Motor Trend - Road Test: 427 Sting Ray Vs. Shelby G.T. 500

The Vette spare is in a panel below the rear underside that, in the rain, may give AAA reason to upgrade its rates. There is room for perhaps two suitcases behind the seat.

It takes a while to get used to the stiff-riding Corvette, and the low driver position. Once we became oriented, however, we went along with the "true sports car" claim. The Vette is a lot of fun, but discretion must be used in driving around town. It's awful easy to bound past speed limits unknowingly.

Less of an all-out sports car, the G.T. 500 is more at home on the street than on the track. We received many more comments on the 500's styling than we did on the Chevy sportster's, but this can be attributed as much to its being new as anything.

Our forecast of how the cars would compare on the track turned out to be accurate. We were highly impressed with the solid-as-a-rock cornering of the G.T. 500, and its agility in quick turns. It ran impressively in acceleration tests, staying straight when the tires were spun, and it stopped quick straight. But even with this good performance record, it fell short of outrunning and outmaneuvering the Corvette.

Unfortunately, Chevrolet couldn't find enough room under the fender wells for a tire comparable to the E70-15 nylons standard on the G.T. 500, so it suffers in this department. Standard 7.75x15 rayon tires are fitted, and this makes cornering and starting difficult. Gobs of wheelspin are all that result from a high-rpm start, but proper feathering of the gas pedal will help. The independent rear suspension gets an unfair shake when these regular tires are installed, and the rear end tends to leave the course when the car is pushed. Hooking up tires equivalent to the Speedway 350 Goodyears on the test G.T. 500 solved the Corvette's problems quickly. The potential is built in, but anyone desiring to put a Vette in proper handling form will have to start with a set of tires and the realization that lock-to-lock cornering will be slightly restricted.

It's quite a foe that Shelby's G.T. 500 has taken on, but not an unconquerable one. The Corvette is designed as a sports car, and that's what it is. It suffers somewhat as a street machine, but in no way is it reminiscent of early English sports cars with fold-down windshields and side curtains.

The 500 has more passenger-car than sports-car feel, but this could hardly be helped, as the Mustang from which it stems has this quality. With a bigger engine (horsepower, not displacement), it would be close to the Corvette's acceleration times.

The two cars are apart yet fairly close. Shelby American built the G.T. 500 with the idea of getting more customers for street-type vehicles than they could with the race-oriented G.T. 350s of the past. Oddly enough, this is what Chevrolet's theory has been too. They've been building a "hot" car for the street that would qualify for competitive use. Shelby's just reversed the game and taken a competition-type car and turned it into a street machine. Both gain in some respects and suffer in others from the compromise.

Sting Ray at a Glance

• Easily the most powerful production car made

• Designed and built as an all-out sports car, yet fairly suitable for everyday use

• Stiff-riding suspension makes around-town jaunts and long trips uncomfortable on the torso, but free of handling problems

• Styling exhibits a "going" look, even when standing still

• Practiced drivers can feel safe at all speeds and in all conditions, due to four-wheel disc brakes, quick steering, and good stability

G.T. 500 at a Glance

• Eye-catching styling is product of good judgment in restyling already good-looking Mustang fastback

• Well-suited for street duties, but refinements needed to make it an all-out champ on the track

• One of the most comfortable cars for touring we've driven, but in-and-out from driver's seat is a tight fit

• Fiberglass additions would benefit from tighter quality-control inspection

• Shoulder harness impressed us to the point of dissatisfaction with all others