The dash was redesigned and uses a combination of textured plastic, vinyl, and aluminum that looks and feels like high-quality stuff. The new seats feature a longer bottom cushion, have supportive bolsters, and hold the driver in place far better than the old ones. We had two major complaints about the old car: The drab, monochromatic interior had a cheapness you wouldn't accept in a Cavalier, and the seats felt flat and flimsy. The run-flat tires remain, but Juechter says Goodyear softened the sidewalls to improve ride quality.

The wheels grew an inch in diameter, with 18-inchers up front and 19s in back. The front caster angle is up one degree for better straight-line stability, the anti-roll-bar mounts are stiffer, the bushings have been revised, and the spring and damping rates have been modified. With new shock absorbers, the length of travel is increased by 0.3 inch in front and 0.8 inch in back. The gear linkage of the six-speed manual transmission has been updated for shorter throws and a more precise feel. It has 50 more horsepower and 25 more pound-feet of torque (40 more pound-feet in automatics), elevating the output to 400 in both departments, with the redline increasing by 500 clicks to 6500 rpm, the same limit as in the old Z06. The basics are quite sweet: A 2.6-millimeter increase of the bore bumped displacement from 5.7 to 6.0 liters. Then there's the engine (also detailed in a sidebar, ' The Small-Block Keeps Chugging Along'). The body is still fiberglass, but the design team spent hours in a wind tunnel searching for ways to reduce both drag and wind noise (see sidebar ' Aero Tricks'). The Corvette has shed its extravagant proportions for a body that's much leaner and looks more aggressive. The wide rear flanks have been trimmed an inch. It's now a tidier package-shrunk by 5.1 inches and riding on a wheelbase 1.2 inches longer. And perfect they did, making a mix of dramatic and detail changes to the C5 and creating a Corvette that's better in every way.

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