Motoring Blog

Let’s face it–the Chevrolet Corvette has never been a practical vehicle to drive day after day. Then again, what sports car is?

General Motors has unveiled the all-new 2010 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. But don’t let the fancy name fool you, this is by no means the fastest Corvette available–there’s three others to choose from, and two of them are more powerful, which naturally makes them all the more sexier.

Here’s what you get with the Corvette Grand Sport: a “pushrod” V-8, 6.2 liter engine yielding 430 horsepower with 424 foot-pounds of torque. Zero to 60 mph acceleration time is only 4.1 seconds. You also have a choice between a 6-speed manual or automatic transmission. The tires are jumbo-sized–18 inches in the front and 19 inches in the rear.

You also have a near $1,200 option for a dual exhaust system that will give you another 6 horsepower (and makes a hell of a lot more noise)–whether that’s really worth the price tag is debatable.

When you compare these specs with the top-of-the-line 2010 Corvette ZR1 however, the Grand Sport pales in comparison. The Corvette ZR1 also has the 6.2 V-8, but it’s supercharged, meaning there’s a lot more oomph. How much exactly? How about 638 horsepower and 604 foot-ponds of torque, with a 0-60 mpg acceleration rate of 3.3 seconds? Very few cars on the road can beat those immodest specifications, that goes without saying. The price is unbeatable too–how about $109,130? Yikes.

In terms of the GS’s exterior options, your choice of targa top or convertible. The GS inherits its more voluptuous characteristics from its older sibling, the Z06, including fat fenders, a strikingly audacious (optional) rear spoiler and side louvers that resemble gills.

The 2010 Grand Sport is not all that it seems comfort wise, however, as Lawrence Ulrich of the New York Times explains:

The Corvette’s plasticky interior has always been graded on a curve, achieving a “C” only when scored with the remedial students — meaning older Corvettes.

True, the interior did improve significantly when the sixth-generation Corvette arrived as a 2005 model. Five years on, there is no excusing the uncomfortably thin seats, wrapped in leather so bachelor-pad chintzy that Chevy should include a Nagel print with every purchase.

I’m not exactly sure what he means by the last phrase regarding the Nagel print, but anyway.

Considering the power, the fuel economy of the 2010 Corvette GS is very impressive: 15–16 mpg city and 25–26 mpg highway. So not only are you getting premium performance, you’re not going to spend so much at the pump.

For comparison’s sake, the 2010 Porche 911 Targa 4, which only has a 345 horsepower H6 engine for about the same fuel economy, at a whopping base price of $92,100. As pretty as the Targa 4 is, I’ll take the 2010 Corvette Grand Sport any day. Assuming I can come up with $55,720, that is.

Photo © GM Corp.

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