Is The Chevrolet Corvette A Proper Muscle Car?

By [http://ezinearticles.com/?expert=Johnathon_Valentine]Johnathon Valentine

A definition of "muscle car" is:

"An automobile with a high horse power engine and modest weight that is capable of producing high levels of acceleration."

Does a Corvette meet those standards? Is the Chevy Corvette a proper muscle car?

Let's explore below...

Let us take, as an example, the 1968 Chevrolet Corvette "Sting Ray".

This muscle car was produced between 1968 and 1982 and was the "C3" version of the marque.
The engine sizes available were the "small block" 350 cubic inch (5.7 liter) and the "big block" 454 cu. in. (7.4 liter). These engines produced accordingly 370 horsepower and 425 horsepower.
Are those engines with high horsepower levels? Yes..we can tick that box !

Right, the Corvette's massive horsepower levels meet the first criterion but how about that "modest weight" tag?

Again we will use the 1968 Corvette as our target vehicle. This car was produced with a curb weight of: 3210 lbs (1.456 tonnes)which gives us the following measurements:

5.7 liter : 254 hp per tonne

7.4 liter : 292 hp per tonne

A low curb weight and high horsepower certainly gives a good power to weight rating.
Right.. massive horsepower, low weight and high horsepower per tonne should translate into some respectable acceleration times.

No? Oh but YES!

The "small block" 1968 Corvette (according to Car Life magazine of June 1968) returned:

0-60 mph : 8.6 seconds

The "big block" returned:

0-60 mph : 6.5 seconds

The maximum top speed recorded by a C3 Corvette was 142 mph

OK they may not seem big figures nowadays but remember these figures were from 40 years ago!
The brand new Chevrolet Corvette that is due in 2009 is allegedly able to break the 200 miles per hour barrier. Now, that, in my opinion IS most definitely a muscle car.

John Valentine has an abiding passion for American Muscle Cars and the depth of his feelings can be felt at his Squidoo lenses http://www.squidoo.com/Corvettes1953_2008

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Johnathon_Valentine http://EzineArticles.com/?Is-The-Chevrolet-Corvette-A-Proper-Muscle-Car?&id=1037929

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