Glowing over distant mountains, a central California sunset blazes in fiery glory, framed within the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette’s windshield as the roadster rockets down the last twisty bit of the day, xenon high-intensity discharge headlamps combining with the last vestiges of natural light to illuminate the pavement blurring between its bulging front fenders. Tired, sunburned, but not quite ready to quit dipping into the 6.0-liter V8’s sheer power and monstrous torque before a freeway blitz back to Los Angeles, we’re wringing as much as we can out of the new Corvette before darkness descends and we switch the adjustable suspension from Sport back into Comfort mode.

Redesigned from the ground up, the 2005 Chevrolet Corvette is a revelation, a car that serves equally well as a sports car and a daily driver. Drive it on the track, on the street, in traffic, or on the wide-open two-lane roads criss-crossing California’s central coast – the Corvette never disappoints. Better yet, and despite gains in power, handling, and refinement, the price of entry for this world-class sports car remains comparatively low, starting at a reasonable $44,510, including an $800 destination charge.

There was a time when the Chevrolet Corvette physically manifested the insecure, style-impaired, blue-collared, gold-chained American male ego in rippled fiberglass relief. No longer. Today’s car is a brilliant concoction of performance, design, and quality that remains obtainable to the Average Joes who’ve saved their pennies for their dream car, but is now desirable to high-powered executives who might otherwise choose a Ferrari or Porsche. The 2005 Corvette is a car that everyone likes, and after a week of cruising around California with the top dropped, we’re ready to join the club.