THESE GUY'S aren't letting up. The Corvette team is relentlessly chippingaway at every reasonableargument a rational buyercan articulate for choosingsome big-name, bucks-up,blue-blooded bahn-stormerover the crossed-flag cruisemissile that Zora launched.This C6-1/2-generation Vetteboasts more refinements anddetail enhancements thanone expects from a midcyclerefresh of a supercar, butare they enough to steer thePorsche/BMW/Benz/Jag buyersinto a Chevy store? To find out,we spirited a manual coupeand an automatic convertibleaway from the General'sMilford Proving Ground for aromp across rural southeast Michigan.

One of the biggest andbest-deserved beefs broughtby the stringback-gloved setagainst the Vette is that itsinterior was too rent-a-Chevy,its pleasing design marred bydownscale grains, textures,and gaps. All Corvettes getmetal sill plates and classierlookingnew center-consoletrim, in either a carbon-fiberor metal-screen type finish,with brightwork around theshifter and cupholder. But tolure the Eurosnobs, there's anew Custom Leather WrappedInterior package. Practicallyevery surface you see or touchis swathed in supple leather,handstitched by the nice folksat Draexlmaier—the same onestreating the hides in Maybach,Mercedes, and up-level Cadillaccockpits. The seat inserts areperforated leather in either alight "Linen" or darker "Sienna"color. Pricing hasn't beenannounced, but it's expected torun $4000-$5000, given the listof gear it includes. It'll be worthpaying for, though, and will stillleave plenty of savings whencompared with any Euro-rocketthat can touch the Corvette's performance.

Speaking of which—wow!The base Corvette automaticcan now run with the C5 Z06,sprinting from 0-to-60 mphin 4.3 seconds en route to aclaimed top speed of 190 mph.Impatient automatic drivers canspring for a new, shorter 2.73:1axle ratio for even sprightlierpassing (it's standard on Z51automatics). Here again, it's notjust the overall performance(up about 10 percent), but thefinesse with which it achieves itthat impresses. The new intakemanifold, resonator, and acoustichelmet manage to quell the highorderfrequencies that appliedan unwelcome layer of slightlyagricultural-grade noise overthe trademark V-8 burble andgrowl. Want even more of thesame? Ante up for option codeNPP ($1200). This two-modeexhaust, like the one on the Z06,adds six horsepower and fourpound-feet. When it opens up ataround 3500 rpm, backpressureis reduced 80 percent, and youget what sounds and feels likea VTEC transition with a nicelysharpened snarl (it stays openbriefly on overrun, too, providingsome lovely crackles and pops).It's every bit as enticing as anyboxer or inline-six.

Upshifts ordered via thesteering-wheel paddles are 30percent quicker, downshifts50-to-75 percent quicker. Thepaddles work with the shifter in the S position only, which,sad to say, doesn't invoke aperformance-algorithm shiftschedule when you're notshifting manually (stay tuned,this may yet come to pass). TheTremec manual box also hasbeen thoroughly made over.The ends of the gear teethare sharpened to reduce thelikelihood of hanging up whenshifting between gears. Thesynchronizer packs are slightlymore compact, allowing thegears to be fattened for greatertorque capacity. But what you'llnotice most from the driver'sseat is that the shifter feelslighter and way more precise.The old "rock crusher" monikerno longer applies. The shifterknob doesn't feel as handy asthose of the best Porsches andBMWs (it still sheds one's palmduring quick shifts toward thetop of the pattern), but what it'sconnected to feels damned close.

"Lighter and more precise"are apt descriptions of thesteering as well, thanksprimarily to tighter machiningtolerances for the rack-andpiniongears and a stifferintermediate shaft. With lessslop in the system there's lessfiltering of the data the tires arepicking up at the road surface.The cornering effort perceivedthrough the steering wheelbuilds nicely as you lean thecar harder into a bend. It's noPorsche helm for road feel,but it's closing in on BMW andbetter than Mercedes.Boxster, Cayman, and Z4intenders should examinea new Corvette—and theincreasingly shaky foundationsof their biases against it.