MotorMouths

The Corvette Z06 is one of the best cars in the world. This is an extraordinary machine. Drive one if you can.

The Corvette Z06 really isn’t a car that comes across as practical. It was never meant to be that way. It’s a high-performance baseball bat that requires a careful wielding all the time. But if you’re willing to give it the attention it demands, it’s worth every second.

What’s the hottest Corvette convertible ever made in the ’Vette’s storied 58-year history? If we’re talking production models, then it would be the 2011 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible.

When it comes to performance, the 2012 Chevrolet Corvette is one of the world’s best bargains. A lack of refinement proves you get what you pay for, but since you get a whole lot of old-school American muscle, that should be more than enough for many.

GM is going with a less is more mentality for its all-new Z06 Carbon Limited Edition Corvette. You get the look, feel, sound, and most of the capabilities of the ZR1 without the six-figure price tag.

Sure, the 2011 Corvette needs a new interior and better seats, and it’s not the world’s most practical car. But find a nice stretch of unmolested asphalt and wind the exhaust to 11, and you might find that you just don’t care.

The 2013 Corvette accelerates and handles as you’d expect: very, very well. Inside, the Corvette shows a bit of why it costs so little for so much performance, however.

Today’s ‘Vette is a badass sports car. It’s not hard to get a sense of this car’s seriousness. But “serious” isn’t quite the adjective that comes to mind when you slip inside — the better descriptor for the cabin is “dated.”

Serious driving enthusiasts would be hard-pressed to get more performance at thrice the price of a 2011 Chevrolet Corvette.

For a relatively modest premium, Chevy has one-upped itself. Anyone looking to Europe for a real performance machine would be foolish not to take a look a the 2011 Corvette Grand Sport.

The 2011 Corvette Grand Sport convertible costs a lot of dough, but not when you consider how much performance you’re buying. It’s different from almost any other car you can think of and is arguably the ultimate expression of “good ole American Iron.”

While most of the Grand Sport’s lofty performance can’t be truly realized anywhere but on a race track—an environment where the steering in Corvettes seems to come alive and all their power can be utilized—the GS convertible is easy to drive and more than capable for day-to-day running.