Exterior Design Low, sleek, and sexy, the ‘05 version is the best-looking ‘Vette since 1972, the year before dainty chrome bumpers and fuel-swilling high-performance big-block engines began to give way to unsightly body-colored end caps and emissions-strangled motors.

Blending just the right hint of the Corvette’s past with the hard-edged, high-tech, contemporary forms of the present, the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette’s styling is beautiful. Low, sleek, and sexy, the ‘05 version is the best-looking ‘Vette since 1972, the year before dainty chrome bumpers and fuel-swilling high-performance big-block engines began to give way to unsightly body-colored end caps and emissions-strangled motors.

Significantly, because they’ve been missing from the Corvette since 1962, the 2005 model gets exposed rather than hidden headlamps, a change made to reduce weight and complexity while improving the illumination pattern at night. The 2005 model is also the most aerodynamic Corvette ever with a drag coefficient of 0.28, improving anti-lift characteristics for better high-speed stability.

And if you think the new Corvette looks smaller, your eyes do not deceive. Larger wheels and tires combine with a length chopped by five inches and a width slimmed by one inch, resulting in a size and stance almost identical to the Porsche 911 Carrera. Chevrolet hopes that a smaller Corvette will play better in Paris, Texas, and Paris, France, because the pudgy dimensions of previous models have not sold well overseas.

Our main criticism of the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette’s design is the seemingly misplaced “Corvette” nameplate that’s molded into the lower right corner of the rear fascia. Center mounted since 1968, the nameplate’s new location seems like an afterthought. But the Corvette’s build quality makes up for it. Our test car displayed only major assembly gaffe – a passenger’s door that was obviously mounted askew.