General Motors has not broken any styling ground with the 2005 Corvette, choosing to evolve the car rather than start a design revolution.

Except for one element: the pop-up headlights are no more. They were deemed too old-fashioned for this modern sports car. The new headlight assembly has three projectors and they look like camera lenses under glass.

They, like the rest of the car, were designed to reinforce the image of a more powerful, more agile car. At the same time, the designers were aiming for a look that would be at home in daily driving. But this is not a daring design.

It is tighter, though.

The new 'Vette is both shorter and narrower than the outgoing C5. With an overall length of 4,435 mm and an overall width of 1,844 mm, the C6 is 130 mm shorter and 28 mm narrower than the C5, yet a wheelbase longer by 28 mm creates more interior room and the trunk still has room for two golf bags.

In the end, the designers came up with a C6 whose overall dimensions are similar to those of the Porsche 911. Don't be surprised when you hear Chevy officials at least alluding to their belief this is a sports car with 911 performance at Porsche Boxster prices.