> all Corvette pictures

The Corvette's flowing front fenders are handsome when viewed either from outside or behind the wheel, while the bulging rear end is reminiscent of the IMSA GTP Corvettes of the late '80s. The Chevy Corvette sits low to the ground and has a fair amount of front overhang; pull forward in a parking space until your tires touch the curb and you'll damage stuff.

The convertible version looks graceful when the top is down. Putting the top down exposes body-colored trim behind the seats that reminds us of an open-cockpit racer. It looks really cool.

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 hardtop presents a different profile from the coupe. The hardtop roofline is actually more coupe-like than the coupe's, whose hatchback glass slopes more steeply. Other visible differences between the coupe and hardtop are subtle, including tidy Z06 emblems on each side of the hardtop. Modest mesh air intakes in the nose and wedge-shaped mesh brake cooling inlets are visible on the rocker panels just aft the doors. Four 3.5-inch exhaust tips under the center of the rear bumper hint at more power. Special five-spoke aluminum wheels afford a view of big red brake calipers and are fitted with massive Goodyear F1 Supercar rubber, P265/40ZR up front, P295/35ZR out back. There is no spare, nor are the tires run-flat units; instead, you get an emergency tire-inflator kit. So take your cell phone and try not to run over any nails.

The Corvette Z06 is more than a hopped-up model; it's a vastly different animal. It was intended as a street racer with track capabilities, Chevrolet's one-up response to Ford's Mustang Cobra R. The designation Z06 has a rich history, dating back to the 1963 split-window Sting Ray, when the Z06 was a pure road-racing package. (The Z comes from Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Corvette's famous first chief engineer.) Chevrolet has revived the Z06 designation for this more-than-worthy successor. Only now it's a separate model, not an option package.

The Z06 weighs 128 pounds less than the C5 coupe, even though it offers similar creature comforts, including leather, air conditioning, carpeting, a premium sound system, traction control and stability control. Using thinner glass, a titanium exhaust system and less insulation saves the weight. Don't bother arguing that insulation is a creature comfort; with a car like this, noise and spiritual comfort level are intertwined. Ask anyone who's driven a noisy racecar.

Corvette's lever-style door handles seem a bit dated, harder to grab than other designs.

> all Corvette pictures

C5 Corvettes come with comfortable cabins, something that wasn't always true of previous-generation models. Low doorsills and narrow side rails make getting in and out easier than before. The seats are comfortable and there's plenty of room for driver and passenger, though there isn't a lot of space for stuff. Front seat space in the three models is pretty much the same. The power seats have a memory function and the handsome analog gauges are easier to use and more satisfying than the old digital displays.

The manually operated convertible top stows neatly under a body-colored cover that folds flat at the forward edge of the trunk lid. The soft top is very nice. It's made of high-quality material and the rear window is glass. You'll need a demonstration or a trip to the owner's manual to figure out how to lower the top the first time, then it's quick and easy. We've seen no evidence of leaking in hard downpours nor at the car wash test, though we did notice some wind noise at the top of the driver's window at super-legal speeds. Riding in the convertible with the top down is very pleasant and lots of fun with much aural feedback. There's very little buffeting at speed.

The Chevy Corvette is not a quiet car, but the rattles and stress squeaks that have haunted Corvettes for so long have largely been eliminated. We noticed more road noise and engine noise in the convertible than in the coupe, and even more comes through in the Z06. However, this is a sports car, and noise, particularly the calculated growl of that terrific V8, is part of the deal.

Rearward visibility is a little limited. The rear window is a narrow slot. The side mirrors are wide, but not tall, and work fairly well. Put the top down and the convertible offers the best visibility, as if you needed another reason to drop the top on a spring day.

The coupe comes with a real trunk. Arriving at the airport after a trip halfway around the world, we were able to cram two huge duffel bags into a coupe. The coupe's trunk can hold 24.8 cubic feet of cargo, considerably more than the convertible's 13.9 cubic feet and the hardtop's 13.3 cubic feet. The convertible's trunk sits on top of the rear deck. It's an efficient space with a flat load floor. It's easy to pack the trunk, though you need to lift high and over to load baggage. You can get your clothes dirty leaning over the rear body work on rainy days if you're not careful. Thankfully, the convertible top doesn't seem to take up much of the trunk space when lowered.