 2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
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Review and photos by Jonathan Yarkony
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2013 Chevrolet Corvette
I’m not going to bore you with a history lesson. Yes, this car commemorates 60 years of Corvettes, but it is awesome right now, so I feel the urge to tell you all about its current awesomeness rather than regale you with stories of its past glory, of which there is also no shortage of material.
And this 427 Convertible Collector Edition is a great way to send off the C6 Corvette, the Corvette platform that has been in production since 2004, and carried the torch passed on by the C5R’s return to racing dominance in the ALMS GT classes and Le Mans.
A standard Corvette or Corvette convertible is no slouch, powered by a 6.2L V8 making 430 hp, but the 427 borrows the 7.0L “LS7” V8 from the formerly kingpin Z06 Coupe (though not the Z06’s aluminum frame, rather the base Corvette convertible’s steel frame), the 427 name a nod to the displacement in cubic inches (427.65, to be exact). As everyone should know by now, the new ‘Alpha’ Vette is the ZR1, featuring the almighty “LS9”, a supercharged 6.2L V8 making 638 hp and 604 lb-ft—I cannot comprehend what that kind of power and acceleration would be like. I can barely comprehend what it was like piloting this thing to its full potential.
    2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
But back to the 427, whose LS7 makes a still staggering 505 hp, 470 lb-ft of torque, and sounds like a chainsaw-wielding tyrannosaurus of the apocalypse is chasing you down when you induce ‘loud’ mode by breaking into the high revs at wide-open throttle—reason enough to try to drive even faster, right?
And faster it goes, weighing only 1,522 kg (3,355 lb.), it hits 60 mph (97 km/h) in 3.8 seconds, runs a quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds, can achieve a maximum lateral acceleration of 1.04 g and a top speed of more than 304 km/h (190 mph). If only our world was a racetrack, I’d have verification of all those numbers, but instead you’ll just have to trust me: it’s fast! And did I mention it sounds great?
In every respect, it feels the sports car, and even a barely disguised racecar. There are plenty of purpose-built racecars that would be hard pressed to keep up with it even if it wasn’t boasting those 505 hp. The tires are, in fact, track-ready tools: Michelin Pilot Sports measuring 285/30ZR19 on 19×10-inch wheels in front and 335/25ZR20 on 20×12-inch wheels in the back, the design a machine-face cup style lightweight aluminum. Yes, you read that correctly, the rear tires are a foot wide. Even with that wide a contact patch, and some of the stickiest road-legal rubber, they have no hope against that kind of power fed through a heavy duty six-speed manual transmission to the rear wheels only.
I was strictly warned against burnouts (and loose women, for some reason), but there is no way to drive that car without, ahem, breaking traction under certain conditions. Like accelerating out of a corner, or a standing start when a light turns green, or doing anything on a cold, fall morning. One thing I found handy during our rather chilly week was the tire pressure monitor in the gauge cluster info screen, which gave me a good indication that the tires were nicely warmed up when they reached 212–216 kPa.
With safety in mind, I kept all safety systems on all the time (okay, most of all the time…), but even so, the Corvette would step out and play when handled, um, how shall we say, indelicately. Turn-in is quick, and when the weather was warmer and dry, the grip was heroic, but those huge, wide tires loved to chase every rut, crown, or pavement heave in the road, so a firm grip on the wheel is called for to keep the 427 reined in (wait, am I allowed to use horse analogies in Corvette stories?). You might think that’s disconcerting, but I found it fun, though I’m not sure if I’d find it fun if I drove it regularly.
      2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
Then again, I imagine a special edition like this is a car that owners can store through the bad weather for warm summer night cruises or trips to the track. Please, owners, take it to the track, because even though I could not, it felt like the car was begging to be driven like every corner is an apex to clip, every red light a braking zone, and every straight, um, a straight. And we all know what to do on straights, right?
The steering itself is almost an oxymoron, because it feels loose and gummy at times, but in corners, when g forces are in play, it seems to lock in and latch onto the actions and grip of the tires. The balance is also deft when pushing through turns, thanks in no small part to the V8 nestled up against the firewall and almost entirely aft of the front axle, helping weight distribution achieve that perfect 50/50 split over front and rear axles. Oh, and those brakes? Forget dinner plates, these are platters: six-piston calipers clamping on 355×32 mm in front (14×1.3 in.), and four-piston rear calipers on 340×26 mm (13.4×1.0 in.), cross-drilled rotors at both ends. Braking power will rarely be an issue, only the grip of the tires.
Being in the car for so short a time, and so rarely having driven one, and the chassis unrelated to any other cars we’ve driven, the steering was unfamiliar and the feel remote, but seemed like the chassis would fill in all the necessary info to build and improve on your performance over time. If anything, that chassis was almost overcommunicative, sound insulation a welcome omission, hearing every bolt and brace flex and every moving part clunk and whirr. At times, it felt like it was going to fall apart, because of all the crashing and creaking going over rough roads, and when you really get on it, the violence of any bump is almost enough to discourage any hooning. Almost…
But it’s not, because the gas pedal is connected to a fount of divinity, and your hand rests on a manual transmission, whose genuine mechanical feel had me rowing gears at stoplights, the clutch a middleweight and quick on the take. Another favourite exercise was dropping gears on the highway to announce its epic-ness, especially when approaching tunnels and underpasses, which echoed that 3,000-plus rpm howl and ensuing off-throttle guttural barks.
Now, there are two schools of thought about the Corvette. One is that it is a great sports car with a crap interior, and the second is that it is a great sports car and they don’t care that it has a crap interior. You may hear people moaning about its interior quality, and we have some exhaustive threads in our forum about the seats, but while the market for sports cars and Corvettes is small compared to sedans and crossovers, the amount of performance you acquire for its relatively cheap price is rare and prized. Put me in with the latter school of thought—I would gladly live with the seats whose head restraints only reach the middle of my head but were never specifically uncomfortable, the retro head-up display (which, like the touchscreen nav, suffered from Galaga-generation graphics), and ignore the rest of the interior, except for the Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel and shift knobs. In this respect, GM has it right, because those are the two parts you will be touching and appreciating (shall I go on?) during every minute of every trip.
 2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
Having this LS7 in the convertible Vette is a nice treat for fans, and GM also throws in magnetic ride control, which makes the ride semi-tolerable on regular roads, but still barely passable on rough roads in Touring mode, and completely track dedicated in Track mode. The exterior is dressed in carbon splitters, a signature white colour, and silver stripes, which are also reflected in the blue fabric of the roof; the interior is awash in blue leather–I kinda’ liked it.
The price might stick in some people’s craws, our tester kitted out to the tune of $112,635, but this is a car for the ages, performance that can be matched by only a handful of cars, the timeless design of an icon, the summer-worshipping joy of a convertible, and an engine that sounds every bit the rock star. But throw all that out the window, because to some people, the Corvette is a childhood hero, and fulfills on its promise, so there’s really no standing between a guy or girl and their childhood dreams. I’ll let Mike explain…
Second Opinion by Mike Schlee
They say don’t drive your heroes, because you are sure to be disappointed. So you can understand my apprehension when given the opportunity to drive the 2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible. Ever since I have been old enough to know what a Corvette is, I have been a fan. I have driven a few Corvettes in the past, but never one with this much potential. Seven litres of engine up front, steamroller tires out back, a magnetic suspension, and, of course, a dual-stage exhaust that could wake the dead when engaged.
  2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible. Click image to enlarge |
The Corvette 427 is one of those cars that you either get… or haven’t driven yet. It is as refined as Larry the Cable Guy, and just as entertaining. Hammer the gas in gears one through four and hold on as the foot-wide rear tires fight hard to remain in contact with the road. Redline blasts in second or third gear produce so much noise and vibration that I suddenly think I am blasting down the Andretti straight racing for the win in the ALMS GT class.
I never had the chance to take this car on the track; in fact, GM strictly forbade us from doing so. So I never got anywhere near the handling or braking limits of this beast. From what I could tell, the limit is substantial.
Sure, the interior is absolute crap, but who cares? [I think we pretty much covered that… –Ed.] All of that stuff is in the way anyway. Who would listen to the radio when there is a 7.0L soundtrack blasting out the back of the Vette at all times? The Corvette 427 is a car meant to show off to your golfing buddies at the country club, and then terrorize the local track on club days. If the interior is that important as a potential purchase decision, a more sedate Mercedes E 550 Cabriolet would probably be a better fit. The interior could be made of cardboard, particle board, and seaweed for all I care; just as long as the driving experience remains what is today.
Pricing: 2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible
Base Price (2013 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible): $76,600
Options: $34,340 (Preferred Equipment Group 1SD: Power folding convertible top, heated sport bucket seats, perforated leather, power lumbar and side bolsters, interior leather trim package, AM/FM/CD/MP3 stereo, 6.5-inch touchscreen navigation with voice recognition, USB port, Bose premium speakers, head-up display, memory seats/mirrors/steering wheel – $12,810; 427 Convertible Collector Edition: 7.0L 505-hp V8 engine, 6-speed manual, magnetic selective ride control, machine-face cup style lightweight aluminum wheels, Michelin PS2 285/30ZR19 front/335/25ZR20 rear, dark grey brake calipers, carbon fibre hood, body-coloured rear spoiler, performance exhaust – $17,940; 60th Anniversary Design Package: Arctic White exterior paint, exterior 60th badging, 60th ebony/diamond blue leather-wrapped interior with blue stitching, 60th embroidery logo for seats, 60th badge for steering wheel, cyber grey metallic headlamp bezel, carbon fibre splitter, blue convertible top – $2,700; 60th Anniversary Stripe Package: Pearl silver full length dual body stripes, tonal stitch blue stripes on convertible top.)
Freight: $1,595
A/C Tax: $100
Price as tested: $112,635
