Right Hand drive or not
Discussion
Ok, it may be the most unoriginal question, and I may be being sacreligious to the purist, but....is the 'vette available in right hand drive and/or can a conversion be done. Question relates to '01 onwards....I recall seeing something on the US website a couple of years ago stating an intent ot supply RHD cars....did it happen?
'vette has to be one of the best lookig cars on the roads today.
Appreciate the advice.
Rgds, Big Brin
'vette has to be one of the best lookig cars on the roads today.
Appreciate the advice.
Rgds, Big Brin
No personal experience but I hear most if not all of the RHD converted cars that exist are poorly done. Every time GM launch a new model they say "may be available in RHD if there's demand" but it has yet to happen on any of their sports cars. The recent RHD Cadillacs were a sales disaster in UK. GM sports cars used to be engineered strictly for LHD so more roomy on the driver side than on the passenger side and any conversion was an uphill struggle from the start. The prop shaft may not even have been in the centre of the car. C5 Corvettes appear to be built symetrically and no doubt the C6 will be as well. Many Vette owners love the LHD (although I would buy RHD if it was available) and it doesn't take long to get used to. The chance of anyone driving a genuine RHD Vette is in my opinion very very low! But then half the appeal of Vette in UK is they are a rare sight on the roads but have the benefits of mass production in terms of design and engineering.
Ticket barriers and toll booths are the only problem with LHD. If you don't have to use them regularly then LHD is fine. There was one RHD C5 'vette at the nationals a year or two ago but such machines are usually one-off experiments - the conversions in Australia seem to be in the region of GBP 10,000.
I don't think anyone here would actually consider it sacrilege to convert a 'vette to RHD but you would probably end up with a car that rattles and has dodgy panel fit.
I don't think anyone here would actually consider it sacrilege to convert a 'vette to RHD but you would probably end up with a car that rattles and has dodgy panel fit.
vetteheadracer said:
I believe you can buy a righthand drive one in Australia, I think it is a non-factory conversion.
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Left-hand drive in Aussie is illegal and all imported cars have to be converted to RHD.There are definitely pre C5 Vettes there but no idea if the C5 has been converted.
But why would you want a RHD when it means you have to walk further to the pavement?
Besides, as much fun as it is for the passenger to be driven fast/close to stationary parked cars, think how much more fun it is for them to have oncoming traffic :-)
So far, I've not seen any real difference driving a LHD or RHD around town.
The main difference is when overtaking on narrow country roads, when you either watch the road around the LHS of the vehicle in front, drop back a little to get a better view (not a problem in a vette as 'punching it' becomes even more fun), or pretend to be a rally driver and get your copilot to assist.
Of *course* it makes sense to have a RHD car in the UK, but by the same token it also makes sense to buy an 800cc hybrid fuel shopping trolley... There's not much heart vs head going on when you own a vette - it's all heart.
-kenski
So far, I've not seen any real difference driving a LHD or RHD around town.
The main difference is when overtaking on narrow country roads, when you either watch the road around the LHS of the vehicle in front, drop back a little to get a better view (not a problem in a vette as 'punching it' becomes even more fun), or pretend to be a rally driver and get your copilot to assist.
Of *course* it makes sense to have a RHD car in the UK, but by the same token it also makes sense to buy an 800cc hybrid fuel shopping trolley... There's not much heart vs head going on when you own a vette - it's all heart.
-kenski
Colvette said:
Sorry to be an 'old fart', here, but I do think a RHD vette is sacrilege!!
No one who can drive has a problem driving LHD, and if they do have a problem, they should drive a Ford Focus and not a corvette.
Sorry about being so blunt, but this really irritates me!!
Having followed someone in a TransAm down the A428 from Cambridge to Bedford one night last year and watched his increasingly desperate and dangerous attempts to overtake the artic in front of him, I would suggest that you're full of it.
Well it seems to me that is down to the driver not the car. No doubt the guy in the Transam is one of those guys that in a rhd car would overtake approaching the brow of hill. The Vette is disadvantaged on minor roads, but that does not make it more dangerous, it just needs a sensible approach. Equally overtaking needs mid gear punch not 0-60 times and in that respect they don't come much safer than a Vette IMHO
zumbruk said:
Sorry to be an 'old fart', here, but I do think a RHD vette is sacrilege!!
No one who can drive has a problem driving LHD, and if they do have a problem, they should drive a Ford Focus and not a corvette.
Sorry about being so blunt, but this really irritates me!!
Having followed someone in a TransAm down the A428 from Cambridge to Bedford one night last year and watched his increasingly desperate and dangerous attempts to overtake the artic in front of him, I would suggest that you're full of it.
No experience? No arguement. Whatever.
What I always point out, especially in the 'vette, is that sitting on the left is really useful on motorways and the like: that is, there is no blindspot whatsoever when you pull out - just a nice big clear bubble of glass...
In a RHD car, there's usually some pillar etc. in the way, so in this respect I think that LHD is an advantage!
In a RHD car, there's usually some pillar etc. in the way, so in this respect I think that LHD is an advantage!
The point made earlier about the vette having so much mid-range torque is probably the most important one. My previous car was a twin-turbo MR2 which was fun to drive and pretty quick off the line (0-60 < 6s) but if you wanted to overtake someone you were still left rocking backwards and forwards in your seat muttering 'come on, come on' under your breath, even if you dropped down a couple of gears. With the vette, that simply isn't an issue. You can happily blast past in pretty much any gear and for fun, drop down a couple and then press the loud pedal (trying not to spin the wheels, of course).
As before, it obviously makes more sense to have a RHD car, but with the vette, who cares :-)
-kenski
As before, it obviously makes more sense to have a RHD car, but with the vette, who cares :-)
-kenski
Having just returned from Le Mans LHD is a big advantage for the French bit of the journey!
Point taken this is 5 days a year, but we are off to Hockenheim next month for 4 days, so that is 9 out of 365.....
Perhaps they should build cars with switchable steering and pedals for Europe?
Point taken this is 5 days a year, but we are off to Hockenheim next month for 4 days, so that is 9 out of 365.....
Perhaps they should build cars with switchable steering and pedals for Europe?
There are (as you know) lots and lots of LHD sports cars in this country - some dealers sell nothing but LHD. I have Delorean which is (obviously) LHD and apart from tolls (where I use a little cup on a stick) you get used to them in about a day. You can get any car converted to RHD but it simply isn't worth the hassle (or cost)with most.
quote;[No personal experience but I hear most if not all of the RHD converted cars that exist are poorly done. ];quote
We have had two C5's in the shop in the last year that have been converted using an Aussie kit, the kit is bloody terrible quality and the job ruins the car for ever. One of the owners has had major problems with the stability control system because fitting the kit rotates the sensor through 90 degrees! This is an example of the very poor general understanding of how the cars work. My advice is DON'T DO IT!!!
We have had two C5's in the shop in the last year that have been converted using an Aussie kit, the kit is bloody terrible quality and the job ruins the car for ever. One of the owners has had major problems with the stability control system because fitting the kit rotates the sensor through 90 degrees! This is an example of the very poor general understanding of how the cars work. My advice is DON'T DO IT!!!
vetteheadracer said:
Having just returned from Le Mans LHD is a big advantage for the French bit of the journey!
Point taken this is 5 days a year, but we are off to Hockenheim next month for 4 days, so that is 9 out of 365.....
Perhaps they should build cars with switchable steering and pedals for Europe?
Or buy a Macca F1
With LHD I do not have a problem with where the steering wheel is.
>> Edited by kevinday on Wednesday 16th June 13:03
Keep it LHD! There is, however, a yellow RHD C5 in the UK. It was at Billing one year (X reg)and there's also a red RHD 1998 Camaro Z28. In either case, it's a certain way to depreciate the car as no-one who wants a Vette generally wants RHD and secondly, most insurers offer cheap insurance because it's LHD and don't like insuring RHD conversions.
I'm with the LHD supporter's lobby. If you don't like LHD, I would buy something else. I don't mean this offensively or sanctimoniously but a Vette should be LHD until the factory do their own proper version. As I understand it, conversions involve putting in a new bulkhead and using parts from Vauxhall Omegas for the steering. Not good.
I'm with the LHD supporter's lobby. If you don't like LHD, I would buy something else. I don't mean this offensively or sanctimoniously but a Vette should be LHD until the factory do their own proper version. As I understand it, conversions involve putting in a new bulkhead and using parts from Vauxhall Omegas for the steering. Not good.
LuS1fer said:
Keep it LHD! There is, however, a yellow RHD C5 in the UK. It was at Billing one year (X reg)and there's also a red RHD 1998 Camaro Z28. In either case, it's a certain way to depreciate the car as no-one who wants a Vette generally wants RHD and secondly, most insurers offer cheap insurance because it's LHD and don't like insuring RHD conversions.
I'm with the LHD supporter's lobby. If you don't like LHD, I would buy something else. I don't mean this offensively or sanctimoniously but a Vette should be LHD until the factory do their own proper version. As I understand it, conversions involve putting in a new bulkhead and using parts from Vauxhall Omegas for the steering. Not good.
Agreed. These conversion kits jeopardise the safety of a car because of the work required in so many areas. Ok, so you might climb into the car from the wrong side
but like many things in life you get used to the steering wheel location after a while. If you don't like LHD, don't buy the car (that idea can be applied to so many situations but it's true). I'd never trust these kits without some sort of verification and the cost can be better spent elsewhere. >> Edited by z064life on Wednesday 16th June 22:59
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