Tag Archives: C7 Corvette

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Video: Hear the C7 Corvette's three-mode exhaust

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By Brandon Turkus

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Chevrolet’s new, seventh-generation Corvette Stingray is quite easily one of the most highly anticipated vehicles of the year. And as details of the new car trickle out ahead of our first drive of it (coming soon!), we’re getting more and more excited.

Perhaps the question most on our mind as this new Chevy marches towards production is, what will it sound like? That’s not a simple question, though, as the Stingray will sound different depending on whether or not you spec the optional performance exhaust, which can radically change the car’s acoustic character.

Here, we have video of three different modes for the four-piped exhaust. Unfortunately, though, the car is just idling, which isn’t ideal. It’s interesting to hear that there are three distinct settings, which contrasts with the information that this was a dual-mode exhaust. Of course, it’s possible that one of the modes is what the car sounds like with a few cylinders shut down. All Corvettes feature cylinder deactivation for their 6.2-liter V8s, with a unique exhaust mode to limit four-pot clatter. It just seems odd that it could readily be engaged at idle.

We’re going to hold off judgment until we’re behind the wheel, but right now, the performance exhaust seems like a worthwhile way to spend $1,195. Take a listen in the video below, and let us know what you think.

Continue reading Hear the C7 Corvette’s three-mode exhaust

Hear the C7 Corvette’s three-mode exhaust originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 23 Jul 2013 16:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A Thousand Horsepower? Hennessey Outlines Several Levels of Pumped-Up C7 Corvette Upgrades

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By Alexander Stoklosa

Hennessey Performance Engineering C7 Corvette

So you think Chevrolet’s latest Corvette is pretty grand, but you want more than its stock 455 horsepower? Pity, the C7 ZR1 won’t arrive any time soon, and neither will the Z06. Mercifully, Hennessey Performance Engineering’s got your back. The tuning outfit has revealed a slew of performance-enhancement packages for Chevrolet’s newest Corvette, and the least powerful bundle brings 600 horses to the table.

Hennessey’s evil plans for the C7 Corvette include four power packs, HPE600, HPE700, HPE800, and HPE1000; and yes, the numbers in those names correlate to the amount of horsepower each one pumps out. The HPE600 deploys an Eaton TVS2300 supercharger, an HPE intake, and engine-computer tuning to reach 600 horsepower. It will set buyers back $12,495 installed. Another $5955 is required to jump into an HPE700, which adds ported cylinder heads and an HPE camshaft to the HPE600′s equipment list for an extra 100 ponies. Hennessey most closely compares the HPE700 Vette to the outgoing ZR1, which Chevy charged a little over $40,000 more for; if the performance is comparable, then it’s one heck of a deal.

Customers looking for more than 700 Hennessey-provided ponies can look to either the HPE800 or the HPE1000, both of which eschew the HPE600 and HPE700′s supercharger for a pair of turbos. The HPE800 also employs forged aluminum pistons, forged steel rods and crankshaft, high-flow cylinder heads, fuel-system upgrades, an air-to-air intercooler, and stainless-steel turbo downpipes and exhaust system. The insane 1000-hp HPE1000 also gets an electronic boost controller. All this bonkers output comes at a price: $54,950 for the HPE800 kit and $67,950 for the HPE1000. 

Aside from the (fully warranted—3 years/36,000 miles) performance packages, Hennessey is also offering C7 Corvette owners carbon-fiber body kit pieces and interior trim, monoblock aluminum wheels, a Brembo carbon-ceramic brake upgrade, Penske adjustable dampers, a cold-air intake, and a stainless steel catback exhaust. Our only question is this: Can we mix the HPE1000 gear with Callaway’s C7 Shooting Brake conversion kit for the ultimate Stingray wagon?

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

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Report: Fewer than 1 in 3 Chevy dealers earn right to initially sell C7 Corvette

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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Looking to make the launch of the 2014 Corvette Stingray as efficient as possible, Chevrolet will be limiting the numbers of its dealers that can sell the all-new coupe and convertible. According to Automotive News, sales of the C7 Corvette will initially be limited to less than a third of Chevy’s total dealership network when the ‘Vette goes on sale this summer.

Only 900 dealers out of more than 3,000 locations nationwide will be allowed to sell the new Corvette at first, and the reason for this is so that there are no shortages at dealers that can actually get the cars sold. The article says that the 900 dealerships chosen represented 80 percent of total Corvette sales in 2012.

Some of the requirements dealers had to make to get initial allocation of Stingray sales include having sold at least four Corvettes in 2012 and having a Corvette Stingray specialist who will be required to have gone through a training session costing more than $2,000 per attendee. Once demand for the 2014 Corvette Stingray begins to subside – approximately six to nine months after it goes on sale – then allocation could open up to more dealers, but the report indicates this could happen following the 2014 model year.

Fewer than 1 in 3 Chevy dealers earn right to initially sell C7 Corvette originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 01 Apr 2013 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevy's own contest points to C7 Corvette Stingray pricing

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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As much attention as the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has attracted since its debut back in January, we still have no idea how much the car will cost. Thanks to Chevy’s Race To Win Corvette contest, we finally have a pricing estimate of sorts for the hot new coupe.

In addition to winning a trip for two to France and tickets to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the grand prize winner will also become the proud owner of a C7 Corvette, which has an “approximate retail value” of $71,860. While this would be quite a step up from the $49,600 base MSRP of the 2013 ‘Vette, keep in mind that this may also include options and taxes associated with the car – depending on where the car is sold, taxes alone could easily be in the $5,000 range. Or, it may just be some sort of estimate.

Regardless of how much the car costs, this sounds like an awesome contest. To enter, just head over to the Race to Win Corvette website.

Chevy’s own contest points to C7 Corvette Stingray pricing originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 22 Mar 2013 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Amelia Island 2013: Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray from concepts to split windows

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

Amelia Island Concours d'Elegance 2013 - Corvette Sting Ray display

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While this year marks 60 years of the Chevrolet Corvette, the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance focused on one of the coupe’s most sought after models, the 1963 Sting Ray. General Motors design boss Ed Welburn was on hand to show off the all-new C7 Corvette, but even the hard-edged styling of the 2014 Stingray couldn’t take away from the beautiful 1963 models sitting out on the field.

In addition to the original Sting Ray and the 1959 Sting Ray Concept, some of the other classic ‘Vettes included “Big Tank” racecars, an interesting cutaway coupe, a right-hand-drive Z06 and the attention-grabbing 1963 Corvette Rondine by Pininfarina. Another impressive Corvette was the 1964 Corvette XP-819 rear-engine prototype. Owner Mike Yager had the car finished as a driving chassis for this year’s show, but promises the car will be back to its original glory in time for next year’s event.

Amelia Island 2013: Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray from concepts to split windows originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 13 Mar 2013 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: C7 Corvette turbo with 1,000 horsepower promised from Hennessey

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By Zach Bowman

2014 Chevrolet Corvette - Front three-quarter view, red

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If you can’t wait for the next-generation Chevrolet Corvette ZR1, Hennessey says they will have you covered. The Texas-based company has announced it will offer a spate of upgrades for the 2014 Corvette ranging from a range of bolt-on options all the way up to a 1,000-horsepower, twin-turbo system. Buyers can start with a cold air intake, cat-back exhaust or stainless steel long-tube headers, but Hennessey says it will also offer up three stages of forced induction mayhem should those bits and baubles not provide enough thrust.

Those choices start with a supercharger system good for up to 700 hp, though Hennessey will gladly ditch the blower in favor of two turbos. Doing so will spin the crank to the tune of 800 horsepower all the way up to a certifiably ludicrous 1,000 ponies. There’s no word on how much these tricks will cost you – or when they will be available, as we’re guessing they haven’t gotten their hands on the car yet – but you can head over to the Hennessey site to drop them a line if you’re curious.

C7 Corvette turbo with 1,000 horsepower promised from Hennessey originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 25 Feb 2013 19:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Spy Shots: Are you the 2014 Corvette Grand Sport?

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By Seyth Miersma

Corvette C7 prototype undergoing winter testing - yellow with stripes

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When are stripes more than just stripes? Follow up question: Is the product development team at Chevrolet really cocky enough to hide the next C7 Corvette variant in plain sight? This very recently spotted, and ostensibly obscured C7 asks a lot more questions than it answers, but there’s at least some evidence to support that it might be the next Corvette Grand Sport.

The first and most obvious tip-off that something is up with this ‘Vette revolves around those silver stripes. Obviously the stripes themselves don’t necessarily denote a new model. However, when Chevy recently launched its “colorizer” website for the Stingray, there was no provision made for racing stripes – solid colors only.

Grand Sport exhibit number two is actually an incriminating lack of badges. The production Corvettes we’ve seen to date have all carried Stingray badges on their fenders, just behind the vent. The car seen in these images has no such badges, which is an intriguing omission on an car that looks like a production-spec vehicle otherwise.

The last clue is a subtle one, picked up on by the same spy photographers that have been following C7 prototypes around for ages now. There’s a full car cover in the cargo area of the Corvette in these photos – that’s an item that all of the other prototype ‘Vettes carried as standard equipment – to thoroughly hide them from prying eyes when they needed to be parked outside.

Any one of these differences spotted on a manufacturer-driven 2014 Corvette would be easily brushed off as an anomaly, but taken as a whole there could be something else there. What say you? Is this the next Corvette Grand Sport we’re looking at, or just some stripes and a pile of wishes? Share your thoughts, in comments.

Are you the 2014 Corvette Grand Sport? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 21 Feb 2013 15:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: New Details of Upcoming C7 Corvette Z06 & ZR1 Emerge

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By Darryl

corvette-stingray

The all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has managed to re-captivate enthusiasts all around the world, even those who were never really fans of the iconic American sports car in the first place. Being that the Stingray has reignited the love for the Corvette; the forward momentum will not stop any time soon as Chevrolet appears to make plans for launching Z06 and ZR1 versions of the new C7 Corvette.

A report out of Motor Trend states that the C7 Z06 will get an updated version of the 7.0-liter V8 engine with as much as 600 horsepower. Then, things start to really get interesting in the report as it speculates that the next ZR1 could see as much as 700 horsepower from both supercharging and twin-turbocharging the engine.

Rumors have already circulated that General Motors is testing an engine with sequential forced-induction for powering the next ZR1 as well as the Cadillac CTS-V. Usually horsepower figures for the Z06 and ZR1 are respectively separated by over just over 100 horsepower. Naturally the next CTS-V will get a slightly de-tuned version of the forthcoming C7 Corvette ZR1′s engine as it does for the current model year.

As it looks, in technical retrospect, these numbers are rumored by Motor Trend should not be too far off from reality. If things start to go south below 700 horsepower with the range-topping C7 Corvette ZR1, expect the Z06 to get under 600 horsepower while the Cadillac CTS-V falls in line using the same horsepower gap numbers that we currently see.

Either way, the new C7 Corvette Z06 and ZR1 will be better performers incorporating a better variation of everything you see in the new Stingray with a hard-core edge on performance. We won’t see these American iterations of supercar bliss action in the new Vette launched out of showrooms until at least a year from now but for now, let’s keep our fingers crossed for that 700 horsepower mark.

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Source: FULL ARTICLE at Automotive Addicts

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ETC: Experimental mid-engine XP-819 Corvette going up for auction

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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It seems to be commonplace that when a new Corvette is in development, rumors swirl about a possible mid-engine layout. As is the case of Chevy’s most recent C7 Corvette, these rumors never pan out.

In any case, the idea for a ‘Vette with an engine mounted behind the driver can probably all be traced back to a single car, the 1964 XP-819 prototype. Built as an “engineering exercise” back in 1964, the prototype was designed with a rear-mounted engine. History tells us that the idea of a rear-engine Corvette fizzled, and the XP-819 was eventually cut up into pieces and stored at a shop in Daytona Beach, FL.

After sitting for untold years, a restoration project started on the car, and while it isn’t yet fully completed, the current owner of the car, Mid America Motorworks, will have the car on display at the 2013 Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance as a “driveable chassis” with hopes of having a fully completed car ready to bring to next year’s show.

While we don’t know many of the details behind this car, we can obviously see that it wears strong C3 styling details four years before the third-generation Corvette ever launched. We will be on hand at Amelia Island next month, so we’ll bring you more coverage of this one-of-a-kind Corvette, but until then, check out the original images of the car above and the press release below.

Continue reading Experimental mid-engine XP-819 Corvette going up for auction

Experimental mid-engine XP-819 Corvette going up for auction originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 17 Feb 2013 13:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: C7 Corvette makes inaugural ad appearance in Chevy's first spot with new slogan

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By Chris Paukert

2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray as featured in new Chevy full-line ad - screencap

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Chevrolet’s “Runs Deep” tagline has finally been run into the ground, replaced with the Bowtie brand’s “Find New Roads” slogan that’s part of parent General Motors‘ plan to unify its everyday brand’s marketing efforts worldwide. The new Chevrolet campaign was ushered in on prime time last night during the Grammy Awards on CBS, and the first spot, a 90-second full-line ad, also marks the first appearance of the 2014 Corvette Stingray in a commercial.

Being a full-line ad, the commercial is composed of vignettes centered on different vehicles in the brand’s lineup. The all-new 2014 Impala also makes its first commercial appearance in dapper fashion, and time is spent on a skateboarding Sonic and a bouquet of brightly colored Spark hatchbacks driven by fashionable women. The ad starts and ends with Chevy’s green halo car, the Volt, along with a young girl with her robotic dog (yes, really).

Chevrolet’s “Runs Deep” campaign got off to a rocky start in the fall of 2010, but it did last for a couple of years with some tweaks. This new one, “Find New Roads” seems more intent on drawing new customers into the fold than the outgoing tagline, which seemed to play more toward the brand faithful. It admittedly reminds us more than a little the short-lived “Find Your Own Road” Saab motto (which, we note, was conceived while the Swedish brand was under GM‘s control), but no matter, we still think it’s got more long-term potential than “Runs Deep.”

Scroll down to watch the video.

Continue reading C7 Corvette makes inaugural ad appearance in Chevy’s first spot with new slogan

C7 Corvette makes inaugural ad appearance in Chevy’s first spot with new slogan originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Feb 2013 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Report: Was the C7 Corvette cut from Beyonce's Super Bowl halftime show?

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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Beyonce live at Super Bowl halftime performance

Someone was bound to receive a free 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray during the Super Bowl XLVII festivities; it just wasn’t who we thought it was going to be. Despite a report back in December that superstar Beyoncé Knowles would be getting an all-new Corvette during her halftime performance, that turned out not to be the case. Joe Flacco, starting quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, did in fact win a Corvette for his MVP performance.

So what transpired that prevented Beyoncé from rolling on stage in the new Chevrolet? Anyone who knows isn’t telling, but according to Yahoo! Autos, General Motors said that for one reason or another a deal “did not work out,” and it appears to have been an eleventh-hour change. Regardless of who’s to blame or what prevented this from happening, we’re sure Chevy has had no problems getting attention for the C7 Corvette since it was introduced last month.

Was the C7 Corvette cut from Beyonce’s Super Bowl halftime show? originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Feb 2013 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New Bright creating exclusive 1:8 scale radio-controlled C7 Corvette

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By Zach Bowman

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New Bright 2014 Chevroelt Corvette RC Car

If you want a new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette but can’t quite save up enough pennies for the monthly payment, we have good news for you. Toymaker New Bright has pulled the covers off of its 1:8 scale remote-controlled version of the American sports car. Complete with a very detailed interior and LED headlights, this large-scale R/C is as close as most of us will ever come to having one of the menacing Chevrolet models to call our very own. New Bright still hasn’t released pricing or availability, but word has it the coupe should hit the market soon.

Right now, it appears as if the C7 will hit shelves in Torch Red, though we don’t know if other colors are planned as well. The good news is that New Bright isn’t exactly turning its back on the old C6 – representatives say the company will continue to make its popular C6R racecar for those who prefer round taillights.

New Bright creating exclusive 1:8 scale radio-controlled C7 Corvette originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Official: Joe Flacco wins C7 Corvette along with MVP honors

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By Jeremy Korzeniewski

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Super Bowl MVP Joe Flacco and his 2014 Chevrolet Corvette prize

As part of a longstanding tradition, the MVP of Super Bowl XLVII, Joe Flacco, quarterback for the Baltimore Ravens, was given a new car directly after the game and trophy celebrations. For 2013, that car is a 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, and it was presented to Flacco by Rick Flick of Banner Chevrolet, a dealership in New Orleans that was wiped out by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 before returning to prominence as the only Chevy dealer in Orleans Parish.

Last year, Super Bowl MVP Eli Manning took home a 2012 Corvette GS Centennial Edition. Manning also won in 2008, when he selected a Cadillac Escalade Hybrid as his reward. In 2011, quarterback Aaron Rodgers accepted the keys to a Camaro convertible.

Though we’re most definitely an auto-obsessed group, we did watch the Big Game along with nearly everyone else in America. And we’ve gotta say, as if winning the Super Bowl and receiving the Tiffany-designed Pete Rozelle Trophy wasn’t enough for the multi-millionaire MVP athletes, a brand-new C7 seems like an awfully generous prize. Scroll down below for an official announcement from General Motors.

Continue reading Joe Flacco wins C7 Corvette along with MVP honors

Joe Flacco wins C7 Corvette along with MVP honors originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 04 Feb 2013 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Chevrolet Talks About The 2014 Corvette Stingray’s Styling: Video

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By Kurt Ernst

The 2014 Corvette Stingray in wind tunnel testing
The 2014 Corvette Stingray in wind tunnel testing

The 2014 Corvette Stingray in wind tunnel testing

Love it or hate it, the 2014 Corvette Stingray has achieved exactly what Chevrolet was aiming for: it’s gotten people talking about Corvette again. That hasn’t happened for quite a while, and we get the sense that the C7 launch is the biggest change to the Corvette product line since the C4 replaced the C3.

In the past, Corvettes always seemed to be about equal parts style and substance. Those wanting more speed were directed to the Z06 and ZR1, while those content to cruise to the local car show at legal speeds were happy with base model Corvettes. In fact, we’d bet that the vast majority of Corvette owners, like the vast majority of new Porsche buyers, would never even consider putting a wheel on the racetrack.

That’s why the C7 Corvette is such a welcome departure from the norm. Form follows function here, and everything on the car has a purpose. The hood vents are there to promote cooling, reduce front-end lift and cut down on drag. The rear fender ducts? Those allow cooling air to reach the transmission and differential coolers.

As Ed Welburn explained to Jay Leno, “there is no such thing as a base model with the new Corvette.” That’s going to play well to the hardcore enthusiasts among us, but we’re not sure how the new Corvette will be received by the casual buyer.

If the phrase “beautiful weapon” doesn’t quicken your pulse, perhaps you should be shopping for something more sensible than a Corvette in the first place.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Automotive Addicts

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Video: Why does the Corvette Stingray have so many vents? Here's why

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By Jeffrey N. Ross

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Just looking at the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, it’s not hard to see that the car’s design was created with aerodynamics at the forefront, but Chevrolet designers point out exactly what went into designing the iconic coupe in a pair of recently released videos. The videos show the Corvette going through early design phases, including clay models and wind tunnel tests, as well as talking to the car’s chief engineer, Tadge Juechter.

Both videos help explain various aspects of the C7 Corvette, but it’s the aero tuning of the car that is most interesting. This includes extra attention paid to the lower air dam and vented hood to help reduce drag and lift, while the rear quarter inlets are for differential and transmission cooling. Juechter said that some of these aero-tuned elements were inspired from GM‘s involvement in racing.

If you have about five minutes and you can’t get enough information about the new ‘Vette, then check out the videos posted below.

Continue reading Why does the Corvette Stingray have so many vents? Here’s why

Why does the Corvette Stingray have so many vents? Here’s why originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 27 Jan 2013 19:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Auctions: First production 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray draws $1.1 million bid for charity at Barrett-Jackson

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By Jeremy Korzeniewski

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First Production 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray

Barrett-Jackson has a long and storied history with the Chevrolet Corvette. For instance, back in 2008, Chevrolet auctioned off the very first of its new Corvette ZR1, earning a cool million bucks, and just last year the first 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible crossed the auction block for $600,000.

For the 2013 event, Chevrolet brought along the very show car we all fawned over at the Detroit Auto Show – the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray. Bidders got to look at this car as they fought for the right to order the very first C7 that rolls off the showroom floor, and they’ll get to pick the color and options. We figure it’ll be loaded.

After it was all said and done, C7 Corvette numero uno sold for $1.1 million, with 100-percent of the proceeds going to benefit College for Creative Studies. Check out the car as it crossed the black carpet in high-res beauty above, and then read its official description below.

Continue reading First production 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray draws $1.1 million bid for charity at Barrett-Jackson

First production 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray draws $1.1 million bid for charity at Barrett-Jackson originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 19 Jan 2013 23:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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First Renderings of 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible Hit the Internet

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By Alexander Stoklosa

2015 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

The automotive interwebs are abuzz from the appearance of two images of the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette convertible that many are saying are the real deal. We’re not so convinced—the images, which first appeared on The Auto Insider, certainly appear to be photographs of a real car, and the license-plate cover even reads “GM Design.” But after some careful inspection, we‘d wager that they’re really well-done renderings, whether they came from within GM or not. Plus, it’s probably no coincidence that these images are being circulated just days after the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette coupe made its big debut at the 2013 Detroit auto show. 

2015 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

Besides showing what the topless Corvette probably will look like, these renderings also give us our first look at the non-Z51 Vette (Chevy only brought the higher-performance Z51 model to the Corvette’s reveal). The differences between the Z51 and this potential non-Z51 are few: There’s no full-width rear spoiler and there are no vents on top of the rear fender bulges. The lack of rear-end venting probably has a lot to do with the non-Z51 Vette’s lack of rear-mounted differential and transmission coolers, which are mounted just behind each rear wheel on the high-po model.

Otherwise, it’s pretty much a given that the C7 Corvette convertible will get the same 6.2-liter small-block V-8 pushing an estimated 450 horsepower through a choice of seven-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission as the coupe. Look for the droptop iteration to debut sometime in the next year or so before going on sale as a 2015 model.

Source: FULL ARTICLE at Car & Driver

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Auctions: First C7 Corvette to be auctioned for charity

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By Zach Bowman

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2014 Chevrolet Corvette

General Motors is set to auction off the very first C7 Corvette for charity at the Barrett-Jackson collector car auction, on January 19. GM has a long history of using historically significant models to raise funds for worthy causes, and the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray should fetch a heady price for the College for Creative Studies. Look for the car to go under the gavel with no reserve.

We first heard about GM using Barrett-Jackson to sell the debut C7 last month, when the auction house published its list of lots for the January event. At the time, Lot No. 3016 offered few details beyond the fact that the vehicle up for bid was a “piece of Chevy history.” We’d say that’s about accurate.

Whoever wins the car can look forward to a 6.2-liter V8 with 450 horsepower on hand as well as a seven-speed manual transmission with rev-matching downshifts. A spate of new tech, an all-new frame, extensive cooling and a vastly improved interior are all part of the package. Head over to Barrett-Jackson for more information.

First C7 Corvette to be auctioned for charity originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 16 Jan 2013 15:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Video: Exclusive video of C7 Corvette's reconfigurable gauge cluster

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By Seyth Miersma

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We’ve inundated you with Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray information over the last couple of days (you’re welcome), but until now the images of the car have been largely of the exterior, and completely static. We figured that the slightly less dense crowd of journalists around the Chevy stand on day two of our media coverage would make for a good opportunity to get some video. And, considering that the reconfigurable instrument cluster was brand-spanking new, we asked Corvette Interior Design Manager, Ryan Vaughan for a tour of it.

Scroll down below for a first look inside the Corvette cockpit, and stay tuned for more fun from Detroit, today and tomorrow.

Continue reading Exclusive video of C7 Corvette’s reconfigurable gauge cluster

Exclusive video of C7 Corvette’s reconfigurable gauge cluster originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:09:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Detroit: 2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray is worth another (and another) look [w/poll]

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By Chris Paukert

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2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette - front three-quarter view, NAIAS reveal

We already told you all about the Corvette Stingray in our Deep Dive feature last night, but now we’ve had a chance to part the massive crowds surrounding it and get up close and personal at the Chevrolet stand here on the Detroit Auto Show floor. What do we think?

Not surprisingly, the C7 has real presence. And at least without a proper street backdrop and other vehicles for scale, this new Corvette looks smaller – likely because of the more defined surfacing along the side and less-rounded appearance overall, it has a shrink-wrapped appearance (this, despite a longer wheelbase). In our book, that’s a very good thing.

We expected to have some trouble wrapping our heads around the Stingray’s rear end treatment, and we have – but not for the reason you might think. The taillamp array is a bold departure from tradition, but the indirect lighting and deep-mounted fixtures are compelling, and the functional vents that surround them are unique. It’s the prominent center-mount exhaust outlets that we’re having a bit of trouble wrapping our head around. We’d like to see what the rear end looks like with squared-off outlets that mimic the taillamps, as right now, the exhausts are the only circular element on the entire back graphic of the car, and that strikes us a bit odd. Maybe for the eventual Z06 or ZR1?

Back to the vents for a moment – there are a whole lot of them, especially on this Z51-spec model. Thankfully, they’re all functional, and they add a sense of genuine purpose and menace to the design. That said, we’d like to see how the car looks in a bright paint hue like red with the vents finished in body color, as going color-keyed should smooth out the design somewhat, which some of us found a bit fussy. Perhaps it’s just going to take some time to get used to versus the C6 and C5 generations, which were much simpler designs overall.

Even at a glance, the interior is leagues ahead of the outgoing model, which is no surprise. We like the new smaller-diameter wheel, the driver-oriented center stack and the passenger-side climate controls underneath the air vent is a nice touch. The fit-and-finish evident is significantly better than what we’ve seen in the past, but at first blush, it doesn’t appear to set new standards for the class.

The most important thing about the C7 Corvette will be its performance, of course, and the new LT1 small block and the preliminary performance metrics released look spectacular, from the 450 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque to the promised 0-60 mph of under four seconds.

The C6 was already a bargain, and if Chevrolet manages to keep the C7’s pricing more or less in check, this new model figures to be a smash hit.

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2014 Chevrolet C7 Corvette Stingray is worth another (and another) look [w/poll] originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 14 Jan 2013 20:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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