American Muscle; just two words. But words that conjure up the images of some of the most iconic cars in the history of motoring. In terms of application though, muscle cars were pretty straightforward- quarter-mile numbers. Out of the many though, there was one that decided to not just up the game but flip it on its head- Chevrolet Corvette, fondly known as the ‘Vette. That was not always the case. I have been a fan as well, of course. But this is one car that has eluded me for a long time. Finally, during the #xBhpPowerTour 2023, I drove one in Dubai. 

Again, it is not easy to get one’s hands on the Corvette. And again, thanks to One Click Drive for making it possible. The one that I got my hands on was a 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. The Stingray moniker though has not been there in all generations. The first Stingray was the C2 generation (1963) and it redefined the classic muscle car design. The C3 Corvette also had the moniker but not throughout. Then came the C7 in 2014 which revived the Stingray branding. And finally, the Corvette C8 that I got to drive. 

Ever since the C8 generation of the Corvette came out, we have been trying to get our hands on it. In the end, we found one to rent on One Click Drive in Dubai. Thanks to the ease and affordability, we had our hands on a ‘23 Corvette Stingray in no time. The fleet is massive and the cars are in immaculate condition; that is why One Click Drive is all you need to make your supercar dreams come true.

The Stingray branding is not the only special thing about the C8 though. There is more. Before that let us go back to how the Corvette changed the muscle car game. The first generation (C1) Corvette was just designed to be a simple 2-seater sports car (kinda). It looked beautiful but it was not going to take the fight to European sports cars. But that is what the folks at Chevrolet wanted to do. So, starting from the C4, the emphasis was on handling. Consistent improvements meant that the C4, C5, C6, and C7 generations were able to achieve that. Moreover, the Z06 and ZR1 performance variants were even better. Even then, something was amiss. 

You see, most European sports cars and supercars had their engines in the back which was a huge advantage. No matter how good the ‘Vettes were, this was an advantage that was hard to top. So finally, Chevrolet decided to commit to their supercar and do something almost sacrilegious when it came to muscle cars. The Corvette C8 became the first rear mid-engine ‘Vette. Sacrilege or not, it worked wonders. The Corvette was now a supercar, and now, a proper one at that. 

After that history lesson, let us talk about the car at hand. First off, it is beautiful. To me, it is just about the perfect supercar. Sharp lines, sleek front, bold haunches and picture-perfect proportions. It has the performance to back the supercar looks and on top of all that, it is a rather practical car as well. Due to the placement of the engine, you have storage in both the front and the back. The cabin is spacious and utterly beautiful, especially in the Adrenaline Red trim to celebrate the 70th Anniversary of the Corvette. 

The real deal though is when you start her up. The 6.2 litre naturally-aspirated V8 is a thing of beauty and boy does it sing! Even when it is idling, the rumble coming from the back of your head is intoxicating. Put the pedal to the metal and it tells you what nearly 500 pissed-off horses should sound like. Select Sport Mode, use the pedal shifters to engage the first gear and if you dare, floor it. If you do, it gets you to 60 mph from a standstill in almost 3 seconds flat! If you don’t care about the numbers, let me tell you that it is fury incarnate. 

The 8-speed DCT transmission does a great job of keeping the power flowing seamlessly. Also, the downshifts are just as much fun as the upshifts when you are going gung-ho. You’d find yourself doing that just to hear the engine rev-match as you downshift. And then there’s the priority of later ‘Vettes- handling. The C8 Stingray handled like a dream. You just point where you want it to go and it obliges. Despite 630 newton-metres of tyre-shredding torque being sent to the rear wheels, the C8 Stingray’s aerodynamics ensure that the rear wheels break traction only due to human error or… human desire.

Overall, driving the C8 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was not just a dream come true, but also a testament to why the ‘Vette is regarded as one of the best supercars out there. It looks like a million bucks, it sounds like a billion bucks, it goes like bats out of hell, and despite that, it neither breaks the back nor the bank. The retractable hardtop further enhances the sheer pleasure of driving this exhilarating piece of automobile. 

While many may say that with the engine placement, the Corvette is no longer a muscle car. In my books though, it still is and always will be a muscle car and then some. One can nitpick if they want but the C8 is a seriously impressive supercar, perhaps the best series production supercar to come out of the US of A.