Emissions controls have also been improved for the 2001 Corvette. As low emissions vehicle (LEV) requirements were rolled out in California (in 2000), GM's commitment to making the 2001 Corvette a nationwide low emissions vehicle (NLEV) was a success. This was accomplished on the both the LS1 and LS6 engines by adding two smaller "pup" converters (called pup due to their smaller size). Hydrocarbon emissions were reduced by 70 percent and NO2 emissions were reduced by 50 percent at cold startup.

Effective January 1, 2001, all vehicles sold in Europe must meet new emissions standards (EU2000 certification). All 2001 Chevrolet Corvettes sold in Europe meet this new EU2000 certification.

LS1 Performance Improvements:

All 2001 Base and Uplevel Axles - 0-60 MPH under 5 seconds. Top speed: 172 mph / 275 kph (coupe) / 168 mph / 270 kph (convertible).

Fuel Economy — values below indicate a 1 MPG improvement over the previous model year.

Domestic*: Automatic — 18 MPG city / 26 MPG hwy.

Manual — 19 MPG city / 28 MPG hwy.

European: Automatic — 17 l/100k city / 9.1 l/100k hwy.

Manual — 19 l/100k city / 9.5 l/100k hwy.

*Based on EPA estimates.