MotorMouths

The Corvette Z06 is one of the best cars in the world. This is an extraordinary machine. Drive one if you can.

The Chevrolet Corvette is the great American sports car. It’s thrilling to drive and delivers breathtaking acceleration performance and exceptionally tenacious grip for braking and cornering. Yet it’s fairly easy to live with and relatively easy to drive.

The Corvette Z06 really isn’t a car that comes across as practical. It was never meant to be that way. It’s a high-performance baseball bat that requires a careful wielding all the time. But if you’re willing to give it the attention it demands, it’s worth every second.

We forget all about the the flimsy seats, and the cheap controls, when we floor the 427 and experience that amazing sensation of a big pushrod V-8 roaring toward 7000 rpm. It starts at $76,900, which is something of a bargain considering that it basically matches the performance of a $149,000 Porsche 911 Turbo cabriolet.

The surprisingly livable 2013 Chevrolet Corvette marks a fitting end to GM’s sixth-generation icon: Enjoy the attention, grab a gear and let ’er rip — all shortcomings are forgiven.

What’s the hottest Corvette convertible ever made in the ’Vette’s storied 58-year history? If we’re talking production models, then it would be the 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible.

When it comes to performance, the 2013 Chevrolet Corvette is one of the world’s best bargains. A lack of refinement proves you get what you pay for, but since you get a whole lot of old-school American muscle, that should be more than enough for many.

When it comes to performance, the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette is one of the world’s best bargains. A lack of refinement proves you get what you pay for, but since you get a whole lot of old-school American muscle, that should be more than enough for many.

GM is going with a less is more mentality for its all-new Z06 Carbon Limited Edition Corvette. You get the look, feel, sound, and most of the capabilities of the ZR1 without the six-figure price tag.

Sure, the 2011 Corvette needs a new interior and better seats, and it’s not the world’s most practical car. But find a nice stretch of unmolested asphalt and wind the exhaust to 11, and you might find that you just don’t care.

The 2013 Corvette accelerates and handles as you’d expect: very, very well. Inside, the Corvette shows a bit of why it costs so little for so much performance, however.

Today’s ‘Vette is a badass sports car. It’s not hard to get a sense of this car’s seriousness. But “serious” isn’t quite the adjective that comes to mind when you slip inside — the better descriptor for the cabin is “dated.”