2001 Corvette Illustrated Series No.112

A funny thing happened to the ‘01 Corvette on the way to the showroom. It got lost in the shadow of its own offspring - the new Z06. The base ‘01 Vette could smoke almost any machine from the glory days of the ’60s and early ‘70 and still get 30 mpg on the highway. But because the Z06 took Corvette performance to the level of quasi-racer, with street manners intact, car magazines hardly noticed the standard model.

Corvette product planners have an interesting way of rolling out new options and features. The first three years of the C5 saw a splashy introduction in ’97, followed by the convertible in ’98 and the hardtop in ‘99. To kick off the new millennium, all Corvettes got revised five-spoke alloy wheels and a host of small improvements. They were just catching their breath in ’00.

The Z06 debut in ’01 was so big that hardly anyone noticed the next round of incremental improvements. Early Corvettes drew fire from reviewers over the fact that the car cost as much as a Cadillac but had the fit and finish of a Chevette. By 2001, those days were over. Chevy officials had long since realized that while the Corvette could get by on the strength of its performance, there was no reason it couldn’t exhibit excellent quality as well.

Aside from a few color changes and the addition of chrome exhaust tips, the ‘01 Corvette was identical to the ’00 model. Under the hood, engineers were able to squeeze an extra 5 horsepower and 25 lb-ft of torque from the LS1 by revising the intake manifold with a larger plenum and smoothing out the intake runners. The base engine now packed 350 hp and 375 lb-ft when paired with a manual transmission.

To handle the extra power, a stronger clutch was installed, yet the pedal effort was reduced. Unlike the clutch on the old L-71 of the ‘60s, one could actually live with this new system. Another subtle improvement was the use of a lightweight, absorbent glass-mat battery. This new battery was more heat resistant and could be recharged more often, important features in a car with luxury-car-type electrical amenities.

All Corvettes now had the active suspension as standard equipment, and small improvements were made to both the manual and automatic transmissions. Automatic cars had smoother shifting, thanks to a new alternator clutch pulley, while manual cars had their synchronizers upgraded. Reflecting advancements in both engine build quality and synthetic-oil technology, Chevrolet now recommended oil changes every 15,000 miles, up from the previous 10,000-mile recommendation.

The convertible tops were improved with new weather stripping to reduce interior noise and improved insulation for a smoother exterior look. Auto writers were impressed with the car’s seat comfort, instrument layout, and cabin-noise level and gave the car’s interior rave reviews.

Sales saw an increase of 1,945 units, for a total of 35,627 for the year. That’s the highest number since ‘85! Of those, 5,773 units were hardtop Z06s. Ironically, the hardtop Corvette had gone from being the least expensive to the most expensive model, now listing for $47,000. The base price for the Vette was up $1,000 for the coupe (to $40,475) and $1,200 for the convertible ($47,000). MY ’01 sales included 14,173 convertibles and 15,681 coupes, the most even distribution between the two configurations in the car’s history. A fully loaded ‘01 Corvette convertible with the optional paint went for close to $57,000.

Performance figures for the ‘01 Corvette would have been the stuff of wild day dreams of the past. The car ran 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds in the manual form and 5.0 seconds for an automatic. Quarter-mile times were in the low 13’s.

In the early days the base Corvette was pretty tame. No one would have imagined a day when all Corvettes would be thoroughbred runners.