car and driver
2009 Chevrolet Corvette
Surely a big pushrod American V-8 growling epithets through twin exhaust pipes must have a drinking habit on par with Ike Turner’s. Certainly the massive tires that help make the Corvette into a dynamic worldbeater must create all sorts of mileage-killing rolling resistance. Hell, Vette owners probably run down chipmunks for sport and do burnouts over their shallow graves while opening canisters of Freon, such is their disdain for the environment and hatred of better citizens who drive hybrid vehicles. Surely, right? One problem: The Corvette gets better highway mileage than many hybrids, including the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, Lexus GS450h, Lexus LS600hL, Lexus RX400h, and Toyota Highlander hybrid.
Chevy’s secret? Torque, 428 pound-feet of it, that, when parlayed through a sixth gear so long it could stall many a lesser engine, allows the Vette to putter along on the highway at an engine speed that would be considered a high idle on most cars. The 6.2-liter V-8 also slingshots the Corvette—in its slowest form—to 60 mph in four seconds flat, within striking range of just about any speed machine made. Maybe 26 mpg isn’t fuel efficient to Vespa jockeys, but for a car with the Vette’s speed and fun potential, it’s untouchable.
2009 Chevrolet Corvette
Surely a big pushrod American V-8 growling epithets through twin exhaust pipes must have a drinking habit on par with Ike Turner’s. Certainly the massive tires that help make the Corvette into a dynamic worldbeater must create all sorts of mileage-killing rolling resistance. Hell, Vette owners probably run down chipmunks for sport and do burnouts over their shallow graves while opening canisters of Freon, such is their disdain for the environment and hatred of better citizens who drive hybrid vehicles. Surely, right? One problem: The Corvette gets better highway mileage than many hybrids, including the Chevy Tahoe hybrid, Lexus GS450h, Lexus LS600hL, Lexus RX400h, and Toyota Highlander hybrid.
Chevy’s secret? Torque, 428 pound-feet of it, that, when parlayed through a sixth gear so long it could stall many a lesser engine, allows the Vette to putter along on the highway at an engine speed that would be considered a high idle on most cars. The 6.2-liter V-8 also slingshots the Corvette—in its slowest form—to 60 mph in four seconds flat, within striking range of just about any speed machine made. Maybe 26 mpg isn’t fuel efficient to Vespa jockeys, but for a car with the Vette’s speed and fun potential, it’s untouchable.
