page_title: Chevrolet Corvette
section_title: Fifth generation (C5; 1997–2004)
hierarchical_section_title: Chevrolet Corvette / History / Fifth generation (C5; 1997–2004)
caption_attribution_description: This picture was taken with my digital camera allowed by en:Wikipedia:Images and altered with Adobe Photoshop and AfterFX for smoke effect.
context_page_description: The Chevrolet Corvette, colloquially known as the "Vette", is a two-door, two-passenger sports car manufactured and marketed by Chevrolet across more than 60 years of production and eight design generations. From 1953 to 2019, it was front-engined, and since 2020, it is mid-engined. With its generations noted sequentially from C1 to C8, the Corvette serves as Chevrolet's halo vehicle and is widely noted for its performance and distinctive plastic—either fiberglass or composite—bodywork.
  In 1953, when GM executives were looking to name the new Chevrolet sports car, assistant director for the Public Relations department Myron Scott suggested Corvette after the small maneuverable warship—and the name was approved. The first model, a convertible, was introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept and was followed ten years later by the 1963 second generation, in coupe and convertible styles. Originally manufactured in Flint, Michigan, as well as St. Louis, Missouri, the Corvette has been manufactured since 1981 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
  The Corvette has since become widely known as "America's Sports Car."
context_section_description: The C5 was the most completely redesigned Corvette since the Corvette's inception in 1953.  Production of the C5 Corvette actually began in 1996 but quality/manufacturing issues saw its release to the public in mass delayed until 1997, and continuing through the 2004 model year.  The C5 was a completely new design that featured many new concepts and manufacturing breakthroughs that would be carried forward to the C6 & C7.  It had a top speed of 176 mph (283 km/h) and was judged by the automotive press as a breakthrough with vastly improved dynamics in nearly every area over the previous C4 design.  Innovations included a 0.29 drag coefficient, near 50/50 weight distribution, active handling (the first ever stability control for a Corvette).  It also weighed less than the C4.
  An all new LS1 aluminum engine (Gen III small block) featured individual ignition coils for each cylinder, and aluminum block and pistons. It was initially rated at 345 bhp (257 kW) and 350 lb⋅ft (470 N⋅m), but was increased to 350 bhp (260 kW) in the 2001 edition. The new engine, combined with the new body, was able to achieve up to 28 mpg on the highway.
  For its first year, the C5 was available only as a coupe, although the new platform was designed from the ground up to be a convertible, which returned in 1998, followed by the fixed-roof coupe (FRC) in 1999. One concept for the FRC was for it to be a stripped-down model with a possible V6 engine (nicknamed in-house as the "Billy Bob"). By 2000, FRC plans laid the groundwork for the return in 2001 of the Z06, an RPO option not seen since Zora's 1963 race-ready Corvette.
  The Z06 model replaced the FRC model as the highest performance C5 Corvette. Instead of a heavier double-overhead cam engine like the ZR-1 of the C4 generation, the Z06 used an LS6, a 385 bhp (287 kW) derivative of the standard LS1 engine. Using the much more rigid fixed roof design allowed the Z06 unprecedented handling thanks to upgraded brakes and less body flex. Those characteristics, along with the use of materials such as a titanium exhaust system and a carbon fiber hood in the 2004 model year, led to further weight savings and performance gains for the C5 Z06. The LS6 was later upgraded to 405 bhp (302 kW)for 2002–2004. Although the Z06's rated power output equal to that of the C4 ZR-1, the improved rigidity, suspension, brakes, and reduced weight of the C5 produced a car quicker than C4 ZR-1.
caption: Corvette Z06
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