THE 1992 Corvette is offered as a two-door coupe and convertible in LT1 i
and a six-speed manuai transmission. Four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, traction contro!, and new Goodyear unidirectional high-performance radial

fered.

Greg
Wilson

SINCE 1953 the Corvette
has been North - America’s
answer to Ferrari, Jaguar,
Porsche and Mercedes, and
more recently, Acura,
Nissan, Mazda and Toyota.
As a symbol of North Ameri-
can engineering and styling exper-
tise, Corvettes have traditionally
showcased new technologies such
as fuel injection and disc brakes.
The 1992 Corvette LT1, for ex-
ample, is equipped with such

-31

or ZR-1 model designations. The standard powertrain is a 300-horsepower 5.7-litre V8 engine

tires are also of-

1992 Corvette LI] ~

Sports car demands a lot from driver, gives a lot in return

leading-edge technology as ASR
(traction control), variable-ride
control, and four-wheel anti-lock
brakes.

But in typical Corvette fashion,
the 1992 Corvette LT1 does with
brute force what other sports cars
do with precision. Heavy, power-
ful, imposing, and muscular-look-
ing, the Corvette LT} is still the
“*Hulk Hogan”’ of sports cars. It’s
unashamedly noisy, brutally fast
and has an uncompromisingly stiff
ride. The °92 Corvette demands a
lot from its driver, and gives a fot
in return. For some people, this is
what sports cars are all about. For
others it is the antithesis. -

The Corvette’s last major
makeover was in 1984, and
though it’s overdue for a change,
we probably won’t see an all-new
Corvette for another few years.

The '92 model receives a whop-
ping 22% increase in horsepower,
giving it even more impressive
straight-line performance. It has
the same 5.7-litre (350-cubic inch}
pushrod V8 engine as last year,
but improvements such as a
redesigned intake manifold have
squeezed out the extra 55 horse-
power. The basic design of the
§.7-litre V8 engine may go back
decades, but the rumbling, sporty
sounds of this engine are still
more impressive than the sew-

ing-machine-like sounds of the
Japanese rotaries and V6 engine.

To make sure all this extra
horsepower gets to the road, the
92 Corvette offers ASR (accelera-
tion siip regulation), a form of
traction control designed to im-
prove the Corvette’s acceleration
and stability in poor weather.
When one or both of the rear-
driving wheels begins to slip, the
ASR system automatically cuts
back on the throttle, retards the
spark, and/or applies the rear
brakes until traction has been
resumed.

During my test drive on a con-
trolled test track, [ found that
ASR activated at the first hint of
wheel slippage, even on dry sur-
faces. This has the same effect as
suddenly taking your foot off the
accelerator, and quickly reapply-
ing it. In my view, ASR is an ef-
fective tool for preventing loss of

Price as tested $46,368

Base price $40,398

Type two-door, two-passenger
hatchback sports car

Layout longitudinal front

traction and stecring control when
accelerating on very poor surfaces
like ice or mud.

But experienced drivers will
probably find ASR more of a
hindrance than a help in everyday
driving. Fortunately, the driver
has the option ef turning the ASR
off with a dash-mounted on/off
switch.

A six-speed manual transmis-
sion or a four-speed automatic
transmission are offered on the
Corvette. The manual box has
firm, direct. throws, but gear
whine and meshing sounds
emanate from -the transmission
under normal use. The six-speed
manual box automatically shifts
from first to fourth gear under
light acceleration to save fuel.
This is a feature that I’m sure
most Corvette owners would
rather not have.

Three shock absorber settings,

engine/rear wheel drive

Engine 5.7 1 OHV V8, elec-
tronic multi-port fuel injection
Horsepower 300 @ 4,800 rpm
Torque 320-Ibs-ft @ 4,000
rpm

Transmission six-speed manual
(four-speed automatic)

Tires P275/40ZR 17 Goodyear
Eagle GS C

Tour, Sport, and Performance,
ate available simply by twisting a
dial on the console. Even in the
softest setting, though, the ride on
the Corvette is still very stiff.

The Corvette offers standard
four-wheel disc brakes and ABS
(anti-lock braking), but I found
the brakes work exceptionally well
if you put lots of muscle into ap-
plying the brake pedal.

Wide Goodyear Eagle GS-C
high-performance radial tires are’
standard equipment. These feature
huge tread grooves and a V-
shaped iread pattern to help
disperse water from underneath
the tire’s wide ‘‘footprint.”’

The snug cockpit of the Cor-
vette features bright ‘yellow-on-
black numerals on the instruments
and controls. The driver is con-
. fronted with a huge, semi-circular

See Coupe's page 34

Curb weight 1,462 kg/3,223 Ibs
Wheelbase 2,443 mm/96.2 in
Length 4,535 mrm/178.5 in
Width 1,859 mm/74.0 in .
Height 1,186 mm/46.7 in

Fuel economy City: 14.5 1/100
kms/19 mpg Hwy: 8.5 1/
100kms/33 mpg

Warranty Complete 3° yrs/
60,000 kms