Dateline: 8.11.11
No, it’s NOT a preview for a new Tom Clancy movie, it’s the NEW 1997 Vette!

The C5 Corvette was supposed to be out years before, but financial troubles at GM kept pushing back the release date. While this was frustrating for Corvette fans, the positive part was that it gave the Corvette team the time to make the car as good as they could. The basic design of the C5 platform was started by Corvette chief engineer Dave McLellan. When mcLellan retired in 1992, former Cadillac engineer, Dave Hill was made the third Chief Engineer for the Corvette. The C5 was so well designed that by ‘99 engineers determined that they had done nearly as much to the car’s platform as they could, without designing a new platform. This naturally paved the way for the C6 Corvette.

Off the C5 platform we got the Z06 Corvette and the C5-R Corvette race. The Corvette Racing Team won Le Mans in ‘01 and dominated the 2002 ALMS  series with 10, 1st place wins and 8, 2nd place wins in 11 races with the two-car C5-R team. An interesting factoid about the C5 Corvette platform is that the car had over 1,200 FEWER parts than the C4 platform!

Someone must have been a Tom Clancy fan when they were designing this TV ad. Fun dialog from the commercial…
“Satellite just located another test site.”
“We don’t KNOW what it is!”
“Get him down here!”
“Talk to me!”
“Road testing, Stuttgart.”
“Lateral acceleration .93 G! WHAT?!”
“Speed, 1-6-zero and climbing!”
“What the HELL is going on?!”
“We’re tracking him!”
“Speed, 1-7-zero, still climbing!!!”
“Does anyone have an idea what this IS?”
“I do.”
“Well???”
“It’s the next Vette!”
“Get me one…”

GREAT STUFF! – Scott

PS – For C5 Corvette art prints, CLICK HERE.