30 years between friends (and Corvettes

They sure don’t build them like they used to. And if you’re talking about the straight-up comparison between a 1975 Corvette and a new model, that’s probably a very good thing.

Why are we talking about two seemingly related cars that are separated by 30-plus years of technology?

A friend called the other day to say he had found an absolutely immaculate 1975 Corvette and was in the process of negotiating the purchase. When he called, I was in the middle of writing a story about the current Chevrolet lineup. As he was describing his find, I just happened to be looking at a spec sheet that read 6.2 liters, 430 horsepower, 3,180 pounds and 29 mpg for a new Corvette.

My friend and I agreed that 1975 wasn’t the proudest moment in the history of “America’s sports car” what with the advent of bumper and emission regulations, but he was happy with his catch.

But a quick check of the specs for the 1975 Corvette showed just how far we have come in the intervening trio of decades. Back then, the Corvette was a portly 3,569 pounds and had a 5.7-liter engine producing a paltry 205 horsepower (that was a high-output model . . . standard ’Vettes were rated at a weak 165).

Not only does today’s equivalent car produce almost exactly twice the power, it weighs 500 pound less, goes more than double the distance on the same gallon of gas while producing exhaust emissions that are a mere trace of those from the 1975 model year.

A comparison of braking and handling is just as shocking. The standard street tire on the new car is far stickier than a full-fledged racing tire from 1975, dry or wet. It will also last two to three times longer and provide a much smoother and quieter ride. The added grip from modern tires means brakes generate, and have to dissipate, monstrous amounts of heat and energy. Yet, today’s Corvette will stop in about half the distance and do so all day long without fade or even close to the same wear.

Put a stock new Corvette on a race track alongside the old and the combination of more power, stronger brakes, reduced weight and suspension advances become even more evident.