Photograph by Chris Tropea
When it debuted, the C8 Corvette put the world on notice, and quickly became one of the fastest cars we had ever tested at our official test track, the Florida International Rally & Motorsport Park.
Now, three years later, is the mid-engine Vette still the same heavy hitter we tested back then? To find out, we took a 2025 C8 Corvette Z51 back to FIRM.
Subscribe today to get access to the June 2025 issue as soon as we ship it to the printer, no need to wait for it to arrive in the mail. Subscribers get access to the digital edition of each issue, which gets posted soon after we send the issue to print.
Subscribers also save money off the newsstand price, too. Digital-only subscriptions start at $9.99 for the year. Print subscriptions–which include digital access to our entire online archive, including new issues–start at $29.99 for the year.
As a ex owner yes it is. I am a ex owner because GM dealerships are horrible and I hate dealing with them. A 2LT Z51 is the sweet spot and IMO is the best car for the money in this and even a bracket up
Oh hell yeah it is. Hands down, no questions asked. It's a budget supercar.
C8 is an amazing platform. I've got 9k miles on C8Z and more on C8 Stingray tracking a LOT! I've had no major problems.
Over the past few weeks and a trip to RVA to Savannah and back, I see a hell of a lot of them on the road now.
Still need prices to come down on pre-owned a bit more before I can make the 3/4-life crisis car purchase, but that is a LOT of car for the money.
I hope that you can (or did) test it with the track alignment. Most of the complaints about the car understeering were caused by the conservative alignment GM puts on them from the factory.
I'd still rather have a C7. They are great cars. They just don't fit my idea of a Corvette.
CAinCA said:I hope that you can (or did) test it with the track alignment. Most of the complaints about the car understeering were caused by the conservative alignment GM puts on them from the factory.
The cars we get from the preess fleet, sadly, do not have the track alignment, and corporate legal departments won't let us monkey with alignment settings on weekly loaners. I have driven C8s with the factory track settings (the C8 Z06 we tested had a track alignment) and agree that it does a LOT to turn the car into a far more well-balanced track machine. The stock alignment is all about patience bordering on frustration waiting for the front to develop grip so you can squeeze power and go, but the track alignment really makes the whole platform more tossable and more coherent.
theruleslawyer said:I'd still rather have a C7. They are great cars. They just don't fit my idea of a Corvette.
I hear that a decent amount, until they drive the C8 and their mind changes.
Displaying 1-9 of 9 commentsView all comments on the GRM forums
You'll need to log in to post.
