[VIDEO] Harlan Charles Takes Us Through the Strengths and Debunks Some of the Myths of the C8 Corvette

Mar 9, 2026

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[VIDEO] Harlan Charles Takes Us Through the Strengths and Debunks some of the Myths of the C8 Corvette

Photo Credit: Chevrolet

As someone who doesn’t need an introduction to Corvette fans, I’m happy to do it anyway. Harlan Charles worked at GM for 37 years while the last 24 of those years was spent with the Corvette team. Harlan was key member of the team, serving as its Corvette Product Manager responsible for many of the aspects of these special cars. He was forced into early retirement in January 2025 during a round of cost cutting and for the last year he’s simply been enjoying life with his Corvette Stingray Convertible.

In this video from our friend Clarence Garner, we find Harlan out in California where he was visiting with friends. With four of the five C8 Corvette models gathered on one place, Clarence asks Harlan to walk him through the strengths of each model while also highlighting some of the cool behind-the-scenes stories during their development.

Harlan’s first Corvette was a White over Blue 1990 Coupe which he still owns, and so his Arctic White Stingray with Tension Blue interior serves as the perfect bookend for it. Since owning the 2025 Corvette, he’s driven coast to coast and calls the Stingray a great everyday driver even in Michigan winters, pausing to show the Michelin All-Season tires he has on his car.

For those who want to drive in all kinds of weather, he definitely recommends the E-Ray with its all-wheel drive configuration. Calling it the Swiss Army Knife in the lineup, he says it can do it all. “It’s a comfortable car for trips. It could go in the different weather. It’s a great 0 to 60 car. It could be a track car. It could really do it all, and that’s what the E-Ray is.” He also emphasizes the E-Ray’s battery that comes with a 100,000-mile, 8-year warranty.

Clarence then leads him to the ZR1 and asks about his favorite options, which includes the high wing and aero package as well as the split window design which also helps with the engine cooling. The sound of the ZR1 is a bit more subdued and has more of a lower bass sound than its little brother, the Z06.

As for the Z06, Harlan highlights the hi-revving 8600 redline. He tells the story of driving the E-Ray and loving that car. But then he had the opportunity to get back in the Z06 for the 70th Anniversary. He tells Clarence, “As soon as I started, I was like, “Oh my god, how can I not live with how can I live without this sound? It’s just so wonderful.”

Another fun quote from Harlan is that “Every time you’re in a Z06, it’s like an event.”

He also references Star Trek with the comparison between the Z06 and the E-Ray. “To me, it was kind of like Kirk and Spock where Kirk is real emotional, you know, he’s loud, you know, readied, aggressive, and Spock was kind of like logical, scientific, you know, still strong, right? We always thought these are like the Kirk and Spock cars. They’re just different. They’re both heroes, but they go about it in a different way.”

This was a fun walk through the C8 generation with someone who was there for all of it. Check it out below: