Although not perfect, the Corvette has proven to be MY favorite car time and time again and I don't need to get into a dick measuring contest to prove it. But as we get close to Sebring, I started thinking about the fight between Porsche and Corvette and how all that racing technology transfers to street cars. I guess the folks at Porsche's Excellence Magazine had the same thoughts and decided to find out what happens when you pit the ultimate street versions against each other.
As we gear up for the 12 hours of Sebring, we've been hearing a lot from the folks at Corvette Racing about the benefits that racing brings to the production Corvettes. Chevy brings this prominent theme of track-to-street technology transfer a full circle with the announcement of a special Z06 that is born from the lessons learned in racing. Meet the 2011 Corvette Z06 Carbon Limited Edition.
Mecum's final auction of the year will be taking place this Friday and Saturday in Kansas City at the Kansas City Convention Center. Forty-four Corvettes are on the auction dockett and along with a host of classics and near classics you find at any auction, Mecum has included these two Karl Kustom C6 Corvettes.
Automotive News reported that 10 GM studios across the globe have submitted designs for the next generation Corvette. GM's VP of Global Design Ed Welburn says of the designs submitted, some "were absolutely phenomenal".
Is beauty skin deep or is it what's inside that counts? K. Scott Teeters plays Corvette Oddball with renowned Corvette restorer Kevin Mackay of Corvette Repair. In addition to his award-winning classic Corvette restorations, Mackay has a fleet of special display cars including a drivable 1967 Corvette chassis.
In a move to shore up public confidence following its stint in bankruptcy court, General Motors on Tuesday unveiled its 2-year product plan for the four core brands: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick and GM. Included in the Chevrolet news is that production of the C7 Corvette will start in April 2012 for the 2013 model year. GM also added that the Corvette will maintain the front-engine layout that has defined the sports car for 57 years.
Last week we brought you the news about the 36-car Corvette collection belonging to artist Peter Max being moved out of a former Daily News printing plant in Brooklyn. But where did the Vettes go? Luckily, a DigitalCorvettes.com member was in the right place in the right time and another member was able to get these pictures showing what appears to be another "several year stop" for the collection.
The Mobil One 12 Hours of Sebring is huge in the world of sport car racing and GM has used the event in recent years to leverage the media and enthusiasts gathered in Central Florida to showcase new products. Just last year we witnessed the public debuts of both the 2009 ALMS GT1 Championship and Competition Sport Editions. Now we have word that a new limited edition Corvette Z06 variant will be introduced at the Sebring Corvette Corral.
In our final installment of our analysis of the 2009 Corvette market, we present an overview of the Corvette values by generation as documented by our Corvette pricing guru Bob Kroupa of VETTE-N-VESTMENTS.
In previous years, we were able to break up our annual market analysis into two top 10 lists of Corvettes that were appreciating and those that were depreciating. But 2009 wasn't kind to Corvette values and the days of double-digit growth appear to have gone by the wayside for the foreseeable future. Our Corvette Values expert Bob Kroupa of VETTE-N-VESTMENTS takes us through the numbers, so grab a tissue and gird your loins before clicking the "more" button because it ain't pretty.
n 1989 VH1 held a contest where they gave a way 36 Corvettes - one for every year beginning in 1953 through 1989 - to a single winner. Dennis Amodeo, a carpenter from Long Island won the collection, but before taking delivery he sold all 36 Corvettes to Pop artist Peter Max who planned to use the cars for an art project. The project never got off the ground and the Corvettes ended up parked in a Brooklyn building where they were essentially forgotten.
This C6 Corvette ends up precariously balanced on a telephone support wire following a collision with another car. The accident took place in Fountain Valley California last week. There were no injuries but the Corvette was messed up pretty bad. Check out additional photos after the jump.
Talking with many longtime Corvette collectors and dealers, there is one thing we can finally all agree on: This market sucks for Corvette values. Like the banking, housing and automotive sectors, the effects of this stagnant economy have finally permeated down to the collector car market which includes Corvettes.
So what does the Chevrolet Corvette and movie star Marilyn Monroe have in common? Seductive, voluptuous, hot, fast and sexy is how Paul Niedermeyer from The Truth About Cars describes both of these American icons. There are other comparisons as well including how both started from humble beginnings and then went on to capture the hearts of Americans and world. You owe it to yourself to check out this great read, however, keep in mind that some of the images are Not Safe For Work (NSFW)!
I got an email today from Corvette Racing announcing they are starting a video series to document the team through the 2010 American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The preview video as you will see is very well-done and now I am even more fired up for the first race of the season later this month at Sebring.
As Corvette Racing gears up for the start of the 2010 American Le Mans Series, the team is releasing additional details regarding the changes needed for competing in the now unified GT class. The most notable change for the GT Corvettes is the new LS5.5R V8 engine. Built alongside its LS9, LS7 and LS3 dry-sump brethrens at the Performance Build Center in Wixom, this new LS7 based engine is slimmed down to 5.5 liters and delivers 485 horsepower at 5800 rpms.
Texas legend Delmo Johnson is one of the pioneers of Corvette road racing with a career that goes back to the early days. His lengthy list of significant Corvette racers he has piloted include Grand Sports #003 and #004 and C1 and C2 Corvettes raced under the Gulf Oil banner. In the early 1990's, after many years in retirement, some friends encouraged him to come out and race one more time and this 1968/74 Corvette was his ride.
A short but sweet walk around the Corvette Stingray Concept featured in this summer's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen movie. The video appears to have been shot during production. For a brief instant I thought we'd finally get a look at the interior.
GM has been letting out the official pricing for the 2010 model year in piecemeal fashion, but we now have the full pricing list for the 2010 model year Corvette which includes prices for the various equipment packages and individual options like radios, wheels and colors.
Corvette sales hit a new low last month with just 624 Corvettes delivered during February 2010. That's a decline of -39% from February 2009's 1,027 sales figure and -26.9% off of January 2010's 854 deliveries. A shortened selling period of 24 days combined with several winter storms that blanketed much of the country is to blame for the decline.
Here is the new 2010 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible. This car is VIN #5 and was built the week of the April 20th. The Corvette features a Cyber Gray exterior with the new chrome Grand Sport wheels. This GS doesn't have the Z15 RPO Heritage Package which includes the fender hash mark graphics and embroiderd "Grand Sport" on the seats. Instead it has the new 0B1 Crossed Flags headrest embroidery.
You are looking at what could very well be the very first 2010 Corvette ZR1 finished in stunning Arctic White. Recent changes in production now allow all 2010 Corvette models to be available in all eight exterior colors. Although Arctic White has never been a big seller with last year's production numbers topping just 5%, it seems to flow exceptionally well and the Blue Devil's exposed LS9 cowl and blue brake calipers provide well-intended accents.
That line of thunderstorms that rolled through Scottsdale last week did a huge amount of damage to the classic and rare cars that were to be sold at the Russo and Steele auction. Wind gusts of over 50 mph destroyed two of the tents that housed the cars, but luckily no people were seriously injured. After the fire department cleared the area, consignors were let back inside to view the aftermath and for many of these Corvette owners, it sure wasn't pretty.
Mecum's Kansas City auction was held Friday and Saturday at the Kansas City Convention Center and the results were very favorable. Of the 46 Corvettes on the sales docket, 37 were sold which is a 80.4% success ratio. For a reserve-based auction, this is very good. Total Corvette sales for the auction was $1,096,750.
According to Kelley Blue Book, Chevrolet's Corvette is one of 2010's top 10 vehicles for having the best resale value. The survey recognizes those vehicles based on their project retai8ned value five years from now.
Every once in a while a custom Corvette will come along that knocks your socks off and this is definitely one of those moments. Named the Goodguys Street Machine of the Year, this 1962 Corvette was built by The Roadster Shop for customer Barry Blomquist and showed at the Goodguys PPG Nationals in Columbus, Ohio where it apparently made a huge impression on the judges and crowd alike.
Neohydro Technologies has perfected its twin turbo system for the C6 Corvette. While the usual performance benefits of a turbo system are present: 775 horsepower and 691 Ft-lb of torque, the real trick on this install is better fuel economy which raises the mileage standard to 40 mpg around town and 32 mpg on the highway.