As long as the transmitter is not in proximity, the security system disables the door latches; oh yeah, they're electric, too, so there are no door handles on the outside of the car. When the security system senses the transmitter, the membrane switches in the inside edge of the door skin become active. Touch them with your fingers to release the door latch and the door pops open.

This button, to the right of the steering column, controls engine start, stop and enables the electrical system's accessory mode. Image: Tom Henry Racing.

There's no keyed ignition switch in an '05, either. To start it, with the keyless access transmitter inside the car, touch that button on the instrument panel (IP), just to the right of the steering wheel. There's a fraction-of-a-second delay while the engine computer checks a few things then commands the starter to operate until the engine is idling. You touch the same button to shut the engine off and to put the car's electrical system in the accessory mode. We are amazed at the novelty of the totally keyless operation of the new Vette. A few other cars have features like this but it's the first time our web site staff had been exposed to it. C6 retains Corvette's classic "dual cockpit" layout, a tradition since 1963, but uses upgraded materials compared to the '97-'04 iteration.

The instrument panel and doors are covered with cast-in-place, semi-gloss, skinned foam. It is soft to the touch, looks like padded leather and has twice the life of conventional automotive soft trim, resists fading and minimizes interior fogging, which occurs as plasticizers migrate out of the material.

The dual cockpit style, a Corvette tradition for 42-years is well-preserved in the 2005. Image: Tom Henry Racing.

The driver side of the interior is very functional but also, very pleasing to the eye. This particular car has the optional GPS-driven navigation system. Image: GM Communications.

Power driver and manual passenger seats, both with manual recliners, are standard. Sports seats, seat heaters and a 6-way power passenger seat are options. Automatic air conditioning is standard as is the dual zone feature which was optional on C5. The only climate control option is an interior air filtration system. When you first sit in this car, the interior will seem more spacious, brighter, modern and less-cluttered. Flush-fit radio and climate  controls, their surrounding trim plates and the instrument  panel - to - door  closure offer those visual cues.

Analog instruments continue but are improved in execution. Idiot lights move from the tach and speedo faces to between them. All gauges are more legible and lit with white LEDs at all times, offering high contrast, even in sunlight. The Head-Up Display (HUD) returns as an option but has been upgraded with a dot-matrix display and separate “Street” and “Track" modes.

Big dial gages return on C6. The speedometer and tachometer are larger than in C5. All have better lighting. Image: Tom Henry Racing.

The HUD can also display some limited nav. system data on cars so equipped. The '05 HUD has a more crisp look because the previous, fixed bar elements used to display data have been replaced with LCD pixels. Using pixels, also, allows the display to change shape and size, which the previous display could not.

Like the '99-'04 HUD, you can "step" though different modes of operation using the "page" button on the left of the IP, but you have more choices in modes. There are three, "Street", "Track 1 and "Track 2". In total, between the three modes, there are 10 different HUD display choices.

"XM" satellite radio, a "Homelink" transmitter and "On-Star" are, also, available. On-Star's most useful feature is automatic contact with On-Star (which, in turn, notifies the first-response agency with jurisdiction) if the airbags deploy in a collision. C6 continues using hidden radio antennas so there are no masts to mar the car's exterior.

We tried the nav. system out while on I-96 East headed towards Detroit. Image: Tom Henry Racing.

It's impossible to drive a 2005 Corvette more than half-a-mile and not notice the results of Team Corvette's efforts in reducing interior noise, a problem which provoked the ire of many a C5 owner. Part of noise problem was the "second generation" Goodyear F1-GS EMT tire, which we discuss elsewhere on this site in THR's ride-and-handing evaluation. The other part was the C5 interior's insufficient acoustic insulation package.

In today's automotive product development process, the first step is exhaustive analysis which makes achievement of a program's goals faster, more efficient and less costly. Corvette engineers used "statistical energy analysis" (SEA) to determine what the sound's source, frequency and amplitude were and from what direction and through what medium it came. SEA determined the problem was caused by a stiff EMT tire casing, coarse pavement and highway speeds combining to excite the tire in the 800-Hz. range. Because that's, also, the same frequency range as human speech; in an EMT-shod C5, it is sometimes difficult to carryon conversations or listen to the radio.

Known as "airborne noise" (to differentiate from "structure-borne noise",  which is generally below 250 Hz), it was generated by the surface of the tire, acting as a sort of "loudspeaker", then traveled through the atmosphere, through underbody and interior panels, into the interior, through the atmosphere, again, and to your ears.

Another part of this analysis was benchmarking the interior noise levels of Corvette's competitors. Interestingly, a GM Engineer working with acoustics, Larry Hartleip, told us that C5's interior noise, compared to that of competing high-performance sports cars, Porsche, Viper, etc., was about the same or a little less. Lacking direct competitors which were notably quieter to use as a target; Hartleip and his team set their goals on noise levels in luxury GTs such as Jaguar, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus.

Using those benchmarks, analysis of C5's problem areas, "voice-of-the-customer" input and a strong mandate from VLE, David Hill to reduce noise; Hartleip and his people set "sound transmission loss" (STL) targets which would achieve a drop in road noise such that noise levels would no longer be an annoyance.

Hartleip and his team achieved this goal with virtually no increase in the car's weight. Though early iterations of the '05 acoustic package weighed a bit more; late in the program, a switch to a new, low-mass, acoustic insulation material had C6 scoring a significant decrease in interior noise with a small weight increase which was later balanced, according to VLE Hill, by a weight decrease from the deletion of the C5's electric air injection reactor (AIR) pump. In reality, the net weight change was about zero. Two key locations where this ultralight material was applied were the cargo area and to the floor beneath the seats. Other areas which received attention were the tunnel and the firewall.

The Corvette Action Center site quotes Larry Hartleip, "Mike Neal (Corvette's ride-and-handing engineer, from whom we will hear from at the end of this coverage) and I worked very closely to develop a vehicle and tires that achieved our noise goals without hurting ride and handling. The final result is actually an improvement in both areas." The coupe's liftoff roof has been redesigned. It's larger, for more open-air feeling, and it's lighter making it easier to remove and load in the back. While we're on the subject of "roofs" let's look at the 2005 Convertible's new, optional, power-operated top.

The cargo area in a C6 has slightly less volume than did that of C5–a minor casualty of the car's shortening. Under the carpet is a big sheet of that ultra-light, acoustic insulating material. Image: Tom Henry Racing.

In both its manual and power versions, the soft top is made with five layers of a thick, durable, insulating fabric called "Twillfast" and is available in three colors: black, beige and gray. Rear visibility improves with glass 18.5% larger and, like C5, the backlight has a standard defogger. In its retracted position, it has a more smooth and contoured appearance which better conceals its structure than did the previous top. This, also, helps minimize the top's impact on the car's aerodynamics. The manual top mechanism was redesigned with a weight savings of 8.6 pounds.

In addition to the new power top, other improvements make all Convertibles more pleasing to drive, especially on long trips. A bulkhead has been added behind the seats to: reduce noise coming from the trunk/top compartment, better contain items in the trunk and enable the addition of a storage area behind each seat.

C6's windshield frame was designed using computer analysis to model airflow in the interest of improving topdown quietness, especially in the frequency range of conversation. That seems to have worked because not only is it somewhat easier to chitchat during topdown driving, but wind buffeting has been reduced, too.

As part of GM's noise-reduction efforts, "indexing" side glass was added to all C6es. Whenever a door is opened; the window "indexes" to a slightly lower position. This ensures the window snugs up against the weatherstrip for a positive seal after the door is closed.

And final interior issue? Cup holders, of course. Clearly, some high-level GM executives drive fast while drinking their Slurpees because Chevrolet told the press at the June 4th preview that the new interior has two cupholders designed to handle the car’s high lateral acceleration capability. Adequate stability for lateral and fore/aft acceleration was a top priority to keep two travel cups or 20-oz. bottles in place during performance-driving maneuvers.

Bottom line: the C6 interior is a significant improvement in look, feel, ergonomics and pleasability.

C6 Powertrain