C8 Corvette Convertible

Technology What makes a car Good
1

i didn’t realize the convertible was a hardtop

the main issues for me with convertibles are:

1 - the fabric roof isn’t as quiet as metal roof

2 - convertible mechanism eats trunk space

but in the case of C8 corvette you don’t have either of those issues, because the roof is metal and it folds on top of the engine - not really affecting cargo space ( that is minimal to begin with ).

furthermore because the regular ( non convertible ) corvette also has removable roof it isn’t any more structurally sound than the convertible ( doesn’t have a solid structural roof ).

so the way i see it there is really no point in the regular corvette - might as well go for the convertible.

with the convertible you can fold the roof and still have cargo space. with the regular one if you remove the roof and put it in the trunk you now have no trunk. seems a clear win for the convertible.

honestly after seeing how trick that convertible mechanism is i was starting to think you kind of would have to be stupid not to get the convertible ?

or maybe not …

because i just realized the convertible mechanism completely blocks access to the engine so you can’t do any kind of maintenance !

at that rate might as well get a Panamera - at least in the Panamera you only can’t get to the air filter while in this corvette you can’t get to the whole engine !

2

here is how you access the engine:

there is also a “service mode” that always opens just the engine cover without moving the roof:

all in all - still not as bad as in a Porsche. and at least here there is a reason for it, whereas the Porsche just does it to fuck you over.

i also realized there is a benefit to the open roof that may not be immediately obvious - getting in and out is easier. although of course the weight penalty ( versus solid roof ) negates any performance benefits of having a lower roof line, but there is no solid roof option with Vette - only manually removable Targa top or convertible.

The downside with convertible ( versus Targa ) is you can’t see the engine.