6 in
Curb weight 3,347 lb

The C5's modular body panels make excellent use of a lightweight composite material known in the automotive industry as SMC or Sheet Molded Composite, a type of fiberglass that is blended and bonded with plastics. The floor boards on the C5 are a composite sandwich of SMC with balsa wood in the middle. Balsa wood was chosen for its extreme stiffness, light weight and excellent sound absorption qualities. The all-aluminum LS1 overhead valve engine is much lighter than its cast iron predecessor, the LT1, and provides for a much lower hood line when compared to an overhead cam design of relative displacement.

Layout Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive
Platform - Y-body
Engine 5.7L LS1 V8
5.7L LS6 V8 (Z06: 2001–04)
Transmission 6-speed manual
4-speed automatic
Wheelbase 104.5 in
Length 179.7 in
Width 73.6 in
Height 47.7 in
Curb weight 3,245 lb

 

There is a great book on the C5 called all corvettes are red. It talks about how the C5 was cancelled but still worked on in secret. It was also the first corvette to have the trans in the back middle.

The gel is pretty cool....but it still gets pretty warm in the console like the c6

 

Knew the facts about the C5, but still learning about the C7. Thanks for some new tidbits of info on the C7.

 

I read the book. Fantastic history

 

My C5 is still my fave Vette. I kept my '01 when I bought my '18 (never liked anything about the c6). I wish the C7 were still as simple and straight-forward in many ways as the C5. I suppose I should take a good pic of both together sometime. Oh well... tomorrow for sure.