Million-dollar riches appeal to everybody, even if we can't afford them. In 2020, the new Chevrolet Corvette C8 was revealed, and boy was the eighth generation a delicacy.
Hype doesn't last long, but performance does. Speaking in numbers, this beast did outperform all its rivals. This Corvette C8 raised every bar for a mid-engined supercar. Chevy's 500 hp V8 is cased in an exterior designed with such elegance that it definitely wouldn’t look out of place next to a Ferrari or Lamborghini.
The C8 received plenty of love for having breathtaking looks and an exhaust that reminds you of what a true sports car should be. Surprisingly, the mid-engined sports car packs a hard punch against high-performing exotics like the BMW 2 Series and Audi's R8.
Everything about the car was beautiful, but the concept that caught the media's attention was the interior. The entire ideology was completely out of the box.
The C8 Corvette's Vertical Center Console Strip Is A Stand Out Feature
The car raised many mixed comments by utilizing a down-sloping vertical strip of buttons in place of the center console.
Coming directly from the interior design manager - Tristan Murphy, “It was about, how do we change the game and how do we reconstruct a dashboard here to be as low and as thin as possible? That was the mission statement of the whole car.”
After months of team discussions and design reviews, the clay models finally helped them reach this conclusion. This same team sat for even high-end LaFerraris, Porsche 918s, and McLaren’s meetings for inspiration.
Right from day one, it was intended that the C8-generation Corvette would have a very unique and small dashboard. Although allowing controls to be embedded into the touch screen would be expected, Murphy claims long menus didn't appeal to him.
That's precisely why Murphy says the team started looking into jet cockpits. They observed and made notes of how pilots have a warp around access to controls and switches.
A Fresh Interior Cooling System Is Installed In The C8 Corvette
Once you learn everything about the interior, you'd realize Murphy wasn’t kidding about keeping things low and thin. For example, take the air vents; the C8 has the smallest air vents in the production world. Murphy states the size to be approximately 19mm and how they had to invent that from scratch.
Generally, vents are usually about 36 to 40 mm. With remodeling the vents, every factor considering the instrument panel and the dashboard had to be adjusted to the same vents. Furthermore, they had to makeover a brand new HVAC system that controls the velocity at that vent width. The Corvette designers were very determined to remove traditional center console Ideology. Their stern mindset only boosted the creation of a new HVAC system for the C8.
The Wheel With The Stunning Digital Meter Behind Is Simply A Masterpiece
As expected, the odd positioning of the spokes on the steering wheels can cause a vague sense of discomfort for drivers. Being slightly off from the 9 and 3 o'clock positions, the wheel doesn't allow for a flexible handgrip while driving.
The wheel being off position is intended to give a clear view of the speedometer behind the wheel. With its clear-cut colorful contrast, the digital speedometer is exceptionally responsive to which mode the driver prefers.
Apart from being customizable, the car's speedometer is fit to display details in three fashions, each made to deliver elements of the three inbuilt modes. The simple, elegant, easy to configure, and one-look read allows more focus on the road than the meter.
Apart from the three modes, the car comes with a custom driving mode tailored to the driver's preference. Everything from the engine exhaust loudness to the braking and suspension can be modified to be packed into one mode, also called the Z mode.
This mode is activated manually with the ever-stylish Z Button on the left side of the steering wheel. The car's Z is entirely a tribute to the Corvette shepherd Zora Arkus Duntov.
The Impeccable Infotainment System Leaves No Stone Unturned
What use is a $60,000 car if the infotainment isn't amazing? Apart from the fantastic bucket seats and upholstery in Nappa leather, the car comes with a fabulous all-glass display.
No doubt the split-screen navigation and infotainment is well thought out, but would it be advantageous despite having a low responsive touch?
The multifunctional center display has similar control features as the control strip between the driver and the passenger. Apart from setting temp and HD audio volume, it allows the configuration of the entire vehicle and has an inbuilt voice.
Topping the cream with sugar, the car's sound system is a Bose Surround sound system and provides crisp audio. The driver's spot is like a lovely view of heaven over the sun-blazed horizons.
Nobody wants a scratch on their supercar. As expected from every high-end dealership, the C8 comes with excellent high-resolution cameras for an all-around view of the entire glass display.
The high-resolution rearview camera that is fitted onto the rearview mirror is activated by a flip downwards. There are more cameras other than the rearview camera, like the front cameras and the below hood camera, which are blindspots to every driver.