In the latest episode of its "Hot Rod Unlimited" show, Motor Trend magazine explains how the Corvette’s design evolved from the model we saw for the first time back in 1953 and up to the seventh-generation that was just unveiled.
The guys over Motor Trend took a ride in a 1957 Corvette up to the Petersen Automotive Museum where the new C7 Stingray was presented. In here, the guys talked with Stingray designer, Kirk Bennion, who offers a brief history of Corvette’s design history.
He is also pointing to many rare Corvette models built, including the very first Motorama prototype, the race-winning Grand Sport and one of the last C6 ’Vettes ever built.
Each model was just a step closer to the final design we are seeing in the Corvette C7 - a design that is nearly perfect, that of course if you ask us!
In true Chevrolet spirit, the first Stingray Convertible will be auctioned for charity. It will be sold at the Barrett-Jackson auction on April 5th in Palm Beach, FL with all the proceeds going to the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute and its 31st Annual Dinner. For reference, the first Corvette Stingray Coupe was auctioned for a total of $1.1 million by Barrett-Jackson and the drop-top model should fetch a sum close to that.
Clients interested can also bid online at by visiting www.barrett-jackson.com. The winning bidder will receive a letter of authenticity and will have the possibility to choose the exterior color of their car.
The Stingray Convertible is powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 engine that delivers an estimated total of 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. The model is equipped with a fully electronic top can be lowered remotely and opened or closed at speeds of up to 30 mph.
Back when Pontiac went the way of the dodo bird, we didn’t so much mourn the loss of the brand as much we did the finality of the Trans Am’s death. Sure, the Trans Am was gone following the 2002 model year – along with its cousin, the Camaro – but there was still a glimmer of hope for it to return, much like the Camaro has. Well, when GM finally boarded up the windows and doors at Pontiac in 2010, we laid the Trans Am name to rest.
We have seen many people attempt to turn the new-generation Camaro into Firebirds and Trans Ams, but none have really done the model’s heritage justice. The folks over at Trans Am Depot, on the other hand, have done rather well in converting the Camaro into something that at least somewhat resembles what the Trans Am would likely look like, if it existed today.
The Trans Am is available in three models, so far, and they include: 2012 7T7 Trans Am, 2013 6T9 Trans Am and 2013 Hurst Trans Am. These bad boys not only give the model its due attention, but they also punish the pavement better than Trans Ams of yesteryear with the 6T9 version punching out 1,100 horsepower. Simply amazing.
To help promote its models, Trans Am Depot has released a series of videos about the cars they offer. Above, you will see the promo video for the Trans Am lineup, which includes some shoddy acting, but the cars are sexy as hell and the women are, well… “nice.” The two videos after the jump are mini documentaries about the production of the cars.
Everyone knows that the Chevrolet Corvette is offered in both a coupe and convertible version - quite usual body versions for a sports car. In the past few months, however, another body version has become famous: the shooting brake. While we are pretty sure Chevy will never offer a shooting brake Corvette, the guys over Callaway have developed such a model.
Even crazier is that, if the company will have enough orders for it, the new AeroWagon - as it is being called - will be put into production. Callaway is currently taking orders for the model and announced the modifications will cost about $15,000.
The car’s rear hatch will be made of carbon-fiber structural components, which were developed using Callaway’s proprietary Resin Transfer Molding process. This way it will be both lightweight and strong. Callaway also announced that its new model will exceed 200 mph, making us believe it will use something different than the standard 450-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 engine seen in the new Stingray.
Stay tuned to see if this kit actually makes its way into production!
We gotta say, we haven’t laughed this hard in a long time.
Pepsi’s outrageously hilarious "Disguise" campaign has become a hit on the Interwebz, but this one, involving Jeff Gordon, has to be the funniest one of them all.
Disguised as "Mike," Gordon takes an unsuspecting Chevrolet salesman for quite the ride in a Chevrolet Camaro the latter probably wasn’t expecting. Gordon makes up the guise that he’s a dorky middle-aged man who drives a minivan and Steve, the salesman, buys it hook, line and sinker.
Gordon...or Mike...starts of the test drive pretending to not know how to handle the Camaro. But soon enough, he was blasting the muscle car around the vicinity prompting the shell-shocked Steve to actually fear for his life.
The salesman bought so bad that he threatened to call the cops after the test drive, forcing Gordon to reveal his true identity much to the surprise of Steve, who promptly asked the NASCAR driver if "they can do it again.”
A must-watch if you’re looking to get off your day on the right - and light - foot.
The other day at the Geneva Motor Show, Chevrolet unveiled the convertible version for the new Corvette Stingray. Unfortunately, the maker decided to only show us a series of images for the sports convertible, but no video.
Lucky for us though, YouTube user, Marchettino, was in Geneva and he shot some very nice frames of the new Stingray Convertible. Along with the convertible version, you will also see the new Stingray coupe version that made its European debut in Geneva.
Both models are powered by a 6.2-liter V-8 engine that delivers a estimated total of 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. The sprint from 0 to 60 mph will be made in less than four seconds and, since the convertible version received no structural reinforcements, both models share almost identical power-to-weight ratios.
Watch the video and see if the new Stingray looks better on the show’s floor that it does on the pictures released by GM.
Until we will see the updated Chevrolet Camaro at the 2013 New York Auto Show, we will continue to take a look at the latest tuning kits. One that popped up today is by the German tuner, SchwabenFolia. The tuner based its kit on the Camaro SS and offers both exterior and performance upgrades.
Under the hood, the tuner installed a TVS2300 Magnuson supercharger that increased the 6.2-liter V-8 engine’s power up from the standard 405 to 525 horsepower. Next, the SS received new 20-inch wheels in a five-spoke design. Also installed was a coilover suspension kit by KW.
The exterior received an Anodized Blue foliation that’s combined with Black Brushed Steel on the roof, mirrors, hood and rear spoiler and matte white side pinstripes.
The only thing that we don’t really care for are those ugly LSD doors that are just not suitable for this spectacular muscle car.
Click past the jump to read SchwabenFolia’s press release
The 69 COPO Camaro units that Chevy built in 2012 sold like hot cakes, so the company decided to expand production by another 69 units. For the 2013 model year, the COPO Camaro receives a series of updates, like two all-new engines and a new manual transmission, plus a series of updates made to the exterior and the interior.
Thanks to these changes, the 2013 COPO Camaro will be become even more competitive as it is now eligible for a broader range of NHRA Stock Eliminator classes.
The 2013 COPO Camaro is priced at $86,000 - $3,000 less than the 2012 model year. On March 11, 2013 Chevrolet will start selecting its customers for the 2013 COPO Camaro factory drag-racing cars. As a reminder, more than 3,000 people showed interest in this special version, but only 69 have been selected.
Hit the jump to read more about the 2013 Chevrolet COPO Camaro.
It looks like Chevy decided that the new Corvette Stingray is going to be a little bit expensive for its usual customers, so, starting in the 2015 model year, a "low-cost" Corvette is going to be added to its lineup. First details on this new version suggest it will drop the new Stingray badge and will use the name Corvette Coupe to distinguish itself.
The Stingray is powered by an all-new 6.2-liter V-8 engine, but this upcoming version is rumored to house the all-new, all-aluminum 5.3-liter V-8 engine – the same used in the new General Motor trucks, like the 2014 Sierra. This engine will likely produce just under 400 horsepower.
Many rumors pointed toward this less-expensive `Vette using a boosted V-6 engine, but GM just couldn’t get it to produce the fuel economy numbers that it needed.
Also, when compared to the Stingray version, this new coupe model will feature a different front fascia, front fender and rear diffuser to further distinguish it from the Stingray models.
Now keep in mind that “low cost” is a relative term and in this case, we are likely talking somewhere just shy of $50K.
We’ll keep our eyes on this model and bring you updates as they come up.
Update 3/4/2013: We have just created a rendering of the Corvette Coupe and you can see that we expect it to drop pretty much all of the cool features of the Stingray, including the hood scoop, rear heat extractors and the removable top.
Image Note: The above image is a TopSpeed rendering, not an official image of the 2014 Corvette Coupe..
The sixth-generation Corvette went into production in 2005 and since then a total of 215,100 units have been produced. Yesterday, February 28, 2013 at 8:04 a.m., the last 2013 Corvette came off the line at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant. The last unit produced was an exclusive Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition outfitted with the 60th Anniversary design package that adds an Arctic White exterior combined with a Blue Diamond leather-wrapped interior.
This special edition is powered by a 7.0-liter LS7 aluminum-block V-8 engine that delivers a total of 505 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. It sprints from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.8 seconds and can hit a top speed of 190 mph.
This last unit will be displayed alongside other historic General Motors vehicles at the GM Heritage Center in Warren, Michigan.
Now that the sixth-generation Corvette is out of production, GM workers have begun remodeling the plant for the production of the all-new 2014 Stingray.
Chevrolet cars
