Two generations going head-to-head with the goal of
achieving all-out greatness is an excellent and appealing topic for us here at
the Mid-Missouri Powerhouse! Every one of the eight generations of Corvette has
something incredibly special to distinguish itself by, and each milestone along
the way provides excitement. Each Corvette enthusiast has their own preferred
model for various reasons, and the Hotcars.com team outlined some
high points of the Fast Lane YouTube car channel’s mashup between
two extra-special varieties.
Few models were as glaringly different from older ‘Vettes as
the mid-engine C8, which this Fast Lane episode compares to the
C5 generation model. The C5 saw its origins in the late 90s with the 1997
model, instantly possessing a large amount of appeal courtesy of its LS-1 5.7-liter
V8 which cranked out around 350 horsepower. The first C8 Corvette was unveiled
in a California airport hangar to excited onlookers in 2020, seeing a somewhat
limited run due to the interruptions the pandemic had created.
The C8 was the first model that put the engine behind the
driver, and it cranked up just under 500 horsepower as standard. To properly
compare these two great cars, a good old-fashioned drag race was in order, and
the C8 was able to claim the win. It screeched admirably through the standing
quarter mile in just 12.8 seconds, topping out at 113 MPH. The C5 still put up
a very high-octane fight by completing a 15.5 second quarter at 99 MPH, which
is quite stellar for a two-decades-old car and automatic transmission.
The C5 driver still claimed that completing this thrilling
task was a blast and that for around $15,000 used, you’re still obtaining a
killer performance value for the price. As a blog from Road and Track pointed
out in 2017, the C5 was the first modern Corvette to full-on challenge the
world’s best sports cars on completely level ground. It was also the first
Corvette to claim a victory at Le Mans, and the last to feature the quite
memorable hidden headlamps. One little-known fact that the C5 is perpetually
shrouded in: it almost did not exist at all!
Platform manager at the time Russ McLean recalls how GM
management had planned on letting this iconic model ride into the sunset in the
nineties. McLean and a group of other C5-loving rebellious spirits ignored the
decision, and continued development on their own time. Eventually, the
important execs up the line allowed its production to continue. There’s plenty
of incredibly smart engineering under the skin here, with the use of aluminum,
magnesium, and even balsa wood to effectively cut weight.
The C5 was also raced extensively in the SCCA T1 class and
offered many great options for tightening up the already-stellar handling. As
far as the winner of this specific bout in the form of the C8 is concerned, John
McGann of Motor Trend claimed in 2021 that it was “hands down the
best car he’d ever driven.” Taut, poised, and massively capable, his drive two
years ago with the C8 had an unsurpassed quality of smoothness, with a very
pure and undeniably direct delivery.
