'05 CORVETTE REVEALED (part 1 of 2).(News)(Product/Service Evaluation)

Byline: KEVIN A. WILSON, WES RAYNAL

Smaller, more powerful and sleeker, C6 promises Corvette nirvana

with photos by jim fets

We've been behind the wheel of the '05 Corvette. Really, sat right there in the bucket and grabbed the thick-rimmed leather-clad steering wheel and made sputtering noises while moving the shifter around, which is more than most visitors to this month's North American International Auto Show will get to do when they clamp eyes on the thing.

No, we haven't driven it yet-no one in the car magazine world has-but we've finally seen it up close and gotten under its skin. Some will call it evolutionary rather than a leap forward, but there's no question the '05 Chevrolet Corvette advances the state of the art. And coming only eight years after the last all-new Corvette, it arrives in time to stay competitive in the marketplace rather than playing catch-up. GM actually expects the sixth-generation C6 to be more competitive than was the C5, widely regarded as a leap forward in Corvette refinement and performance when it arrived in '97.

The composite body, influenced by both extensive wind-tunnel testing and experience from the C5-R racing program, draws its design inspiration from the landmark '63 Sting Ray, even though it is the first Corvette since that second-generation (C2) model to run with exposed headlights. We're told its standard 6.0-liter LS2 Gen IV small-block V8 generates 400 hp and will propel it to an honest, auto- bahn-tested stable 180-mph top speed. It is actually five inches shorter and an inch narrower than the car it replaces, a welcome change in direction for Corvette evolution.

Sleeker, tighter, quicker and more refined-more graceful to use the word chosen by Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill-the car reflects a company more globally aware than the one that last introduced a new Corvette for 1997. It has been tested extensively at the Nrburgring, for instance, and with an eye on European and Japanese competitors every bit as much as on the cross-town rival Dodge Viper.