Car reviews

The Corvette Roadster may be the sports car of choice for Americans, but it’s a slow seller in Europe. This is particularly true in the UK where the ’Vette is hamstrung by only coming in left-hand drive, which puts off many potential buyers. It’s also an unusual proposition as it’s not clear whether the car is aimed at boulevard cruisers such as the Mercedes SL or harder core sports cars such as the Porsche 911 Cabriolet. Either way, the Corvette is a cheaper option and comes packing a 6.0-litre V8 engine with 400bhp that offers plenty of performance. This was uprated to 6.2-litres and 430bhp in 2007 along with paddle shifters behind the steering wheel for the automatic gearbox. This generation also lays to rest the jibe about Corvettes being straight line dragsters as this latest generation of America’s finest has masses of grip, though it’s still short on the finesse that marks out the best cars in its class. It’s also first open-top ’Vette with a fully electrically-operated roof.