Stay informed with Corvette Report’s weekly breaking news roundup from February 27, 2026 — covering performance developments, racing headlines, and the latest stories shaping America’s sports car.
Michael Tran, of Baytown, Texas has been into cars since the age of eighteen. For years Tran bought and fixed up a variety of Hondas and BMWs, but in his heart, he wanted a hot American car; not a Camaro or a Mustang; a Corvette!
After his jewelry business took off, Tran started looking for a C6 to fulfill his very specific plans for his vision of a daily driver, supercar Corvette. But when the C7 came out, Tran knew that was the car he wanted. In 2014 Tran purchased a pre-owned Arctic White 2014 Z51 Corvette with black wheels and just 2,000 miles on the odometer. Since Tran knew exactly what he wanted for his Corvette, upon delivery, the car went directly to the shop for what would become a long journey.
All five Corvette chief engineers contributed mightily and in their own unique ways. But only Tadge Juechter has the distinction of having done hard engineering on five generations of Corvettes. When Juechter went to work in 1993 as chief engineer Dave Hill’s right-hand-man, there were two objectives; keep the then-current C4 fresh and interesting; and design and develop the most revolutionary Corvette to that date, the C5. After Hill’s retirement, Tom Wallace was Vehicle Line Engineer (VLE) and chief engineer for the Corvette. Wallace accessed that because of Juechter’s 15 years of experience, he was the right man for the chief engineer position.
When Tadge Juechter’s C7 Corvette debuted, fans were stunned to learn that the base model C7 was built an even better version of the Z06’s aluminum chassis. But wait, there’s more! The same new aluminum chassis would be used for the coupe AND convertible Corvette. This was a major breakthrough and bespeaks of advanced engineering. Here’s how Juechter’s team did it.
Juechter’s objective was to build a modern performance car that delivered enhanced driving experience, more efficiency that yielded more performance. Every element had to contribute to the overall performance and there would be nothing fake. That explains everything that we see on the C7 Corvette, but what’s unseen is even more amazing.
Years ago, a good friend gave me a book about race car driving. Inside the cover Joe wrote, “The insanity of speed is only understood by those that cautiously extract it.” With a two-run average speed of 212-mph, the new ZR1 has entered the Insane Zone for production automobiles.
AMAZING! The fully loaded, first C7 Grand Sport Corvette goes for only $170,000! Dateline – 4-8.16: This is arguably the collectible Corvette buy of the...
With absolutely nothing to apologize for or make “yea, but…” arguments over while splitting hairs, you have to wonder, “Where is all this going???” I don’t think this will be the Corvette’s high-water-mark as far as power is concerned. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a 700-to-750 ZR1-version maybe as a ’17 model. That’s just total speculation on my part. And the only way to get more power to the ground would be via an all-wheel-drive system. And with the way Corvette engineers manage systems in terms of traction control, braking, rev-matching for downshifts, etc, a very elaborate computer-controlled AWD system might not be too far away.
After what was without a doubt the longest, most tortuous buildup for a new generation Corvette ever, Chevrolet finally unleashed the 2014 C7 Corvette at the Detroit Auto Show on January 13, 2013. It was exhausting and I thought that Tadge Juechter, Tom Peters, and Ed Welburn would never stop talking. Finally, in a “TA-DA!” style, the red C7 came up and over a ramp, making it look like the car leapt on stage. It turned out that the spy photos and computer generated illustrations were close… but not quite on the mark. No, what we saw was better. But, I expected this, as the same thing happened before the C6 arrived – only we weren’t all on the torture rack for months on end.
