Your project car doesn’t have to come from the 1960s and can be a car you can drive and enjoy every day. Just because it’s your project doesn’t mean you won’t show it off on the road. One of the best project cars we can think of is the C5 Chevy Corvette. Here are six reasons why this is the right project car.

1. The C5 Chevy Corvette brings the heat with potent V8 engines

Chevrolet released the fifth generation of the Corvette sports car in 1996. This first model brought us the LS1 5.7-liter V8 engine, which improved the model from the C4 ‘Vette. This engine initially offered 345 horsepower, which was increased to 350 in 2001. When the 2001 model year came around, the C5 Chevy Corvette introduced the LS5 engine with 385 horsepower.

The C5 model brought the 4L60-E automatic transmission forward from the previous generation while also offering the Borg-Warner T-56 6-speed manual transmission for those willing to handle the gear shifts.

The powertrains of this sports car gave it a top speed of 175 mph, which is plenty fast for the project car you’ll love to show off. In addition to the top speed, this car returned a sprint time of 60 mph of 4.5 seconds and a quarter-mile time of 13.3 seconds at 108 mph.

2. This Chevy sports car improved the handling

Previous generations of the Corvette couldn’t compare to the C5 version. The C5’s transmission was repositioned, giving this car an integrated rear-mounted transaxle assembly. This new position changed the weight distribution to an even 50/50, allowing incredible handling in this amazing Chevy sports car.

The balanced feeling makes the C5 Chevy Corvette a project car showing where you won’t want to upgrade. Forget turning this into a restomod; just restore it and have some serious driving fun. The balanced weight translates to great cornering capabilities, impressive grip, and improved acceleration and deceleration in this Corvette.

3. The C5 Chevy Corvette returns surprisingly good fuel economy numbers

Typically, sports cars aren’t expected to offer decent fuel mileage. These cars are saved for weekend driving fun when you want to burn a little fuel and a lot of rubber. This Corvette is more than just a great project car; it’s a competent daily driver.

As long as you don’t need a large trunk, you can drive the C5 Corvette every day and enjoy 18 city/25 hwy mpg with the automatic transmission or 19 city/28 hwy mpg while using the manual transmission. This EPA fuel economy rating earned the C5 a lower tax rate than most other cars in its class.

4. Pop-Up Headlights: Great for a project car or a serious pain in the neck

Pop-up headlights eventually faded away and became obsolete. Too many cars with these headlights drove down the road winking at oncoming traffic because one of the headlight motors had failed.

The C5 Chevy Corvette has these pop-up headlights, which are pretty cool. When closed, these lights give the hood a finished look to the front end, but if a motor fails, you’ll need to fix it. While constant repairs are a characteristic of many project cars, you’ll have to figure out if this is a great feature of this sports car or not.

5. The C5 Chevy Corvette has a head-up display

You’ll need to look for the 1999 or later version of this car to find it, but the head-up display, which isn’t even standard on cars today, was part of the mix. This display shows important information on the windshield for you. It’s hard to find a project car with this advanced feature.

6. This Corvette is an affordable project car

The C5 Chevy Corvette was relatively affordable when it was sold new. With new models selling for as little as $38,000, it’s easy to find one today for a great price. You could find this car in decent condition for as little as $10,000, which is affordable for a relatively modern project car.

Next, learn more about sports cars that are great daily drivers, or watch this C5 Chevy Corvette video below: