Vigo Motor Show: Corvette Victory Edition

It was about time we talked about something a bit juicier and more attractive… well, also expensive and out of reach for many. The Corvette dealership in Vigo -not to be confused with Chevrolet, they are separate brands- took a Victory Edition, limited edition of the American Coupé to the show.

Specifically, the star of the show is unit 19 of a series of 250, an honour certified by a plaque bearing its chassis number. The edition, exclusive to Europe, commemorates the more than 50 victories Corvette Racing has earned since 1999 and adds a high level of equipment over the sports car’s base version.

But let’s try not to dwell too much on that. It is a Corvette and deserves to be described as a pure-bred sports car rather than as a special edition. Unmistakable at first sight, its design seems to remain unchanged over time. Nobody can fail to recognise it at a single glance, it is unmistakable from its long bonnet to its rounded tail lights set into its slightly curved rear end.

Its appearance may not win over many Europeans, but that cannot be held against it, since few sports cars on the old continent offer such good performance at such an affordable price as this one.

Its front mid-mounted engine a 6.0-litre LS2 V8 producing about 404 horsepower sends all that power to the rear axle. It is the classic sports car layout and, despite the recent rumours about a future mid-rear engine, I believe the brand will remain faithful to its design scheme, as it should be.

But we are not going to talk about the handling and performance of a car whose key we have not even been able to put in the ignition. As for its interior, yes: it is a glove.

Seeing the world from the driver’s seat of a Corvette is -as in every high-end sports car- a world apart; the leather-trimmed bucket seats cradle your body with the utmost delicacy and support. Everything revolves around the driver: the dashboard, the controls… nothing escapes an intuitive ease of use that allows the driver to focus on what matters: not letting the mechanics’ power run wild off the tarmac.

As the model in question is black -the edition also allows a choice of yellow- it featured outside 18-inch dark grey alloy wheels, and the interior was upholstered in black and red leather. Carbon fibre also finds its place on the centre console, where the DVD navigation system is housed (part of the extra equipment that gives this version its character).

The instrument cluster is another of those things that also impresses; as soon as you open the car, its lighting makes everyone who gets in direct their gaze towards it until they reach that gleaming magic figure at the end of the speedometer: 300 km/h. However, there is one detail that did not quite convince me; the steering wheel does not seem worthy of a car like this, and what’s more, its spokes with metallic plastics and inserted controls make it mysteriously similar to the one a Chevrolet HHR could fit, without going any further.

The Victory Edition is offered with a 6-speed manual gearbox or a 6-speed automatic gearbox, also with paddle shifters on the steering wheel, which was the one this car had. Its price is 76,650 euros, although I understood from the salesman that it exceeded 80,000… in any case, that probably matters as little to you as it does to me, since my current account does not allow it. Below these lines I leave you with a brief photo gallery in which you can see it with and without the roof. Remember that the Corvette Coupé is a Targa:

Photos | Eduardo Mariz
Thanks to the dealership Detroit Mobil, S.A..