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The anniversary package also bundles a number of desirable options —
Magnetic Selective Ride Control; a heads-up display; memory for the
driver seat, steering wheel and outside mirrors; an auto-dimming
rearview and driver-side mirror; and power telescoping adjustment for
the steering wheel. Of these items, only Magnetic Selective Ride
Control is new, and it's basically a more advanced version of Selective
Real Time Damping, which has been offered in one form or another since
1989. Still, it's an intriguing system, whereby monotube shock
absorbers are filled with magneto-rheological fluid that responds to
wheel and body motion by altering the current to an electromagnetic
coil inside each shock piston — the result, according to Chevrolet, is
continuously variable damping. Drivers have two rather than three modes
to choose from with this system — "Touring," which delivers a smooth,
absorptive ride, and "Sport," which automatically firms up the damper
settings for better roll control when cornering.

VENICIAN VETTE AUTO Still,
there was room inside GM for dreams even if there wasn't any room for
whimsy. Harley J. Earl, GM's chief designer (formally the head of the
Art and Color Section) and the man who invented the "concept car" with
the 1938 Buick Y-Job, was in charge of the corporation's ambitious
musings. In the fall of 1951, Earl began ruminating about an open
sports car that would sell for around the price of a mainstream
American sedan — about $2,000. His ideas were rather nebulous, but he
handed those notions over to Robert F. McLean, the concept came into
focus and a concept car emerged.

Determined to keep costs down, McLean used off-the-shelf Chevy
mechanical components. The chassis and suspension were for all intents
and purposes the 1952 Chevy sedan's, with the drivetrain and passenger
compartment shoved rearward to achieve a 53/47 front-to-rear weight
distribution over its 102-inch wheelbase. The engine was essentially
the same dumpy inline six that powered all Chevys but with a
higher-compression ratio, triple Carter side-draft carbs and a more
aggressive cam that hauled its output up to 150 horsepower. Fearful
that no Chevy manual transmission could handle such extreme power (and
there were no four-speeds in GM's inventory), a two-speed Powerglide
automatic was bolted behind the hoary six. And to keep tooling costs in
line, the body was made out of fiberglass instead of steel.

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VENICIAN PARTS: But this is about more than traction and
stability control systems. The 505-hp Corvette Z06 also has these same
well-tuned systems, yet we have it on good authority that the Z06 still
wants us dead. Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter euphemistically
refers to this particular Z06 trait as "itching for a fight all the
time." We note that "fight" is at a different location, yet on the same
continuum of violence as "homicide."

Around the 'Ring Is Cozy

Most of our experience driving the Master of all Corvettes came at
GM's proving grounds in Milford, Michigan. Specifically, we spent
nearly the entire day perspiring as we drove around the Milford Road
Course (MRC), a wicked little road course designed to trip up car and
driver. It's also called the Lutzring, because "ring" sounds cool and
German and because it's shaped exactly like Bob Lutz's pancreas.

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Small Block, No Extra Charge

And there would be no Corvette without the small-block V8. True,
there have been moments of great embarrassment in the long history of
the Corvette and its pushrod V8. There was the disgraceful 1970s
small-block that wheezed out a total of 165 horsepower. And all by
itself, the 1982 Corvette V8 represents some kind of low.

Yet aside from these instances plus the occasional sniping from
those who insist on having cams on top of their valves, the small-block
Chevy V8 has been the Corvette's greatest asset. And what an asset that
motor has become in the form of the new-for-2008 LS3. Bored out to 6.2
liters (from last year's 6.0), the new-generation Corvette engine pumps
out a rousing 430 hp at 5,900 rpm. That's 30 hp more than last year.
Just as important, the new motor churns up 424 pound-feet of torque at
4,600 rpm — 24 lb-ft more than the LS2.

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VENICIAN CORVETTE: The seats are in more desperate need of
upgrading than any other part of the car. Too soft, too wide and too
unsupportive, they need to be replaced with proprietary Recaro items
like Cadillac uses in the CTS-V.

But there is some good here. Like the fact that the Corvette's
chassis (equipped with a targa top as standard equipment) doesn't seem
to mind the obvious structural compromise. In fact, leave the top in
place and you'll never know this isn't a fixed-roof car. Take it out
and you've got genuine open-air motoring accompanied by a V8 score.