Chevrolet Corvette owners club meets the mid-engined C8

I know from experience that the original Corvette isn’t particularly dynamic on the road. It would have been unwise back in the day to take on a Porsche or Jaguar in one, but there’s no doubting the fact that Dan Crochet’s 1958 model is one of the most stylish sports cars ever made.

“I had a 1981 Corvette after I left college but bought this one 22 years ago,” says Dan. “I wanted a C2, but my wife loves C1s and twisted my arm. The ’58 is the only year that the car had this washboard bonnet and chrome boot straps. Critics at the time said the car was gaudy but, once I realised how special it was, I had to have one.

“It’s powered by a 283-cubic-inch [4.6-litre] engine with twin fourbarrel carburettors and pushes out 245bhp. The car was restored in 1990, and I take it out at least once a month for a drive up into the mountains.”

Dan is interested in the C8, but it’s pretty obvious that nothing could take the place of his ’58.

Like most of the club members here, Slim Stephens has a long history of Corvette ownership. “I’ve owned this 1965 C2 Convertible for a couple of years,” he explains, “but I worked on it for 10 years when it was with its previous owner. It’s got a 327 [5.4-litre] engine with a new cam, a high-rise manifold that I’m about to swap for a Holley EFI system and a four-speed gearbox. I had a big-block ’64 coupé in the ’60s and then bought a new C3 in 1973.”

Like several of the members, Slim is concerned that the C8 won’t be as practical as his car, due to its lack of luggage space. Actually, as Chevrolet dealers will no doubt demonstrate to potential owners, you can transfer a C7’s full luggage load straight into the C8’s front and rear boots.

Originally from Canada, Benita Klaizner is a long-time Corvette owner. She’s married to Jim, who slipped the bounds of communist Czechoslovakia in 1972, and the couple own this 2013 C6 Grand Sport 60th Anniversary Convertible as well as a 2015 C7 Stingray that lives at their house in the Czech Republic. They’re currently having a 1972 C3 restored as well. “We’ve already ordered a C8,” says Benita, “and I can’t wait for it to arrive. Each Corvette that we’ve owned has been better than the last. I love the style of the new car, and I’m sure that it’s going to be a car to be reckoned with.”

Scarlett and Gino Montoya (no relation to Juan Pablo) are here in their 2014 C7 Convertible. Actually, it’s Scarlett’s. “I was a school teacher, and this car was a retirement present to myself, bought new,” she explains. “We’ve had a C5 and a C6 in the past.”

“And I had a ’57 fitted with a 409 [6.7-litre] engine that I used to drag race in the ’60s,” says her husband.

The Montoyas are among those concerned about the luggage space of the C8 but, as discussed, I suspect it won’t take much of a salesperson to convert them. “The convertible might prove to be a temptation difficult to resist,” says Gino.

You can sign up Carl Hastings for a C8 too, but he’ll be waiting for second-hand examples to fall within his reach. Meanwhile, he’s enjoying his 1990 C4. “I’ve had this car for 20 years, but I also had an early [1986] C4 before it,” he says. “I owned a 1964 327 [5.4-litre] convertible in 1967, but these C4s were the first Corvettes that could get good gas mileage.”

If I were Ken Ackeret’s local Chevrolet dealer, I’d have him top of my list of potential customers for the C8. Ken’s here in his Targa Blue 1972 C3. “The C3 was the first Corvette that I was aware of when I was in high school,” he says. “I’ve owned this 350 [5.7-litre] four-speed car for five years. It has been in the club for most of its life and has been really well looked after.”

Ken also has a C5 that he’s owned from new. “It’s a 2004 model, which makes it one of the last C5s made,” he explains. “I’ve done 216,000 miles in it, and it has been extremely reliable. My wife has a C5 too, and we’ve also got a 2019 Sebring Orange Grand Sport hard-top.”

Of all the classic Corvettes we have here this morning, it’s Ken’s C3 that appeals to me the most; the one I can imagine owning. As with him, this is the first model of Corvette that I was aware of. The C1 is the most beautiful but would be out of my budget.

The last of our seven generations is Jim Gregorio’s C5. Jim has spent the past 42 years working on Corvettes, both at private specialists in Connecticut and for two Chevrolet dealers in Las Vegas. There isn’t much he doesn’t know about these cars. His own C5 is far from stock, as they say here, with a dry-sump engine and numerous suspension modifications.

I’m rather impressed by his tyre choice: essentially a slick with one groove cut into it. “Er, yes,” he says. “They do have Department of Transportation stamps on them…” I suspect that they’re not entirely road legal, but then America is funny about things like that.

While clearly looking forward to getting his hands on a C8, Jim’s dream Corvette is a 1967 model that has been given the restomod treatment. “That’s getting really popular here,” he explains. “An LS7 engine with Z06 suspension would give me the perfect combination of ’60s style with modern performance, reliability and handling.”

Talking with all the owners of the seven model generations, as well as the other Las Vegas Corvettes Association members, it’s clear that the new and revolutionary C8 has already been taken to their bosoms. Some have already ordered theirs and others are either waiting for the launch of the convertible or the faster and more extreme versions that are likely to follow.

I’m not at all surprised by their willingness to accept the C8, because it’s not the first time that I’ve witnessed dedicated owners welcome in the new world. Look how readily Rolls-Royce enthusiasts ushered the BMW-produced Rolls-Royce Phantoms into their fold. Same with Bentley owners and Volkswagen-era cars and traditional Mini owners with the BMW product.

As club president Benita herself proves, the passion for America’s sports car runs across many decades, and just because you own a 1972 model, it doesn’t mean that you won’t like a sixth-generation car or indeed the newcomer. I do suspect, however, that even these committed Corvette enthusiasts would draw the line at a four-cylinder hybrid powertrain…

How the C8 drives

Twenty years ago, I would have robbed a bank to have been able to buy myself this new Corvette. Today, though, I don’t see the point of owning a very high-performance car, and so I’d be more likely to spend my money on one of these classic Corvettes.

The C8 is, however, pretty much my perfect mid-engined supercar. The small-block V8 has enormous character and is a much more emotive engine than Ford’s V8, due, I suspect, to its two-valve combustion chambers. The motor not only sounds fantastic but shakes slightly at tick-over and cranks over with the torque reaction as you hit the throttle.

At the launch event, Chevrolet displayed a cutaway C8 chassis that showed the layout as well as how well the car is put together. Put an Audi or Ferrari badge on the aluminium monocoque and nobody would know.

The new Corvette has a definite Lotus feel to it in the way it both rides and handles. The Nevada roads were smooth but, even so, the C8 felt supple and compliant. On the track, there was a hint of confidence-inspiring understeer on turn-in that reminded me of the Esprit.

About the only part of the C8 that I don’t like is the Allegro-style quartic steering wheel (the designers call it a ‘squircle’), but I’d get used to that.

When it comes to the UK early next year, the C8 is likely to cost around £80,000 and will be fitted with the Z51 performance upgrade package that’s a $5000 (£3810) option on our test car. This is an awful lot of car and performance for such money. But it’s more than that: I’d rather have this more characterful car over a McLaren, regardless of price.

The Pantera reborn?

I’ve not heard of anyone suggesting this, but to me the new Corvette is the De Tomaso Pantera reincarnated. Think about it: an affordable, rock-solid American V8 with an abundance of horsepower that will be cheap to maintain. And even in the worst-case scenario of the engine spreading itself across the road, a replacement wouldn’t break the bank.