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2008 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible - Under the Hood

As mid-cycle refreshes go, this one is pretty good, even if many of the changes aren’t noticeable to the naked eye. Pop the hood and you see improvement number one: the enhanced LS3 V-8 engine. Now at 6.2 liters of displacement, the new V-8 is rated at 430 horsepower and 424 lb.-ft. of torque thanks to new heads, an upgraded valvetrain, better intake manifold and a few other tweaks. A new dual-mode exhaust system is a $1,195 option, and ups power to 436 horses and torque to 428 lb.-ft.

Connected to this engine in our test car was Chevrolet’s new six-speed automatic transmission, which sports two important improvements for 2008. First, shift speed in the manual mode is improved, giving automatic-equipped cars a sportier feel and drivers better control. Second, the 2.73 performance axle ratio is now available on the automatic, giving the cars so equipped even sharper response off the line.

The Magnetic Ride Control on our test car lets drivers select between a Tour and Sport mode with a large dial on the center console. In practice, we felt little difference between the two on the road; even on rough pavement, the ride didn’t diminish significantly in Sport mode. The difference on a twisty mountain road is also hard to discern; to fully exploit this car’s dynamics, it needs to be on the relatively safe environment of a racetrack.

One expects a loose structure in a convertible, but the Corvette is amazingly stiff. This is thanks to a beefy structure that includes super-strong hydroformed frame rails. It also allows the Corvette’s suspension to do a better job of keeping the car planted on the road, rather than accommodating a flimsy chassis. As is tradition, the Corvette’s exterior panels are a lightweight composite, contributing to the car’s 3,246-pound curb weight.