Today I Hooned A Corvette Stingray In The Wet And Did Not Die

I can't say that I've ever thought of American cars with particular fondness. I don't buy into the whole 'bigger is better' sentiment, nor do I agree with the phrase 'there's no replacement for displacement'.

But today, the new Corvette Stingray showed me the light. On sopping wet roads with moody skies above, the C7 crawled under my skin and won't let go.

For starters, there's the torque from the Stingray's 6.2-litre V8 (all 465lb ft of it), which is astonishing, intoxicating and instant. Then there's the seven-speed manual gearbox, which is heavy and oh so satisfying to work through. The pedal weights and steering are weighty too and work as a reminder that this thing is packing serious heat.

While I can't tell you what the Stingray is like on the limit (give me a break, the roads were soaked...) I can assure you that the best thing about it - apart from 0-62mph in 4.2sec and 195mph - is the noise. Even on half-to-three-quarter throttle, the V8's roar is all-encompassing; I'm sure you can hear it for miles around, which is no bad thing.