Road and Track has been involved deep into the duty of gathering data for its annual
Performance Car of the Year feature, and included a pre-production 2020 Chevy Corvette
during testing at Thunderhill West. Esteemed guest Matt Farah from The
Smoking Tire ran the brand new C8 around the two-mile track and also
took video of the laps. There was a serious embargo on driving impressions in
effect for just 4 more days and so he was not at liberty to discuss the
Z51-equipped coupe's performance in detail, but the video does a pretty good
job of depicting the C8's roar.
The sound in the cabin comes from the 6.2-liter
LT2 V8 with 495 horsepower and 465 lb-ft of torque. At first listen, the bellow
was described as “mild”, and why are we not offended? Because the C8 was not
meant to be quite the roaring stallion that you see from the likes of Maserati
or Ferrari in regards to pure piping sound enjoyment. But hold on! One only needs
to remember that all of this comes at just a fraction of the price that you
would fork out for the others
There is a very distinct difference between fake
engine noise and exhaust note frequency augmentation, and this is where some
have had debate this fall. The active noise cancellation sound system on board
does employ a tiny bit of frequency augmentation of the exhaust's note, because
the pipes are now experiencing a muffling of sorts by the engine itself. The
pipes are also now placed way behind the driver's ears, and its a proven fact
that sound pressure drops with the square of distance. But Chevy did not create
this just for the coming of our mid-engine marvel: the C7 actually incorporated
the same system.
The new car actually relies on the engine itself
for all of the of the audio, but with pass-by requirements and the multiple
cavities that exist between the driver and exhaust tips some frequencies are
lost and have the need to be supplemented. With all of these elements at play,
it can understandably be a tough battle for an auto manufacturer to win! New
global regulations, the bottom line and concerns revolving around production
can have an effect on the final exhaust note as it triumphantly roars after
ignition. It's not just the roar of the exhaust that you'll love from the new
Corvette: the fun is just beginning from the mid-engine standpoint and this car
will be the star of headlines for many months to come here at the Mid-Missouri Powerhouse and
nationwide!
