Dateline: 12.27.11

Ron Fellows’ Very Special, Spring Mountain Special Edition

We’d like your opinion at the bottom of this post! Should Chevrolet offer this car as an additional Special Edition for 2012?

1-2007-2012-Fellows — Briefly it seemed that there would be a second Ron Fellows Special Edition Corvette, but it was not to be!

Ever since the arrival of the 2007 Ron Fellows Z06 Special Edition Corvette, Chevrolet has been on a roll with special editions. Including the Fellows ‘07 Z06, there have been nine special edition Corvettes since ‘07. The list includes:

* 2007 Ron Fellows Z06 Special Edition
* 2007 Indy 500 Pace Car Replica
* 2008 Indy 500 Replica
* 2008 427 Limited Edition Z06
* 2008 Hertz ZHZ Special Edition
* 2009 GT-1 Championship Special Edition
* 2009 Competition Sport Edition
* 2011 Carbon Edition Z06
* 2012 Centennial Edition Corvette

5-2012-Fellows-Rear — Is Torch Red bloody enough for you?

Now some would argue that having so many “special editions” devalues each car. But I like these cars and here’s why. Why not? I believe that Chevrolet seriously missed the boat by not getting on to this nitch market decades ago. What might a limited production, 1960 John Fitch Le Mans Special be worth today? Would a ‘67 L89 427/435 Indy 500 Pace Car Roadster get your attention? Or how about a ‘71 Greenwood Sebring Special? How about a Kim Baker Corvette Challenge Street Edition, or a ‘92 Snake Skinner LT1? Getting warm yet? You could have a lot of Corvette day dreaming fun with this notion.

So last November when Keith Cornett splashed the Ron Fellows “Hall of Fame” ‘12 Z06 Tribute Corvette last November ’11, I thought, “Nice addition to the ‘12 lineup! But a little deeper research showed that, sorry Fellows fans, no RPO number for this beauty. The car was a SEMA Show piece only and unless Ron decides to someday sell off his, mere mortals won’t get one. But, that doesn’t mean that you couldn’t build you own reasonable facsimile. After all, when it comes to special edition Corvettes, with the exception of a few of the car’s unique decal packages (the pace cars specifically) you “could” make you own, if your just HAD TO HAVE ONE.

3-RonFellows — Ron was voted "ALMS Most Popular Driver" four years straight, from '04 to '07.

I wouldn’t call these, “just parts cars.” There isn’t one piece of slacker hardware in the mix of any of the special edition Corvettes. (Sorry, no deluxe, bluetooth, heated dual coffee cup holder with deco coordinated trim and your initials) Chevrolet has done a beautiful job of creating a boutique department at your local Chevrolet dealer where you can trick out your Vette, almost like a RideMakerz toy car. (I know gals, for most of the big boys, the real cars ARE toys!)

What was once strictly the domain of tuner shops, dating back to Joel Rosen’s Baldwin Motion enterprise, your local Chevrolet dealer or one of the Corvette dealerships, will happily trick out your new Vette for you. Between the wide-body options, hoods, wheels, strips, air splitters, spoilers, rockers, colors, stripe packages, suspension, exhaust, headlight buckets, brakes and rotor color option, the combinations are mind bloggling!

Probably the ONLY thing you could rap Chevrolet for on the Special Edition Corvettes is that fact that there are no horsepower enhancements, aside from the inclusion of the $1,199 RPO-NPP Dual Mode Exhaust System. That’s a lot of cash for just 6-horsepower, but it sure sounds good. The requirements for mileage and EPA certifications are so substantial, there’s no way a modern manufacturer is going to offer another engine performance version of the LS7 and LS9 engines. So if 505-HP or 638-HP won’t get your through the day, you’ll have to see Lingenfelter or one of the other tuner companies.

All of the above aside, the Ron Fellows Tribute 2012 Z06 is one handsome, hot-looking Vette. Here’s what the Chevrolet design crew included to the basic Z06 (remember back in ‘06 when the Z06 by itself was over the top?):

* Torch Red paint with full-body, over the roof and rear deck white stripes
* B92 Carbon fiber hood
* Centennial Edition lightweight black wheels
* Centennial Edition seats with “100 Years” embroidery
* Custom Grand Sport fender hash marks with the Canadian Maple Leaf graphic similar to the ‘07 Ron Fellows Special Edition Z06
* The ‘09 Competition Edition door number graphic with the number “3” same as the Corvette Racing cars Fellows drove
* Brembo Carbon Fiber Brakes with red calipers
* Black headlight buckets
* Black, tall rear spoiler
* Special emblems on the nose, B-pillar, roof, and rear bumper cover

In a recent conversation with a sales specialist at F.C. Kerbeck in Atlantic City, I was told that there are no plans at this time for another special edition Corvette for 2012. Of course there’s the much anticipated 2013 60th anniversary coming up next. If Chevrolet’s past is any indication of how they’ll handle the 60th Anniversary Edition, we might know as soon as this Spring. So, stay tuned! – Scott