Automobile Magazine Names 2014 Corvette Stingray its Car of the Year

Yet another prestigious award for the seventh-generation Corvette has come Chevy’s way.

The 2014 Stingray has been named Automobile Magazine’s Car of the Year, and its chief engineer, Tadge Juechter, has been named the magazine’s Man of the Year.

Not a bad day’s work for the 61-year-old sports car from General Motors and its dedicated team of engineers.

As the magazine concludes: “The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is a world-class car with no apologies to make, an expression of greatness from a town and a car company that have been dismissed as losers.”

Unlike the conservative C6, Automobile praises Juechter and his team for reaching into exciting new territory with the C7.

“This is a thorough redesign, and it starts with a new frame” made out of aluminum, much stronger and lighter than the C6’s, the magazine says.

Praising the Stingray for its “simply awesome” performance, Automobile notes that Chevy wasn’t just aiming for some arbitrary number with the new car’s horsepower. “The point was to smoke tires, roar out of turns, and storm down the straights – oh, and do all that without quaffing unleaded,” the magazine says. “As it turns out, this new 6.2-liter proves to be highly effective at all those things.”

Power to the people might be a good slogan for the new Stingray. Automobile praises the Corvette as a “democratic sports car” that, despite offering tons of sophisticated technology, doesn’t emerge as “a cold, technocratic machine.”

Of course, the newly upgraded interior draws kudos from the magazine.

“Your interaction with the C7 is as straightforward as a handshake,” Automobile says. “The ergonomics feel right; the switchgear is clear and functional; you can see out of the cabin; and the seats hold you comfortably in place. Yes, the Corvette really does have decent seats — and we haven’t even tried the optional competition buckets. It also has an interior worthy of a $50,000-plus sports car. The materials look and feel good, and the interfaces manage to be modern yet not gimmicky, a concept that more and more carmakers are finding elusive these days.”

Automobile points out that the new Stingray was conceived and nurtured at a time when General Motors was going through its lowest times.

“Given the circumstances, we might not have expected a great new Corvette, but that’s exactly what we got,” the magazine says.

And because of that, they believe the Corvette will appeal not just to the faithful but will also “spread the gospel” to a whole new audience of driving enthusiasts.

Check out the Automobile Magazine’s image gallery featuring the 2014 Corvette Stingray.

Source:
Automobile Magazine

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