Almost a Classic: The 2005 Corvette
While the 2005 Chevy Corvette can’t technically be classified as a classic, there’s a lot of online debate as to whether it should be considered one.
Written by Serena Aburahma
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Few things are more American than a classic
Chevy
Corvette. In fact, a certain US president has had a hard time letting go of his Corvette since taking office. While the Corvette has been a proud piece of American car history, its reputation has slipped in the past few decades. Executives at GM took note and tried to make the 2005 Corvette reclaim its lost glory.
Corvette's history
The Corvette first debuted in 1953 as a concept car. It was designed under the leadership of Thomas Keating as a way to improve slumping sales.
The concept garnered a lot of attention and excitement. So much so that Chevy decided to bring it into production in 1953. These first-year corvettes are worth a pretty penny if you can find one today.
The Corvette hit its stride in the 1960s when it was featured in the 1960s TV show Route 66. In a way, it became a symbol of America: the open road and a sense of adventure.
Corvettes would continue to be widely popular throughout the ‘70s and ‘80s but would start to lose their footing in the ‘80s.
The fourth generation of Corvettes, known as C4, came out in 1984 to a lukewarm reception. It had a higher ground clearance and automatic transmission. While these are comfort features, they come at the expense of speed and a sporty aesthetic.
Additionally, the C4 Corvettes sacrificed power for affordability, earning it the moniker of a poor man's sports car.
The C5 generation debuted in 1997. To an extent, it was more of the same. It prioritized affordability and convenience over performance. For drivers who desire performance above all else, Chevy offered the Z06 option as a speedier choice.
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Specs of the 2005 Corvette
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For the C6 generation, Chevy designers took a new approach. Instead of designing a new car from scratch, they would rather improve elements from the C5. "We're not inventing, we're perfecting," chief Engineer Dave Hill told
Car and Driver
. You could say Chevy achieved that goal by making the C6 better than the C5 in just about every way. The C6 debuted in 2005 and won the hearts of most car critics. The C6 was just a bit shorter with a wider wheelbase. This wasn't done just for the sake of being lighter but is rather the result of extensive aerodynamic testing.
The results are impressive. The 2005 Corvette has a 0 to 60 mph of 4.3 and a standing quarter-mile of 12.7 seconds. The newly designed Corvette could beat any other sports car within $20,000 of its price point, and might even be able to outgun a Porsche 911 from the same year.
Should the 2005 Corvette be considered a classic?
With such an impressive reinventing of the Corvette, many have speculated if the 2005 Corvette should be considered a classic. This speculation has led to some fierce debates on countless internet forums.
In our humble opinion, it is far too early to tell. A car should be at least 30 years old before the "is it a classic?" debate should even start.
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