2020 Corvette Stingray In Contention for the Road and Track Performance Car of the Year Award

By
Keith Cornett
-
5
4575

2020 Corvette Stingray In Contention for the Road and Track Performance Car of the Year Award


Will the mid-engine 2020 Corvette rack up its first award soon?

We should know before the end of 2019, as competition started this morning to decide the title of Road & Track Performance Car of the Year.

Calling it “our most exciting field of contestants ever,” the magazine announced last week that the new Corvette has indeed been chosen as one of 11 cars eligible for its 2020 Performance Car of the Year award.

The C7 Corvette has a rich history in this competition, with the mighty 2019 ZR1 and the 2014 Stingray both winning titles and the 2017 Grand Sport taking third.

Rules for competing remain the same, with contestants required to be new to the market or heavily revised. Based on last year, the winner should be announced by the magazine in November.

Contestants gathered Sunday evening, with testing slated to start early today at Thunderhill Raceway in Willows, California to collect lap times and instrumented testing.

“From there, we’ll wind through the picturesque region of northern California until we reach Lake Tahoe to conduct our final vote on what will be the 2020 PCOTY,” the magazine says, urging enthusiasts to follow along on Instagram all week “as we’ll be posting incessantly about our days on the road and the track (hey that’s our name!).”

It could be one of the first chances to hear what it’s like to drive the new C8 Corvette, from someone other than an employee of General Motors.

Here’s what the magazine had to say about the Corvette in its preview of the competition:

Yep, we got a new Corvette for PCOTY. It’s easily the most anticipated car to debut in 2019 thanks to the relocation of its engine from the front to the middle – something car magazines have been predicting would happen for decades. Another big change is the absence of a manual transmission from the option list, with the 494-horsepower V-8 sending power to the rear wheels via a dual-clutch automatic only. We’re curious to see how it performs.

We should know soon how the new mid-engine Corvette stacks up with the big boys since it will be competing against some impressive foes like:

  • Toyota Supra
  • Lexus RC F Track Pack
  • Lotus Evora GT
  • McLaren 600LT Spider
  • Lamborghini Huracan EVO
  • BMW M2 Competition
  • Mazda MX-5 Miata Club
  • Hyundai Veloster N
  • Porsche 911 Carrera S
  • Nissan GT-R Nismo


Source:
Road and Track

Related:
Road and Track Names the 2019 Corvette ZR1 its Performance Car of the Year
2017 Corvette Grand Sport Takes Third in Road and Track’s Performance Car of the Year
Road and Track Names the 2014 Corvette Stingray the 2013 Performance Car of the Year

 



-

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR

5 COMMENTS

  1. “…and the 2020 Road & Track Performance Car of the Year Award goes to the….Porsche 911 Carrera S.”

    I’ll kindly show myself to the door. ???

  2. I remember the first pictures I saw of the then new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray, and that was on the cover of Road & Track, They had a Silver fastback and a Red roadster. I had a 57 Corvette at the time, and I was blown away by the Sting Ray. Right then, I knew I was going to buy one. I had to wait until the 64 model, but I did get one. It was hard to drive down the street without a smile on your face

    As for the 2019 Road & Track awards, it use to be the magazines had one Car of the Year award. Which included all types of cars. Now they seem to have a half dozen different COY awards, best truck, best SUV, best import sedan…etc. Having all those awards, probably sells more magazines but I think it tends
    to diminish the prestige of the original single award.

    I am surprised that Road & Track didn’t put a landmark car like the Mid-Engine C8 on the cover by now,
    and pay homage to the last revolutionary Corvette, the 1963 Sting Ray.

  4. 1967 Black Corvette coupe was the first test of the aluminum head 427 L89. Side view shown parked in front of the General Motors Design building on Friday the 13th. This particular Corvette vanished after the test drive and was never seen again!

  5. “From there, we’ll wind through the picturesque region of northern California until we reach Lake Tahoe to conduct our final vote on what will be the 2020 PCOTY,” the magazine says, urging enthusiasts to follow along on Instagram all week “as we’ll be posting incessantly about our days on the road and the track (hey that’s our name!).”

    But when a Corvette owner actually drives his C7 up to the track to check it all out (in the 102F heat wave) he gets told to go home – track closed. Really? Track was deserted, but no non-staff enthusiasts allowed to enjoy the sounds of thee cars lapping.

Comments are closed.