Bowtie fans can rejoice that General Motors has no plans to cancel America's favorite sports car any time in the near future. Previous reports have said that the seventh generation of the sports car was put on hold until 2014, but we now know that the upcoming C7 Corvette will go into production in April of 2012 and then go on sale in the 2013 model year. While some have speculated that the next generation Corvette will be smaller than the current car and make extensive use of lightweight composite materials in the hopes of reducing curb weight creating a more efficient high performance sports car.

While you might have seen the sleek Stingray concept in the big screen blockbuster Transformers 2 full of cues from a bygone era like the split rear window that dates back to the original 1963 Stingray Corvette->ke1280, this rendering brings everything we hope to see in the C7 to life in a neat little yellow package, and while the concept clearly shines through, there are enough real world touches to make the future Vette look like it could be a genuine production car.

Official details after the jump.

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GM has already announced that the C7 will start production in 2012. Information is scarce at the moment, but we have all seen the exciting Stingray Concept in the latest Transformers movie and we can imagine that it previews a future production car. While the show car is very flat, we envision that the production 'Vette will have bigger windows for better visibility and head room. The front lights are now instantly recognizable and most of the harsh lines have been toned down. In comparison with the C6, the new Corvette is expected to be smaller, lighter and a lot more advanced technologically. And, with the Camaro SS now in the market, the C7 is also expected to get a little bit more expensive, just enough to be clearly differentiated from its smaller brother.