A couple of months ago GM announced the 2015 Corvette Stingray will be launched with an all-new 8-speed automatic transmission, replacing the old and frankly rubbish 6-speeder in the 2014 models. They have no revealed the performance and economy figures of this 8-speed Corvette, and they are pretty good.
If we cut right to the chase, the GM-developed Hydra-Matic 8L90 eight-speed automatic in the 8-Speed Corvette Stingray 2015 results in 0-60 acceleration of only 3.7 seconds and an EPA-estimated 29 mpg on the highway. That is with the standard 460 horsepower from the LT1 V8, but rivals the performance of the 620-hp Z06 model.
It is worth mentioning that GM’s transmission is a single-clutch design, but it performs almost as good as the best dual-clutch units on comparable supercars. That brutal acceleration is mainly due to sophisticated gearing ratio which enhances off-the-line performance with a more aggressive first gear ratio – 4.56 vs. 4.03 on the six-speed.
Some people may find the advantages of the 8-Speed Corvette Stingray in terms of economy more important. After all, this V8 muscle car outperforms most European competitors such as Porsche 911 Carrera (28 mpg), Audi R8 V-8 (20 mpg), Jaguar F-Type R (23 mpg) or the Japanese Nissan GT-R (23 mpg). That is remarkable, to say the least.
“The Corvette Stingray is a great example of how we are leveraging engineering and technology to improve both efficiency and performance,” said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing & Supply Chain. “No other car can match 460 horsepower, 0-60 mph in better than 3.7 seconds, and 29 mpg on the highway.”
