Lake Placid is also home to two of the rarest special edition Corvettes, a 1996 Grand Sport Coupe and Convertible. And here’s the kicker – they both reside within two blocks of one another! Ron Ellerman is the original owner of the 1996 Grand Sport Corvette Coupe and John Meyerhoff is the owner of the 1996 Grand Sport Convertible.
Question: What’s better than a Grand Sport? Answer: TWO Grand Sports Special Edition Corvettes are a fun part of the Corvette hobby. Production numbers for...
Some are describing the new Grand Sport as a “Z06 with a Stingray engine.” Chief engineer Tadge Juechter explained that the Grand Sport package is not simply a “plug’n play” with Z06 parts. While the Z06 parts work great on the new Grand Sport, the basic Stingray is unique and everything had to be calibrated. The Grand Sport has its own springs, anti-roll bars, Magnetic Ride Control, and Electronically-controlled rear differential programming. The Z06 wide-body offers plenty of extra venting and opens up the fenders for the extra-wide wheels and tires.
When I wrote my Illustrated Corvette Series No. 177 column for VETTE in October ‘11 covering the 2012 Centennial Edition, there was zero talk about 2013 special editions. And frankly, I wasn’t anticipating the announcement of the 60th Anniversary Special Edition until the Spring. Then in early January, “BAM!” Chevrolet unleashed the 60th Anniversary Edition, plus the delicious 427 Convertible. While I personally like a little more sizzle, the two ‘13 special editions are indeed sweet. But it did complicate the main question of my column, “Is the 2012 Centennial Edition ZR1 the best of the C6 Vettes?”
When the new 1984 Corvette was shown to the automotive press in the Summer of ‘83, there was a wave of euphoria. “FINALLY!!! A New Corvette!” As there should have been. After all, the Shark had been with us since 1968 and the steel parameter frame and suspension since 1963. The chassis was designed somewhere around 1960! So you could say the car was a little over due for an update.
In retrospect the C4 was an extraordinary generation. It came with 205-horsepower, went out with the 330-horsepower LT4, and maxed out with the 405-horsepower LT5. Here are the highlights:
I have a very nice relationship with VETTE Magazine. Since 1976 I’ve been a contributing artist and writer with the magazine shortly after founding editor Marty Schorr started the first Corvette-only newsstand magazine. My monthly column, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” started in Spring of ‘97 and continues on. Next week I’ll be starting No. 165 that will cover the awesome Greenwood G572 C4 Corvette.
The November ‘10 issue of VETTE saw a major makeover for the publication. Corvette Fever is no more, as it has been merged with VETTE. The “new” VETTE is 3/8” taller and wider, has 16 more pages, better paper, and a perfect binding. The new VETTE looks EXCELLENT, my compliments to VETTE’s art department. Included was The Illustrated Corvette Series No. 162 – Part 1 of a two-part, two-page color article that covers the Special Edition Corvettes from 1978 to 2003.
The introduction of the C4 Corvette in the Fall of ‘83 was a much anticipated automotive event. Times were tough through the ‘70s and no one anticipated in ‘68 that the new Mako Shark-inspired car would have a 15-model-year production run. And when you consider that the car was riding on a chassis designed in ‘60-’61 for the C2 Sting Ray, it’s all the more amazing that the late C3 cars set all-time sales records.
Just like all Corvettes from the beginning, the C4 was a car that was in constant evolution. Every year, Corvette Chief Engineer, Dave McLellan and his devoted crew of engineers and stylists made small improvements, with an occasional big leap forward. Little did we know when the C4 was first shown at the end of ‘83 that this Corvette generation would last almost as long as the C3 generation – 13 model years.
Before The Corvette Report was a full-fledged blog, it was a monthly email newsletter. A regular feature of the newsletter was titled “Let’s Play Corvette Odd-Ball! Quirky Vette Factoids” In the October 2008 newsletter I posed the question, “What’s the highest mileage Corvette on record?” With a little help from former assistant editor, John Nelson, I reported on a VERY high-mileage Vette, owned by Bill Pierceall.
