C8 vs. C7: Randy Pobst Compares Corvettes on the Track

C8 Corvette Stingray’s suspension, braking, and chassis shine bright at Virginia International Raceway.

The C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is, without a doubt, the hottest car in the American automotive landscape today. We are still a few months away from these new Corvettes reaching dealerships, but the first media test drive reviews are available from every major outlet. For the most part, the reviews are glowing, but there have been some critiques from journalists.

However, the folks at Motor Trend recently spent a day with the C8 Corvette and members of the engineering team at Virginia International Raceway. Rather than tapping a journalist to write up this experience, the magazine picked hot shoe Randy Pobst. Pobst is a successful road racer and over the past decade, he has become one of the best-known drivers when it comes to testing a new performance car.

More importantly, Pobst has some less-than-flattering views of the C7 Corvette. His track time in the C8, with an engineering selected the various vehicle settings, showed the professional driver that the new Stingray is a truly revised sports car. In fact, Pobst ends his review with “one step back with the engine is a giant leap forward for the Stingray.”

C7 Corvette Criticism

Pobst’s track review of the C8 Corvette begins with his views on the C7. He explains that the C7 is one of the few cars that he drives with the stability control on, due to its ability to suddenly oversteer under hard throttle. He calls is “monkey-motion” and he states that as you add power, that problem intensifies. This portion of his review closed with him saying that “the car would dance a jig back there. Also, it felt rather soft on track, absorbing quick impacts like the curbing, but with too little low shock-speed control at high road speeds.”

C8 Corvette Street Alignment

The C8 Corvette Stingray has an adjustable alignment setup that allows the driver to select between Street and Track settings. He began with the Street settings with all of the driving aides turned off. His first impression was described as “joyous”, pointing out that the “monkey-motion was gone at last”. He went on to praise how well the mid-engine Stingray enters and exits corners confidently, pulling so hard that “it may wheelie”.

Pobst also explained that the C8 Corvette oversteers more at 80 miles per hour than 40. It also has a touch of side-slip when existing higher-speed corners. Finally, he pointed out that the C8 Stingray has better suspension damping and no float. The only real negative point with the 2020 Corvette was that the electronic braking system has some numbness. He still calls the braking system “strong and stable.”

Onto the Track Alignment

Chevrolet provided Motor Trend with the suspension specifications for the C8 Corvette Track alignment setting. The key difference is heavy negative camber in the front and rear, coupled with eight degrees of caster. Pobst states that this offers “much-improved grip everywhere, reducing yet not eliminating traits of midcorner understeer and drop-throttle oversteer, and raising speeds with better manners.”

Pobst ends his review by pointing out that the lap times were “2 to 3 seconds faster with less fall-off and better grip on a long run”, presumably compared to the 2019 C7 Grand Sport that Chevrolet brought out to the test. He states that the C8 “fresh offering is a 21st century new chapter, with more room to improve.” Pobst ends with that moon landing-like comment about the C8 being “a giant leap forward for the Stingray.”

Click here to read the whole track test review on the Motor Trend website.

Photos: General Motors Media