Top Gear’s Jeremy Clarkson has never been particularly fond of American cars. Sure he likes some, he even owned a Ford GT, but he is never overly kind to them in his reviews. This is somewhat understandable, as some American cars just make the most sense right here in the U.S. of A. So can you guess what he thought about the new C7-generation Corvette?
If you can believe it, Clarkson actually loved the C7. We’ve seen the Corvette win numerous awards from North American publications and receive praise from almost everybody who has driven it, so this really isn’t all that surprising.
He starts off praising the new ‘Vette’s exterior. There is no Corvette which is particularly ugly, but Clarkson says this one “is a masterpiece,” and “one of the most beautifully proportioned cars,” he’s ever seen.
This wouldn’t be a Clarkson review without a few quips about the car’s American roots. He says the cubby hole located behind the car’s touch-screen is “easily big enough for a Bible and a small pistol,” and also notes that the Corvette has remained the same in multiple ways, including in its pushrod, two-valve engine and fiberglass body panels.
Most importantly, the long-time Top Gear presenter somewhat jokingly acknowledges the Corvette can “go round corners. Both kinds — left and right,” a fact he learned driving it on the Top Gear test track at the Dunsfold Aerodrome during his time with the car.
The only problem with the Stingray for a UK buyer is its £64,540 ($108,959 USD) price tag. As you probably know, you can get a Stingray in the U.S. for less than half that, making the Corvette’s price tag a sign of “blatant profiteering,” Clarkson says. The upside is that it’s still £16,000 ($27,011 USD) less than a Jaguar F-Type V8, which Clarkson warned “is not as good.”
The C7 Corvette has been getting the thumbs up from American automotive publications all year long, and it appears that for the most part, Britain agrees with their conclusions. Click here for Clarkson’s entire take on the C7 Corvette.
Comments
Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeea right! I’ll believe it when i see the footage of him saying it or expressing it from the episode that i’m guessing this was a part of.
No surprise as Clarkson also loved the ZR1 two years ago. He did not like the interior and said it was made by fat men in Kentucky but he just loved how it drove and handled.
He may just be a closet American after all like he accuses Richard of being. LOL!
He Says logical things
The Corvette each passing generation’s best sports and has always offered at a good price.
It is practically the best product that General Motors offers
Regards From Spain
This is why Corvette should be a global brand separate from Chevy outside the US.
Firstly, most Chevy buyers do not like a car like Spark with Vette, so the notion of it being a halo car stopped being realistic years ago. This is even more true in the developing world with cars like Orlando and Sail.
Also, Vette should be offering a small lineup. It has all the makings of a “poor man’s Porche”. A four seater would be great as would a possible sedan. These cars could be aimed at Alpha Romano with the C7 beating 4C.
In China, sell Corvette with either BUICK or Caddy.depending on the demographic research. In the EU, sell along side Opel filling the former Manta slot.
I love Corvette, want to see it grow and take on a more realistic sales approach.
Higher price of the Corvette in England is due to currency valuations between the British Pound and the US Dollar not ‘Blatant profiteering’. A Bentley costs more in the UK than in the US in US Dollars!
Clarkson’s European socialist bent is ever present and always annoying.
A Ford GT , NOT A GT40 . The GT was the modern day successor to the GT40 and only looked like the GT40 .
No big surprise, as clarkson liked the outgoing model. But one must give Clarkson alot praise for being blunt about US sports cars. Truth be told i personally doubt the C7 would be as good as it is if not for the US car bashing from Clarkson himself.
Truth is much of what he said was true. Overuse of cheap plastics, shoty build quality and the list goes on. As GM is still in a bit of termoil from its internal ‘culture’ of poor business ethics. Recalls, deaths and utter denial of reality still after going bankrupt. The problem was simple. too many over paid old people in the top seats reluctant relinquish there positions, and a generation of brain washed buyers still believing the next new car must pay homage to a 1960’s bygone era. Thats always more over glorified from the reality that it truly was. The C7 breaks the misgotten tradition because todays buyers know better, and more importantly know the truth. So the wool maybie was pulled over dads eyes but not his kids. The corvette either grew up or would be put down. Clarkson understood the failure of american manufactures and put it out for the world to see, embarrasingly truthful. Unbelievably GM got the ball rolling by getting the corvette back into racing. And from C5 to C6 created a winning dynasty in the racing series that matters, lemans. Becuase of the racing versions the road versions got better and vice versa, but the C7 is a leap into modern times. no more 1960’s loud straight line muscle car antics. Corvette needed to grow up and they actually did it. sometimes a company gota hit rock bottom before people realise the truth, and get rid off all the bad apples that did little more than collect big checks.
I can’t wait to see how he feels about the new zo6 and where it places on their lap time board