This past Saturday morning  saw the debut of a brilliant red, 2014 Corvette Stingray at cars&coffee / Irvine. Once the driver had successfully backed his Corvette into the parking space and exited the car, the gathering crowd rushed in to get a closer look. Judging by the size and excitement of the quickly growing sea of bodies, it appears that  Chevrolet has hit a home run with the new Stingray. The only negative feedback overheard was what has already been seen in print –  “the tail lights look too much like those found on the new Camaro”, and the two-toned interior with its splash of color “lacking visual continuity”.

Due to the ever growing crowd pushing in around the Corvette, I decided to continue on my rounds through the parking lot, with the intent to return a little later once the crowds thinned out, in an attempt to get an unobstructed view of the Stingray.

Upon my return, I arrived just in time to catch the front hood and rear decklid opened, revealing some hidden details…

and shortly after, the Stingray all buttoned up.

The driver then returned to his car in preparation to depart. Once behind the wheel, and with a turn of the key, the motor roared to life with a smooth yet throaty idle, and a moment later, the boomerang shaped, LED running lights made their presence known.

After letting the engine idle for several minutes, presumably to get the operating temperatures up to spec, the driver put the car in gear and with several blips of the throttle, the Stingray accelerated off, to enjoy another of our warm, sunny Southern California mornings.

I wonder how long before we’ll see another 2014 Stingray at cars&coffee? And what do you think? Is the new 2014 Corvette Stingray a worthy successor to the C6?

(All photos by the author)