I know this thread is a little late to press so to speak... however there was a sneak peek of this review in another thread here in the forum known as the "Webcrawlers Thread".
For a long time writing this thread has haunted me... Rastus has been on and on about its release. The whole C8 experience was rather bitter-sweet... Yes, I got to enjoy the legendary C8 platform -- in the most beautiful surroundings known to mankind (Hollywood Hills) but the fact was I rented it just to attract the attention of a certain Jewish lady named, Eden Dranger. And the rest, my friends -- goes a little bit like this:
For me, as a mechanic and long time owner of a 1996 C4 Corvette -- my review of the C8 is not just my first brush with Corvette. But it's always helpful for me to get a first hand feel of an exotic vehicle in what I would consider the most prime habitat of where one would find such exotic beauty and performance. Enter Hollywood / Universal California! I feel this is the best area to test an exotic / performance vehicle because the competition there is such that you can keep a level head, dispite being given the keys to a high end vehicle that is owned by a rental company. At home, you'd feel really top level in a new C8 Corvette -- in Hollywood you're just another rich asshole in a brand new rental/lease... when the C4 Corvette was finally released to the public in 1984 (one 1983 C4 Corvette exist and it's owned by General Motors) it was a technical marvel... sloped, like nothing else on the road. It was in countless Hollywood movies from 1984-1996 and it was breath-taking for the time since the shark body of the C3.... Fast forward to the new C8 -- which is already four years into the model run. Yes, the 2020 Corvette was hamstrung by COVID like everything else, but it was something to marvel over while we were all locked down! Getting a 2020 C8 Corvette when it was first released was VERY difficult and often times you had to pay way over it's $59,995 MSRP! In fact, the value of the 2024 C8 Corvette Stingray we would be testing was above $90,000 and we know that because it's the amount they needed to verify with our insurance company for coverage before I could even take it off the lot!
In comparisson, my last review was a $60,000 2022 Hertz Shelby Mustang Convertable in the same area, except I was crazy enough to drive to Beverly Hills in it... and while it was fun -- you got NO LOVE in Hollywood or Beverly Hills driving a Mustang... that was fine with me because as a Mustang owner too (1988 Fox Body) , I am used to the fact everywhere I go in my Mustang -- people regard Mustang owners as arrogant cowboys, regardless of the state! LOL! It's true! Generally, unless in rare circumstances -- Mustang guys don't even like other Mustang guys! But trust me, every snob in their foreign and exotic cars just looks down on you as a glorified Mustang driving punk. They actually go out of their way to be a dick, they honk at you -- they ride your ass and extend not so friendly hand gestures. Nobody gave AF about your Mustang in Hollywood except the bum who asked you for a cigarette -- or a kid parking vehicles for your hotel valet. There were no velvet red ropes opening for you -- you were just a Mustang owner.
So the 2024 Corvette Stingray wasn't in friendly waters in Hollywood and would have to earn it's place -- even in the presence of other exotics three or four times it's MSRP! So I knew the high bar that the C8 Stingray would be held and I wondered how the new Corvette C8 would be received by Hollywood... and I only mention the other cars because the C8 Corvette -- pound for pound, dollar per dollar is the best value in the entire world for it's class. It's mid-engine design is a first ever for a production Corvette! (Save for a prototype by Zora Duntov) -- so just like the C4, the C8 was a radical shift to what in today's mind is ultra-radical -- cutting edge.
Now I'll admit... I don't use no fancy equipment to test these cars true performance number -- after all, Car and Driver needs a job -- and they got the Hollywood budget... For me I will take an exotic and put it thru the motions of just how this car will make you feel in an environment of excess. I have reviewed other vehicles in and around this location in the past and I have found it offers a lot of twisty roads, traffic, ultra-high visibility and many other high dollar exotics abound. On Hollywood Boulevard there is always a Lamborghini or a Ferrari parked right on the main drag it would seem, and entry level mode of transportation seems to be a Mercedes Benz!
But let me tell you! At the Hilton Hotel the velvet ropes opened! I was allowed to park in "Diamond Parking" even though I was only a "Gold" member! Furthermore, I was able to park in front of the Hard Rock Cafe (no parking area) and walk and do my shopping! And when I came back? Sure I got a few dirty looks from bus drivers -- but there wasn't no fu@king ticket on my car and people looked at me like I was just another rich a$$hole from Hollywood doing some shopping!
And so while I'd love to tell you how great the performance of the C8 Corvette is -- and it is, because at 60MPH merging on to the freeway it kicked the tires loose -- but traction control prevented me from spinning out -- I was on my way!
While Eden Dranger never met me, I got this photo! A photo that showed that I lived for four days in the Hollywood Hills in a C8 Corvette and lived to tell the tale!
So let me just say, this thread is more about the way a C8 Corvette will make you feel in America -- which is like a king! Can't tell you how many kids I passed on Hollywood Blvd that would just point with their mouths hanging open! The C8 (to me) is perhaps the most sexy Corvette since the C4!
So while I may have never met Eden Dranger, I got to know the C8 Corvette!
And let me just say -- pound for pound, especially in the new ZR1 trim -- YOU CAN'T GO WRONG! If your insurance coverage can spare $90k -- $200k, RENT IT!!
