‘Motor Trend’ Distills its Best Corvette Moments

Roadkill, Head 2 Head, and Ignition had a lot of fun with crazy and cool Corvettes!

Christmas is here- or rather was here- so without further ado here are Motor Trend’s best Corvette moments from the last few years. They were nice enough to compile a summary of their best memories and the result is a broad swath of model coverage, from the C4 to more recent generations.

1985 C4 Corvette-Kart (Roadkill)

Kicking off the video is a quick review of the nutty 1985 C4 Corvette kart that David Freiburger and Mike Finnegan built on Motor Trend’s Roadkill TV show. “A 1984 C4 Corvette that was left for dead in the desert and flooded,” says Finnegan. “What made this one pretty cool is that it had a manual transmission, which is a 4-speed with an add-on Doug Nash overdrive.”

The Corvette was then cut up until it weighed a scant 2350 pounds. “We gutted this thing all the way down to the bare frame. We’re starting a trend with this. People are going to do this. Vette buggies. We could start a really unsafe racing series with these.” The show’s presenters proceed to thrash the C4 in the desert, even successfully running it up a rocky hillclimb. “This thing is so much like a Baja bug, its ridiculous,” says Finnegan. You really do have to see it to believe it.

2017  Corvette Grand Sport (Head 2 Head)

Motor Trend’s Johnny Lieberman, Jason Cammisa and hot shoe Randy Pobst compare the 2017 Grand Sport with the quintessential Porsche 911. The result is an interesting street and track comparison. “It’s so much fun, “ Lieberman “It’s FUN to drive.” Cammisa has equally good things to say about the Grand Sport. “While It appeals to the inner 12-year-old, it also appeals to the inner 40-year who has a bank account and can afford this car because its a good car now.”

When Pobst takes to the track, the Grand Sport compares very favorably to the difficult-to-drive Z06. “The last time I was at Streets of Willow Springs with a Corvette it was with the Z06 650 hp monster and it was diabolical,” he says. “Now we’re in the Grand Sport and its a much easier car to drive fast. The speed is not threatening. This car’s got a great balance of its handling, grip and its horsepower. Whereas the Z06 feels overpowered, the Grand Sport feels just right.”

When the dust settles, the track time of the Grand Sports speaks for itself, beating the 911 by more than three-quarters of a second around the Willow Springs. Not a huge difference but enough to hand the Corvette the win.

In episode 119 of Ignition, host Carlos Lagos spends some time on track with the 2015 Corvette Z06. “This is the supercharged 6.2-liter LT4 V8 that makes 650 hp and 650 lb/ft of torque,” says Lagos. “It’s so much fun to lay on the throttle. The thing that impresses me most is the cornering forces and the G-forces and the feeling in your stomach when you’re pressed up against the seatback or the sides when you’re going around a corner. All you need to do is think of the Z51 and then turn the dial up a lot more.”

Needless to say, he’s highly impressed with the Zo6’s track performance. “This thing offers a performance value with, so far, not many downsides. 650 horses, 650 pound-feet, incredible performance for not a ton of money. It’s kinda nuts.” 

2019 Corvette ZR1- 1ZR/ZTK (Ignition)

The last segment involves the 2019 Corvette ZR1, one of the last front-engine special edition Corvettes that we’ll see. The ZR1 goes up against a whole host of (mainly) European competitors, from the Porsche 911 GT2 RS to the McLaren 720S. Pretty rarified company. The ZR1 turns in an impressive lap time of 1.23.70 at Willow Springs, enough to net it sixth place and making it faster than the 911 Turbo S and McLaren 675LT.

Photos: Motor Trend

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