Tag: 60th Anniversary Corvette

Vette Videos: Hot Lap Action With the 2012 Indy 500 ZR1 Corvette Pace Car

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 5.25.12

Ryan Briscoe take a blast in the 2012 60th Anniversary ZR1 Indy 500 Pace Car – calls it, “One hell of a race car!”

This weekend is the 96th running of the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsports, the Indy 500. Over the years, some of the cars that pace the race have become stars themselves. And none more that the Corvette Indy Pace Cars. After all, the Indy 500 is America’s race and the Corvette is America’s high performance sports car, so the relationship is a natural. This will be the 11th time (‘78, ‘86. ‘95, ‘98, ‘03, ‘04, ‘05, ‘06, ‘07, and ‘08) a Corvette has served as the official Indy 500 pace car.

The last time a Corvette served as an Indy 500 pace car was in 2008 when not one, but two unique Indy Pace Car Corvettes were on hand. A black and silver version was available as an option for Corvette buyers, with 234 Coupes and 266 convertibles sold that year. But the actual pace car was an experimental, Gold Rush Green Z06 running on E-85 fuel. This unique paint was a brilliant candy gold that changed into candy lime green depending on the light and angle of view. I thought for sure this might be a prototype paint for a possible Continue reading “Vette Videos: Hot Lap Action With the 2012 Indy 500 ZR1 Corvette Pace Car” →

The Most Powerful Indy 500 Pace Car EVER – 2013 60th Anniversary ZR1 Corvette

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 5.11.12

Corvette paces the 2012 Indy 500 for the 11th time!

Every so often, a real bombshell goes off. Earlier this week, less than three weeks before the 2012 Indy 500 race, Chevrolet announced that a 2013 60th Anniversary ZR1 Corvette would pace the 96th Indy 500 race. This will the the 11th time a Corvette paces the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsports and the 23rd time a Chevrolet automobile has paced the Indy 500. No other manufacturer has paced Indy more times. And, if that’s not enough, 2012 marks the return of Chevrolet as an engine supplier for IZOD IndyCar Series.

C6 Corvettes have paced the Indy 500 in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008, but this is the first time the 638-horsepower ZR1 will do the job. The ZR1 is also the most powerful car to ever pace the Indy 500. And just like most of the previous Corvette Indy pace cars, the Corvete needed no performance enhancements – just the addition of various safety requirements.

Arguably, the only bummer part of the story is for Corvette collectors. There was no announcement of an optional Pace Car Special. The livery on the ZR1 Pace Car consists of the production 60th Anniversary decoration, with the addition of the 2012 Indy 500 logo, “Official Pace Car”, Indy 500 logo,  “CORVETTE” across the top of the windshield, and the safety strobe light bar on top of the B-pillar. The ZR1’s astonishing hardware aside, this is the tamest-looking Corvette Indy 500 pace car we’ve seen since 1986. But, we’re NOT complaining. Continue reading “The Most Powerful Indy 500 Pace Car EVER – 2013 60th Anniversary ZR1 Corvette” →

CorvetteNews: 3-24-2012: Driver Reports From Gavin & Magnussen, 60th Anniversary TV Ad, & Bowling Green Readies For The C7

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 3.24.12

Breaking news and information for Corvette friends and fans around the globe!

* Driver Report: Corvette RacingTeam driver Oliver Gavin’s report on the team’s 2nd and 3rd place wins at the 60th Anniversary Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race. CLICK HERE.

* Driver Report: Corvette Racing team driver,Jan Magnussen weighs in on the 2012 Sebring ALMS race. “We all expected the 12 Hours of Sebring to be one amazing battle, but even I didn’t think we’d end up with three cars from three different makes fighting it out on the final lap.” CLICK HERE.

 

* New Chevy Runs Deep 60th Anniversary Corvette “Candles” Commercial. Look’n GOOD for a 60-year old babe! CLICK HERE. Continue reading “CorvetteNews: 3-24-2012: Driver Reports From Gavin & Magnussen, 60th Anniversary TV Ad, & Bowling Green Readies For The C7” →

SCORCHING 2012 Z06 Centennial Edition Corvette Video Road Test – WOW!!!

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 8.2.11
 WANNA take a RIDE in a SMOKIN HOT 2012 Centennial Edition Z06 Corvette???

The delicious Centennial Edition option is available on all 2012 Corvettes.

Looking at pictures of hot Vettes is great, but there’s nothing better than seeing them in action, or better yet, behind the wheel! The new Z07 performance package for Z06 and ZR1 Corvettes helps the cars squeeze more performance without any additional horsepower. BRAVO Corvette team!

If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this video must be worth a million. Enjoy and pass this on to your Corvette pals!

The Centennial Edition (code ZLC) will be available on all 2012 Corvettes and is arguably the juiciest special edition Corvette offer to date. Even though the basic package is the same, between the six Corvette variants (base Coupe, base Convertible. Grand Sport Coupe, Grand Sport Convertible, Z06, and ZR1), plus the variables of trim and options, there will be lots unique Centennial Edition Corvettes. “Collectibility” will be out the window, but there will be plenty of VERY nice ‘12 Corvettes. For the full rundown on the 2012 Centennial Edition option, CLICK HERE.

And here’s the official Chevrolet 2012 Centennial Corvette video… Continue reading “SCORCHING 2012 Z06 Centennial Edition Corvette Video Road Test – WOW!!!” →

C7 Corvette Set To Be a 2014 Model!

Published on by Scott

Concept art by Tamas Jakus.

GM North America President, Mark Reuss Makes a MAJOR Corvette Announcement.

Here’s some serious C7 red meat for ya! GM North America President, Mark Reuss made a major announcement at the Bowling Green Corvette assembly plant that GM will be investing $131 million dollars in the plant that will create 250 jobs, AND that the C7 Corvette will likely be introduced in the Spring of 2013 as a 2014 model.

I think that about nails it, Corvette fans. With GM making a major investment like that, it’s a done deal. The only thing I can imagine that would push the model back would be if it takes longer for the Corvette engineers to get the new C7 as perfect as a mass production car can be. Corvette quality control took a big step forward with the C5 model, thanks to then Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill’s background with Cadillac cars. Expectations for the next Vette are VERY high and I’m certain that the Corvette team is well aware of how high the bar will be. “No pressure” folks! Continue reading “C7 Corvette Set To Be a 2014 Model!” →

C7 Corvette Images… Real, or Photoshopped?

Published on by Scott

Is “Seeing” Believing???

If this car was sitting at your local Chevy dealer as the 2013 Corvette, would you order one?

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I have been following the Corvette hobby since the mid-’60s. Nothing stokes the faithful loyal Corvette fans like a really hot-looking Corvette show car. The first question is obvious, “Is this the next Vette?” C7 Corvette rumors started in mid-’07 with chatter about a possible mid-engine as the design layout of choice for the next generation Corvette. I’m not sure of where that came from, as mid-engine cars are notoriously inefficient when it comes to use of space and workability.

In the olden days, (‘60s, ‘70s,’80s, and ‘90s) fans had to wait for either artwork or one of Jim Dunne’s famous, long-lens, blurry images of a Corvette prototype being thrashed about at one of GMs test centers. Many of those cars were wearing grotesque panels to disguise the car’s new shape. Those kinds of images inevitably lead to reader comments, such as, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!” OR “What are they THINKING?!” Continue reading “C7 Corvette Images… Real, or Photoshopped?” →

C7 Corvette Split-Window Coupe “Option”?

Published on by Scott

If a “Split-Window” option was available on the C7 Corvette, would you order your C7 with one?

This is the photo from the Car and Driver story.

I Photoshopped the split-window out of the rear window on this photo.

If you were buying a new 2013 C7 Corvette and the "Split-Window Coupe" was an option, would you get one?

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Last week I talked about the Car and Driver C7 update from their April 2011 issue. Among all the rehashed jib-jab, there was one tantalizing paragraph. The seventh paragraph says…

“More startling, it seems certain that the coupe’s going-away view will feature a split rear window – ‘a la the one-year Sting Ray coupe of 1963 – though in this case it will be an optional feature. Chevrolet first signaled its interest in reviving the split-window by outfitting the Stingray concept vehicle with one. Yes, that’s the one that appeared in the second Transformers movie.”

In my initial hunt for some technical/technical red meat in the story, I kind of skipped by the above detail. The rearview image from the Car and Driver story (quite possibly a styling study) shows a split-window, although due to the low angle of the image, it’s easy to not notice. Continue reading “C7 Corvette Split-Window Coupe “Option”?” →