A Whole Host of Changes has the 2008 Corvette Continue the C6’s Evolvement
After the first three years of an unbelievable C6 model run it didn’t seem that the folks at Chevy would be able to top what they had already accomplished; that is until the 2008 Corvette came out. As the engineers at GM had done many times in the past, the main refinement and improvement involved, what else, speed.
Thanks to some nifty engineering tweaking the base model engine was now a 6.2 liter LS3 V-8 engine and it belted out an unreal 430 bhp with 424 foot pounds of torque. Not to be outdone, the 2008 Corvette Z06 was back with the now familiar 7.0 liter 505 horsepower bad boy. Really either way the customer went they were getting one fast ride.
With the new changes and refinements made to the 2008 Corvette it was extremely hard for anyone or any car manufacturer to claim that they had anything more than the Vette did for the price tag. While the prices in general continued to climb modestly on the 2008 Corvette, they paled in comparison to some of the European sports cars that couldn’t even offer as much as it did.
Besides the revamped V-8 for the base model, the 2008 Corvette included many refinements and improvements and some of the more notable ones follow:
- New optional dual-mode exhaust that would put the horsepower count at 436 when paired with the new LS3 engine.
- An enhanced valve train.
- An engine block that featured a larger bore and other structural enhancements.
- An intake manifold that was high flow.
- Cylinder heads that were high flow.
- Manual transmission shift effort enhancements and improvements.
- Paddle shift six speed automatic transmissions with quicker shift times.
- Better overall steering feel.
- Split spoke cast aluminum wheel design made standard for the coupe and convertible with an optional Competition Gray finish.
- Polished forged aluminum wheels as an option.
- New sill plates.
- Integrated key to go with a new key fob keyless remote.
- Enhanced interior detail that included brushed aluminum accent throughout the cabin and a wrapped center trim plate.
- New Linen and Sienna colored leather packages available as an option for the interior.
- XM Satellite Radio and OnStar now standard on all models.
- Mirrors with a compass and auto dimming technology now standard.
- New Jetstream Blue Metallic Tintcoat color.
- New Crystal Red Metallic Tintcoat color.
With all the added features to the 2008 Corvette it was hard to imagine that the GM people could do any better in the next year. But then again, Chevy was never one to rest on its laurels and had continued each and every year thus far of the C6 generation to improve upon the previous model. However, in order to pull that off going forward the GM engineers would have to pull out all the stops, which is eventually exactly what happened as the rumors that had been floating around about an all new ZR-1 for the upcoming 2009 year were indeed going to be proven right.
Tags: 2008 Corvette, LS3, V-8
