MotorWeek Dissects the First C5 Corvette

The year 1997 marked the introduction of the C5 Corvette with new curves, more space and the LS1 V8.

When the C5 Corvette was introduced for the 1997 model year, it replaced an aging C4 that had been on sale for 12 years, so any new car would have been embraced. However, the Corvette team wanted to make sure that this new C5 was perfect and thanks to this classic video from the MotorWeek YouTube channel, we can take a look back at the features that made the then-new, LS1-powered sports car so terrific.

New Exterior Styling

The team at MotorWeek begins by looking at the exterior design of the 1997 Chevrolet Corvette, offering us a look at some of the early sketches of the C5, the final design concept and how the production model relates to that concept. The narrator talks about the bold curves that were unlike the hard lines of the C4, with a new airplace-inspired greenhouse and the flat-ish taillight panel.

Of course, the 1997 Corvette also had the “double bubble” roof line design, allowing extra headroom for a driver and passenger wearing race helmets, along with the familiar side vents, high fender lines and inward-sloping hood.

The C5 Corvette was all-new and it was gorgeous, but the designers worked in design cues from previous models to bring some Chevrolet sports car heritage into these new models.