Turning heads with the 2021 Corvette Stingray

You know you have hit on a winner when you have people literally stopping on the street and running up to you in parking lots to just get a look at the car you are driving.

Such was the tale when I took the 2021 Corvette Stingray Coupe 2LT out for the week.

Of course, great power and acceleration with a downside of bad visibility – but such is the price you pay for such a badass car.

The competition for the 2021 Corvette Stingray includes the likely suspects such as the Porsche 911 Carrera and the Jaguar F-Type, but truth be told, each one has its own charm and style so you are really choosing apples to oranges if you even try.

For the Corvette Stingray crowd new features in 2021 include the wireless compatibility for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and an adaptive suspension – the latter only available on the Z51 package though.

Under the hood is where you will find the meat  and let us not forget the engine is behind the seats on this one too. The horsepower comes in at 490 with 465 pound feet of torque. We are looking at a 0 to 60 in about three seconds depending on the driver.

Since the engine is now behind the seat this corvette screams performance and it will give you just that. Plus, it can compete in that category with an exotic feel for less the cost than some of the pricier alternatives.

While there are three different trims, the 2LT I drove offered the standard features including heated and air conditioned seats, heated steering wheel, navigation system, 14-speaker Bose audio system, wireless smartphone charging, performance data recorder, head-up display, digital rearview mirror and for safety blind-spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert.

Other safety features are the daytime running lights, emergency braking, post collision safety system, stability control, dusk sensing headlights, two front headrests and traction control.

The color options are also head turners – I had the orange – but new colors for 2021 include the Silver Flare Metallic, Red Mist Metallic Tintcoat and Sky Cool Gray/Strike Yellow.

Where the 2021 Corvette Stingray Couple 2LT really shines is in the cockpit, I say that with meaning since it feels like a cockpit or racecar experience when you are on the road.  You sit in your little pod and everything is at your fingertips so what else can you ask for really.

I took this one on a road trip and it was easy, there was room for my luggage (not a world tour luggage experience, but enough room for a weekend for two).

Driver oriented all the way and the passenger can just sit back and get ready for an easy blast off – with driver and passenger feeling the good vibes and the stars having perfectly aligned.

Should You Need to Know:  The basic warranty on the 2021 Corvette Stingray is three years and 36,000 miles.

Miles: On the 2021 Corvette Stingray Coupe 2LT I drove it came in at 15 miles per gallon in the city and 27 miles per gallon on the highway.

Cost: Starting at $66,400 for the Corvette Stingray, my little machine was priced at $82,155 with a few added bells and whistles.

Rita Cook is a member of Women’s World Car of the Year and Texas Motor Press. You can follow her at @ritacook13 on instagram and twitter.