2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Hot Lap! - 2017 Best Driver's Car Contender - video Dailymotion

MotorTrend

Pro driver Randy Pobst hot laps the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport around Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for Motor Trend's 2017 Best Driver's Car.

Transcript

00:00 (engine revving)

00:02 Question, when does a 460 horsepower Corvette feel slow?

00:14 Answer, when it's the Grand Sport

00:16 and entered in this year's Best Driver's Car competition.

00:20 First of all, the Grand Sport is one of the most

00:22 capable handling machines we've ever tested,

00:24 pulling 1.18 Gs of max grip

00:27 and running around our figure eight course

00:29 in an elite 22.3 seconds.

00:32 With all that grip comes the need for more power.

00:35 A 550 horsepower Grand Sport would split the difference

00:38 nicely between the 460 horsepower Stingray

00:41 and the bonkers 650 horsepower Z06.

00:45 Second of all, have you met this year's competition?

00:48 Let's see how this vet works on a racetrack.

00:51 (engine revving)

00:56 (engine revving)

00:59 Woo!

01:02 (engine revving)

01:08 Wow, this is not the Z06.

01:20 Sure sounds like one.

01:25 Oh yeah, I forgot, this is only 460 horsepower.

01:29 A lot of tire grip.

01:34 It's not like the power.

01:44 You know those easy power oversteer.

01:47 (engine revving)

01:53 (engine revving)

01:55 (engine revving)

01:58 (engine revving)

02:07 (engine revving)

02:14 (engine revving)

02:21 (engine revving)

02:23 One more.

02:34 The car's red, white, and blue.

02:41 How perfect for a Chevy Corvette.

02:43 This is a Grand Sport model

02:45 with the whole Z07 track package

02:47 from the big honk and supercharged car,

02:49 but it's the non-supercharged engine.

02:51 Still 450 something horsepower.

02:54 I went out in the Corvette in full-on race mode.

02:57 It had snap oversteer and entry oversteer,

03:00 and I felt like I was wrestling alligators.

03:02 I just wasn't happy.

03:04 I hit the switch, put it over in sport on the shocks,

03:08 which softens up the shock absorbers.

03:10 The softer setting changed the whole experience.

03:13 Suddenly the Corvette was like a big Labrador retriever

03:16 I'm petting in my lap.

03:17 It was a puppy dog.

03:18 And I could run it hard and aggressively

03:21 and take advantage of what's really incredible

03:23 about Corvettes, the braking.

03:25 It stops so well.

03:27 Strong bite, stays there every lap,

03:29 hauls the speed down.

03:31 In the sport mode on the shocks,

03:33 I could just lay that thing in the corner.

03:34 It was a friendly car.

03:36 Kids, the Grand Sport is quick on the racetrack.

03:39 It's not only quicker than a Lexus LFA or an Acura NSX,

03:42 but that is quicker than a Ferrari 458 Italia.

03:46 Impressive.

03:47 Brandy's big gripe was that the rear suspension

03:49 goes all kablooey when in track mode.

03:51 His solution was to put the suspension in sport mode

03:54 and turn everything off.

03:55 The problem with that for us mere mortals

03:57 is that GM's brilliant

03:59 Performance Traction Management System, or PTM,

04:02 is only available if the car's in track mode.

04:04 As great to drive as the Grand Sport is,

04:07 there are six cars we liked better.

04:09 Seventh place.

04:10 (dramatic music)

04:13 (dramatic music)

04:16 (dramatic music)

04:18 (dramatic music)

04:22 (dramatic music)

04:25 you

2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Hot Lap! - 2017 Best Driver's Car Contender

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