After six long and beautiful generations, the Chevrolet Corvette is just as much a hot commodity as it was in 1953 when the first concept was rolled out for all to see. This American-made sports car comes in four different trims: Standard, Grand Sport, Z06, and ZR1.
The standard Corvette and the Grand Sport are both powered by a 6.2L V8 engine that pumps out 430hp and 424 lb-ft of torque. Add the upgraded exhaust system and the models get 436hp and 425 lb-ft of torque. The Grand Sport differentiates itself from the standard model with a few upgrades, Z06 styling cues, and its won gear and rear-axle ratios. The Corvette Z06 is powered by a 7.0L V8 engine producing 505hp and 470 lb-ft of torque and the newer ZR1 boasts a 6.2L supercharged V8 delivering 638hp and 604 lb-ft of torque to the table.
All engines are mated to either a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission.
Every car buff simply loves beautifully restored cars, and that’s a very simple fact. One version of car restoration that is starting to gain a lot of traction recently is performance restoration. This is not just making the car look new, but also bringing its performance specifications to a point that the engineers at the time could have only dreamed about.
This puts custom car builders, like S&S Motorsports in Sarasota, FL, directly in the spotlight. Not only does S&S do extreme restoration projects on older GMs and Fords, but they also build these aging legends into mechanical monsters.
One of these monsters hit Ebay recently, in the form of the 1969 Chevrolet Corvette “Bomber `Vette” by S&S Motorsports. From a distance, this Corvette looks like it is yet another impeccably restored `69 Corvette, but up close it is easy to tell this is anything but just another `Vette. Add in a quick peak under the hood and your suspicions will be confirmed; this is an absolutely intense piece of 43-year-old muscle.
You might be wondering exactly what this bad boy is packing under that sleek-looking, reverse-opening hood…
Click past the jump to read our full review and have a look at what S&S has done this time.
Throughout the 1960s and 70s, Motion Performance was the largest company that performed aftermarket tuning on GM vehicles. While designing the Corvette Manta Ray GT, one of many Motion Performance-tuned vehicles, builders used a 1972 `Vette as a model to explore different design schemes and see what worked.
This concept car made its auto show rounds, changing owners many times in the process, but most enthusiasts simply saw it as a deformed version of the Manta Ray GT. Several years ago this custom Corvette made its way back onto the selling block and when its original builder, Joel Rosen, was question about it from a potential buyer, he wrote it off as a poorly duplicated version of one of Motion’s Corvette kits.
As time went by and Rosen learned a little more about the car, he came to find out that this was the long-lost and long-forgotten concept car he worked on in 1972. Talk about a strange set of events to lead up to finding one of the rarest Corvettes on the planet.
Ultimately, the detail that gave the Corvette away was a flawed paint job that remained underneath certain panels on the vehicle. This type of painting flaw – using a primer that it too dark for its yellow top coat – created a nasty green-like color that was later painted over with pearl yellow paint.
This awesome Motion Maco Shark/Motion Manta Ray GT hybrid is truly a one-of-a-kind vehicle that is lucky to be around, and collectors around the world can now find it for sale again on Ebay. Is this Custom Corvette Mutt up to snuff for a collector to sink some serious cash into?
Click past the jump to read our full review and find out.
While we all believed that the 2013 model year would finally bring the seventh generation Corvette, it seems that Chevrolet has decided to offer the current C6 for one more year. However, the 2013 Corvette will get a few more updates for the added time frame.
For the 2013 model year, the Corvette will receive a new Night Race Blue exterior color, as well as a lighter-shaded Supersonic Blue to choose from. The current Competition Gray wheels will be dropped and replaced by new Black Painted Aluminum wheels.
As a gift for the car’s 60th Anniversary, all models will be offered with an Anniversary Package that will include an Arctic White exterior, a Blue Diamond leather-wrapped interior with suede accents, a ZR1-style rear spoiler, gray-painted brake calipers, and, of course, special "60" badges.
The 2013 Chevrolet Corvette will be unveiled at the National Corvette Museum’s Bash later this month, so stay tuned.
The Chevrolet Corvette will be celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2013, but apparently, they’re already getting started with the celebration.
In this video, a Chevrolet 427 Corvette - the most powerful Corvette in the world, by the way - is blasting along an open road, not a care in the world. Except that it’s got a pretty cool stunt it’s about to do.
With 60 candles lined up along a corner, the 427 Corvette seemingly does the incredible when it tackles the corner without breaking a sweat while blowing all 60 candles in the process. Talk about a creative way to blow your birthday cake, except that there wasn’t any cake anywhere in the vicinity.
Nevertheless, an impressive stunt all the way around, something the 427 Corvette, with its 7.0-liter LS7 engine that produces 505 horsepower and 470 lb/ft of torque, can do without even trying.
We know their 60th anniversary is still 10-and-something months away, but videos like this makes celebrating birthdays early all the more exciting.
The best-selling luxury performance car in the U.S., the Chevrolet Corvette, has finally been inducted into the Sebring Hall of Fame after six decades of proving what it can do on the track. The induction is a great birthday present for the Corvette, since 2013 marks its 60th anniversary.
Corvette first competed at Sebring in 1956, and 231 Corvettes have since competed in the Twelve Hours of Sebring race. Corvette has racked up an impressive 24 class wins in this legendary race, with seven of these won by Corvette Racing, the most successful team in the history of the American Le Mans Series. In Sunday’s 60th anniversary race, Corvette Racing placed second and third in the GT Class.
“We are thrilled that Sebring has recognized the success of the Corvette on the race track by inducting it into the hall of fame,” said Russ Clark, Chevrolet marketing director for Performance Cars.
“Even more important than the awards and race wins are the benefits to our production vehicles as a result of our racing programs,” said Clark. “We have been successful at transferring racing technology to the street, especially in our high-performance vehicles such as the Corvette ZR1, Z06 and our carbon fiber models, including aerodynamic, powertrain, chassis, braking, safety and design features.”
The year 2011 was quite an impressive year for Chevrolet: one out of every three sports cars in the United States was either a Camaro or a Corvette. The company sold 88,249 Camaro units - or about 18,000 units more than its nearest competitor, the Ford Mustang - and a total of 13,164 Corvette units - more than double compared to the Porsche 911.
To prove that these numbers are relative to the fantastic cars they create, Chevrolet took the Camaro and the Corvette to the "Grand Course" at Virginia International Raceway. The 2012 Corvette ZR1 lapped the Grand Course in 2:45.6 – faster than the published lap time for any production car. The Camaro ZL1 scored a time of 2:52.4 – more than six seconds faster than the published lap time of a 2011 Ford Shelby GT500.
"With the addition of the Camaro ZL1, there are only a handful of brands in the world with two cars that can match the performance, technology, and excitement of Corvette and Camaro," said General Motors North America President Mark Reuss. "Unlike many competitors’ performance cars, the Corvette ZR1 and Camaro ZL1 are appropriate for both daily drivers and track use from the factory – with standard coolers for brakes and drivetrain."
"And we challenge any company to bring two cars to compete with the Corvette ZR1 and Camaro ZL1, dollar for dollar," Reuss said.
Hit the jump for more stats, as well as videos of the sports cars’ laps in Virginia.
With the next generation Corvette around the corner, Chevrolet decided it would be appropriate to send the C6 model out with a bang, and as it turns out, they timed it perfectly. The Corvette is currently celebrating its 60th anniversary with a special 60th Anniversary Package that will be available on all 2013 Corvette models, as well as a Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition. The Collector is extra special because it is the fastest and most-capable convertible in Corvette’s history. Both models will make their world debut in late January 2012 at the Barrett Jackson collector car auction in Scottsdale, Arizona and will arrive at U.S. Chevrolet dealers in early Summer 2012.
The new 427 Convertible Collector Edition is powered by an LS7 engine that delivers a total of 505 HP and 470 lb.-ft. of torque. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and can hit a top speed of 190 mph.
"The 2013 model year will be historic for Corvette, marking its 60th Anniversary and the final year for the current ‘C6’ generation," said Chris Perry, vice president, Global Marketing and Strategy for Chevrolet. "We couldn’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate these milestones than bringing back one of the most-coveted combinations in the brand’s history – the Corvette convertible and a 427 cubic-inch engine."
UPDATE 01/23/2012: Would you pay $600,000 for a special edition Chevrolet Corvette that’s considered the fastest of its kind in the world? No need to answer that because someone already did. The Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition was just taken home from the recent Barrett Jackson auction in Scottsdale, Arizona for a hefty price of $600,000. All the proceeds will go to AARP’s Drive to End Hunger food relief program.
UPDATE 02/17/2012: Chevrolet has unveiled a very cool video of the new Corvette 427 Convertible Edition is action with Tommy Milner, the 2011 24-Hours of Le Mans Class Winner, behind the wheel. So, if you want to see a car that really has it all check this video!
UPDATE 03/13/2012: The best way to celebrate your birthday is having a huge cake and blowing the candles. And as the 427 Convertible Collector Edition has been built as a Corvette’s 60th anniversary it had to do the same thing. Except it did it in style. Enjoy!
Hit the jump to read more about the new Chevrolet Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition.
Think of February 14, 2012. To many, this is a day of chocolates, candy, hearts, and flowers, but to car enthusiasts, this is the day when Top Gear USA gets back into action. That’s right, Top Gear USA has moved to Tuesdays and its third season will commence on the most popular day for love.
As usual, the show will be hosted by comedian Adam Ferrara, rally and drift racer Tanner Foust, and motorsport analyst Ruttledge Wood. The new teaser video for the show’s third season, however, stars none other than their top secret racing driver, The Stig, as he sets a new "unofficial" lap record of 1:21.4 seconds for TopGear USA while driving a Corvette ZR1 tuned by Hennessey. A masked man with a super speedy chariot? This may be just enough for all the men in the world to convince their loved ones of staying in on Valentine’s Day to catch the first episode of the season.
The Chevrolet Corvette made its debut in 1953, marking the first, and arguably the best, generation for the iconic sports car. Crazy as it seems, an owner of one of these first generation jewels wasn’t satisfied and made a call to Pogea Racing to give his 1959 Corvette some "modern" treatment. Now that classic sports car can boast of "contemporary driving characteristics, a terrifically powerful engine, dependable brakes and a refined vehicle interior with classic bodywork."
One of the things we are certain the Corvette had when it entered Pogea Racing’s shop was class, so getting it to the next level would seem to be an easy task. For this, Pogea Racing painted the Corvette in a classic combination of the original Ferrari colors, Rosso and Bianco. That’s red and white for us common folks. The Corvette was then given a generously-sized sports brake system taken from the Corvette LS5 and a new set of 18" racing wheels to top it off.
The red and white motif continues to the interior where the tuning company also added a combination of carpeting and smooth leather. A Vallelunga steering wheel with flattened lower rim was also added for that modern touch, as was Cobra seats, an Alpine multi-media system including satnav, a retro-fitted AC unit, and servo-steering.
A modern edge could not be complete without an ode to the powerful engines of our time, so Pogea Racing slapped in a new 6.2-liter LS3 V8 engine to replace the small block V8 engine in the original model. This left the Corvette with 485 HP at 4400 rpm and 431 lbs-ft at 6200 rpm, an increase from the original 283 HP. In addition to the engine swap, the tuner also installed aggressive camshafts and a direct, open intake with tip cone filter, plus a tuned exhaust flow. The result is a 0 to 60 mph sprint time of 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 179 mph.
The Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 is considered the most powerful Corvette in history, boasting of an LS9 6.2-liter V8 engine that produces a supercar-worthy 638 horsepower and 604 lb/ft of torque output. German tuning firm, TIKT, thinks that those eye-popping numbers aren’t good enough, and just like any self-respecting tuning house on the planet, they’ve set out to add even more ponies to the mighty American sportscar.
To give the Corvette ZR1 some extra juice, TIKIT unloaded a number of upgrades on the sportscar, including modified cylinder heads, new camshafts, more powerful valve springs, modified compressor ratios, a larger throttle valve, and a custom exhaust system. In addition to all of these, TIKT also improved the Corvette ZR1’s cooling system, making it even more efficient than before.
Suspension details on the sportscar were improved, thanks in large part to new race shocks and a lowering capability of 30mm. To round things off, TIKT fitted the ZR1 with a carbon fiber rear spoiler, a new set of Zerra Ultralight Evo 2 wheels, and high performance brakes.
All told, TIKT’s comprehensive tuning program on the Corvette ZR1 saw the sportscar’s output increase from its standard numbers all the way up to 760 horsepower and 671 lb/ft of torque.
