2006 Corvette Illustrated Series No.123

I have often wondered what the Corvette would look like had Chevrolet maintained the essential lines of the C2 Sting Ray, and let it evolve thought the years, like the 911 Porsche. That’s what might have happened had the ‘65 Mako Shark II show car never come along. The Mako Shark II styling was so stunning if couldn’t not be the next generation, C3 Corvette. The shark theme is still obvious in the C4 Vettes and into the softer C5 cars.

At first glance, the C6 Corvete looks like an updated C5. But when you look closer, there’s a lot going on. What we have is a wonderful mix of shark and Sting Ray elements. The blend isn’t obvious until you see the new car from above and look closely at the front and rear fender details.

From ‘63 to ’82 the Corvette road on a 98-inch wheelbase and we got used to a certain amount of front and rear overhang. Then from ‘84 to ’96 the C4 Corvettes had a 96.2-inch wheelbase and maintained about the same amount of front and rear proportions. The wheelbase of the C5 Vette grew to 104.5-inches and to keep the shark-like proportions over the longer wheelbase, the C5 grew 1.2-inches to 179.7-inches. Although the C5 was 2.8-inches shorter than the C3, it looked bigger because of the longer wheelbase.

The new C6 Vette took its proportions in a completely new direction. The 105.7-inch wheelbase is the longest in Corvette history and the 72.6-inch overall length make it the shortest Vette ever made. The side-view profile still has the distinctive shark fender humps, but when seen from above the classic Sting Ray fenders are quite obvions. Note how the hood line blends with the edge of the cockpit and wraps around the rear glass on the coupe and the back edge of the toneau cover on the convertible. The hood buldge is perfectly proportional to the rest of the hood - not under, or over-stated. The double-bubble roof has two crease lines close to the center and the drip moulding blends perfectly with the A-pillars. The back-end is similar to the C5, but doesn’t look nearly as wide. Up front the most obvious change is the exposed headlights, not seen on a Corvette since‘62. Compared to the C5 Vette, the new C6 looks crisp and taught. The C6 is also the slickest Vette ever, with a .29 drag co-efficient. All of the body’s defining lines flow smoothly in long, sweeping curves that make the car look fast, just sitting still.

The C6 came out of the gate so fast, there were no signifigant mechanical changes for ‘06, except for the arrival of the Z06. The base price for the coupe was up $355 to $44,600 and up $90 for the convertible to $52,335. XM satelite radio was included with all but the base sound systens and there was an optional $1,250 6-speed paddle-shift automatic transmission. Interior trim was slightly revised and there was a new 3-spoke steering wheel. Aside from the steering wheel and paint choices, the ’06 is identical to the ‘05 model. Considering the car’s price and perfornance, it’s still the bargan of the decade.