Green cars are all the rage lately so I figured I'd share my recent test drive of a 2014 C7 Corvette. I've been looking to drive one for a little while but there hasn't been any local with the options I'm looking for. Then a search result popped up 1.5 hours away, a little far, but wait a second...
Limerock Green paint, Z51 Performance package, Magnetic ride, Carbon top, Competition seats AND Brownstone interior?! This thing is LOADED. Simply put, an amazing C7 spec that could only be ordered in 2014.


There was no doubt in my mind now, I had to take it for a spin. It would be my first time driving a C7. Oh, and it was in January... shortly after a snowfall.
Shortly after arriving at the dealer, and without warning ANYONE, the salesman started the car up in the showroom. This poor lady sitting with another salesman jumped out of her seat as the car cracked to life. Up until this point, I was worried the green was going to be underwhelming from looking (ok, oogling) at the dealer pics above. As it rolled into the sunlight, I realized I couldn't have been more wrong.

After getting the car on a lift and checking it out, it was time to drive. Thankfully the roads weren't too messy from snow/salt and I was able to drive it out without concern. The salesman wanted me to stick to a boring 2 lane main road so naturally I took a right onto a backroad as soon as possible and threw it in Sport mode. The exhaust valves opened up and my passenger-now-hostage nervously grabbed the "Oh shit" handle. Needless to say, I didn't drive all that way to putt-putt from stoplight to stoplight.
The car handled the curvy backroads without complaint and the gates of the 7 speed gearbox were intuitive immediately, possibly helped by the MGW short shifter already installed. Having gobs of torque on demand, you could shift from 2nd to 6th or 7th and cruise along if one desired.
The steering was a slight letdown only because I'm used to the feedback of hydraulic racks. Going from a C5Z to a C7 is worlds apart but I still love how visceral the C5Z was. I did notice the C7 did not tramline as badly but this could have been due to the roads I was on. Brakes were amazing, as expected. The car was incredibly composed in the freezing temps, didn't even trigger traction control once.
Buuuuut I didn't put any money down. It was a one-owner car, but no service records over 50k miles? Not exactly confidence inspiring. And after enough questions, the dealer divulged having to recondition all four wheels AND the front of the car so it sounded like the previous owner parked by feel most of the time. A few other things here and there, but could have been normal for the age/mileage/abuse. Didn't let emotion take over the purchasing decision this time and as a wise Oppo told me, there are other Stingrays in the sea.