2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray / Z51

The seventh generation of the American icon has finally arrived.

“Iconic.” It’s possibly the word most overused in the last decade. Randomly applied to everything from ’70s television has-beens to retail establishments, and from shoes to athletes, it’s been rendered practically meaningless. But in the case of the Corvette, the word still carries the weight of a blacksmith’s anvil.

Love it or hate it, for more than 50 years, the Vette has unapologetically stood as a universal symbol for homegrown American performance. So when Chevrolet announces it has a new one in the pipe, people get weird. Rumors of mid-mounted engines, piles of carbon fiber, and turbocharging swirl. But now that the drapes have finally sloughed off the 2014 C7 Corvette Stingray—yes, the famed name returns on the base car—we have only truth.

As we surmised weeks ago, the 2014 C7 Corvette takes more of an evolutionary philosophy—although it shares just two parts with the outgoing car—while also sprinkling in some revolutionary details. The C7’s body casts much the same shadow as did the C6’s, but the new car is peppered with more-pronounced creases, larger and more numerous vents, and an angrier front fascia and headlamp treatment. In the front three-quarter view, the tiny hint of Maranello we previously noticed in the C7’s nose is clearly evident.

Both the hood and roof are constructed of carbon fiber. The profile is visceral; a stretching, sinewy form emphasized by the subdued B-pillar and a rakish backlight. There's also a rear quarter window. But the stylistic element likely to draw the most commentary is the treatment of the taillamps; although the quad-lens presentation follows Corvette tradition, the new lights' rhomboid shape and the dogleg cutout in which they reside are certain to be polarizing. For their part, Chevrolet says they wanted them “not only to say ‘Corvette, but new Corvette.’ ” A quartet of trumpet-like exhaust pipes exit from the center of the rear fascia, one of the few details made clear in the numerous spy photos we published over the last year.

A naturally aspirated Gen V small-block 6.2-liter pushrod V-8 sits under the hood; it spins a rear-mounted transaxle via an aluminum torque tube. Dubbed the LT1, GM estimates the engine will make 450 horsepower and 450 lb-ft in base form, making it the most powerful standard Corvette to date and our (and GM's) early estimate has 0–60 times clocking in at less than four seconds. Cylinder deactivation is standard, even with the manual transmission, and Chevy says the C7 will best the C6's 26-mpg EPA highway estimate. Two active exhaust systems are available; the base setup uses its active valves to tame noise during four-cylinder cruising. An optional dual-mode system has extra valves that open a less-restricted path for airflow to both increase performance and sound bad-ass.

Transmission options are a six-speed automatic or seven-speed Tremec manual—yes, a seven-speed unit, with four shift gates. The manual transmission also features active rev-matching on both down- and upshifts courtesy of patented GM technology. We’re told that it’s fully defeatable for when you’re in the mood to blip yourself. A Z51 performance package will bring an electronically controlled limited-slip diff; closer gear ratios for the manual gearbox; dry-sump lubrication to prevent oil starvation in racetrack settings; additional cooling for the brakes, differential, and gearbox; larger brakes; and aerodynamic bits to increase high-speed stability. Z51s also get 19-by-8.5-inch front and 20-by-10-inch rear wheels and tires, up from the standard 18-by-8.5- and 19-by-10-inch package. Michelin Pilot Super Sport run-flats were developed specifically for the C7.

Chevrolet Hopes 2014 Corvette Will Spark Brand Boost

By Jeff Bennett and Joseph B. White

DETROIT—General Motors Co. on Sunday took the wraps off a seventh-generation Chevrolet Corvette sports car that the company hopes will become the poster child for a 2013 product blitz designed to buff GM’s top-selling Chevrolet line.

Chief Executive Dan Akerson and North America chief Mark Reuss have presided over GM’s return to record profitability in its home market but haven’t been able to halt a market share slide. The auto maker finished last year with just 17.9% of U.S. car and light truck sales, the lowest level since the 1930s, amid a paucity of new models.

“We squandered the market position we had in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s,” Mr. Akerson said. “Now we have to get it back.”

Putting Chevrolet back on car shopping lists in America and overseas is the linchpin of GM’s strategy. Chevrolet accounts for 70% of the auto maker’s vehicle sales in the U.S.

The 2014 Corvette will carry the “Stingray” name for the first time since the 1970s—harking back to a classic generation of the car that inspired many of today’s target customers—Baby Boomers in their 50s, when they were in their teens.

The entry level 2014 Corvette will have a 450-horsepower, V-8, a 0-60 time below four seconds, and will use lightweight materials, including carbon fiber in the roof and aluminum in the frame, to deliver better fuel economy than the departing model’s 25 miles per gallon in highway driving.

“We want to reinforce the fact that it is a halo product and tie it closely to the Chevrolet brand,” said Chevy vice president for marketing Chris Perry.

The new Corvette will also offer options designed to help drivers perform better when racing the car on a track, including software that will automatically match the engine’s speed to the gear that the driver wants to select.

The car’s interior also is getting what GM officials describe as a significant upgrade, responding to complaints from owners of the sixth-generation car that the quality of materials and styling in the car didn’t match its price, or the sophistication of rival European sports cars.

GM hasn’t announced prices for the new Corvette. The current model starts at just under $50,000.

With the U.S. Treasury preparing to sell its remaining GM shares during the coming year, Mr. Akerson is under pressure to rev up sales and profit in the U.S., particularly since Mr. Akerson says GM’s European operations aren’t likely to generate profit until the middle of this decade.