2002 Chevrolet Corvette - Is A Corvette Really Worth $75 Large?
It's a perfect day in Southern California. An azure blue sky stretches from the whitecap frosted ocean to the rolling green ranch country up above the Santa Barbara strip as far as the eye can see north and south. California girls are on all the beaches in their summer casual attire and I'm stuck in the driver's seat of a black hardtop on a four-lane patch of scorching hot pavement making my way to the distant mountains - and loving every second of the anticipation.
After all it's not every day that this car-crazed middle-aged schoolboy gets to experience the California coast behind the wheel of the Golden State's iconic ride. To add to the excitement this is no ordinary Corvette, but a rare and now ritualized Z06. Quicker than any Corvette in history, even the legendary L88 and revered ZR1, the Z06 is in a class of few. Is it possible that America's sports car has transformed into America's supercar? I'm sure the Dodge Viper will have something to say about that.
With a full 405 naturally aspirated horsepower under the long front hood and 400 lb-ft of gut wrenching torque ready to snap the rear wheels into a smoke billowing sideshow, a cautious right foot is in order. The occasional blip of the throttle provokes an eager snarl from the otherwise rumbling exhaust, a wickedly scintillating sensation that causes the follicles on my arms to stand on end and a shiver to ascend my spine.
It's a perfect day in Southern California. An azure blue sky stretches from the whitecap frosted ocean to the rolling green ranch country up above the Santa Barbara strip as far as the eye can see north and south. California girls are on all the beaches in their summer casual attire and I'm stuck in the driver's seat of a black hardtop on a four-lane patch of scorching hot pavement making my way to the distant mountains - and loving every second of the anticipation. After all it's not every day that this car-crazed middle-aged schoolboy gets to experience the California coast behind the wheel of the Golden State's iconic ride. To add to the excitement this is no ordinary Corvette, but a rare and now ritualized Z06. Quicker than any Corvette in history, even the legendary L88 and revered ZR1, the Z06 is in a class of few. Is it possible that America's sports car has transformed into America's supercar? I'm sure the Dodge Viper will have something to say about that.
With a full 405 naturally aspirated horsepower under the long front hood and 400 lb-ft of gut wrenching torque ready to snap the rear wheels into a smoke billowing sideshow, a cautious right foot is in order. The occasional blip of the throttle provokes an eager snarl from the otherwise rumbling exhaust, a wickedly scintillating sensation that causes the follicles on my arms to stand on end and a shiver to ascend my spine.