The 2000 Millenium Corvette Roadster

  This is it, imagine a Millennium Yellow C5 roadster with Torch Red interior. It doesn't just sit there, it vibrates. It screams for us to get in, crank up the 345 horsepower LS1 and get it on. Wind it up through the gears, make it scream, feel the suspension work as you wrap around curves and power out with more confidence than you've ever felt in any other Corvette.

  Talk about drawing a crowd. Then drive this babe magnet. Cruise the boulevard in a car that looks as wild as any combination Reeves Callaway could have thought up when he was building those outrageous Speedsters of the early 90s. Talk about Chevrolet making a statement with the 2K Corvette. Just like Sammy Sosa hitting a baseball.

  While the list of changes isn't long for 2K, the refinements are important. The LS1 is now politically correct in California since it complies with LEV low emissions vehicle requirements. This was done by fiddling with the Powertrain Control Module PCM to reduce nitrogen oxides by 50 percent and hydrocarbon emissions by 70 percent without effecting power or response. The LS1 still cranks out a hefty 345 horsepower at 5600 rpm and 350 lb.ft. of torque at 4400 rpm. There is also ORVR, short for "Onboard Refueling Vapor Recovery," a system that captures fuel vapors that escape when the car is refueled. If the system develops a leak it will flash a message to the driver that the system needs to be serviced. ORVR required modifications to the fuel tank and fuel filler neck. You won't notice them, but they're there.

  The 2K Corvette gets an Active Remote Keyless Entry system, so you'll notice the passenger door lock cylinder is gone. There's a handsome new forged aluminum wheel with thinner spokes and a painted surface. A polished version is available optionally. Brighter dual halogen foglamps are now standard. Along with the retina searing Millennium Yellow, Dark Bowling Green Metallic is a new exterior shade.

    Talk about what a driver the C5 is. Chevrolet has even improved the already superb Z51 suspension by adding fatter bars and redialing the spring rates. The 2K Corvette with Z51 handling package is the most fun you can have in a car with your clothes on. And that takes us back to where we started, lusting after this wild roadster. At least this time we can make our dreams come true as soon as we hit the lottery.