Chevrolet Corvette 1972 News

The iconic Chevrolet Corvette sports car is heading for Holden showrooms to become the brand’s hero car once manufacturing comes to an end in 2017.The boss of General Motors’ international division, Stefan Jacoby -- the man who in December 2013 made the tough call to close the Elizabeth assembly line -- told Australian media in Detroit that Holden will have a "halo model" after the V8 Commodore dies.Mr Jacoby stopped short of confirming which car it will be, but there are only two V8 performance vehicles in the GM line-up that could possibly fit: the new Chevrolet Camaro or the next version of the Corvette.RELATED: How we broke the Corvette story two years agoHowever the Corvette is tipped to be the favourite given that the new Camaro has not been developed for right-hand-drive, whereas the timing of the Corvette’s model change over works in Australia’s favour. The other option, the Cadillac V8, will not fit a steering wheel on the right-hand-side of the car because the engine is such a tight fit.“We will bring a true sports car to Australia for the brand Holden,” said Mr Jacoby. “It will be something which fulfills the requirement of a true Holden sports car.”Beyond that, Mr Jacoby was coy about giving any further details other than it will be a V8 and arrive in 2018.This means that although V8 versions of the homegrown Ford Falcon and Holden Commodore may be reaching the end of the road forever, both will be replaced by iconic US muscle cars.Ford is due to release the Mustang at the end of this year priced from $50,000 while the Corvette is not due in Australia showrooms until 2018, the year after the Holden factory closes in Elizabeth.There is one catch however. The flagship version of the Corvette will likely have a price close to $100,000 -- the same as a current HSV GTS sedan -- by the time exchange rates and shipping costs are taken into account.Nevertheless, the news will be a relief to rev heads because Holden was facing a future without a V8.The next Commodore is a front-wheel-drive fleet sedan from Germany with a choice of four-cylinder or V6 power -- just like the Toyota Camry.At the unveiling of the current Chevrolet Corvette in Detroit in January 2013, the then boss of General Motors Dan Akerson told News Corp Australia the sports-car would be made in right-hand-drive and would be coming to Australia “soon”.But less than 24 hours later his second-in-command Tim Lee, at the time the head of GM’s international operations, said: “I have no idea what said but we have no plan to put a right-hand-drive under that bonnet. The Corvette is a Chevrolet, it’s not a Holden, it never will be, next question.”When Mr Lee was asked how two senior executives with intimate knowledge of the company could make such a faux-pas about the Corvette, Mr Lee said: “I recognise what my boss said, I recognise what said, I am telling you as the operating guy in charge there is no plan. I respect my boss, I love my boss. But I think he was giving you an exhortation.”When pressed again on how such a senior colleague could get such key facts wrong during a media presentation, Mr Lee said during a roundtable interview: “We can spend the entire 20 minutes talking about this. This is a non-story from my point of view. You can write what you want to write, I really don’t give a shit. But it is not in the mainstream plan.”Mr Lee then repeated his earlier comments: “Currently there is no engineering execution, there is no plan. If the CEO said tomorrow that he wants us to do that it would take us years. Don’t go back and sell that story.”At the Corvette unveiling, when asked if the new model would be made in right-hand drive, the boss of General Motors Dan Akerson told News Corp Australia “yes”. When asked when, he replied “soon”.The chief engineer of the new Corvette, Tadje Juechter, then said: “We want the Corvette to come to Australia. I get letters from Australia all the time. Our primary competition sells left- and right-hand-drive, so that’s what we want to do. Our plan is to make this a truly global car.“But I would say timetable is a little faster than what you’re probably thinking. It’ll be years away .”

A fleet of 50 Corvette Stingrays formed an escort convoy for the Z06, the “big nasty” track version of the General Motors prize-winning sportscar, in an echo of the glory days of the Detroit motor show. Helicopter footage of the convoy, which started 30km away at GM's technical centre in Warren, was beamed to a screen in the shape of Chevrolet's bow-tie badge to a huge waiting crowd at the Cobo centre in downtown Detroit.Just a few hours earlier, the Corvette had given GM a clean sweep of the North American vehicle awards after the Chevrolet Silverado pick-up was named Truck of the Year. “I can't tell you how honoured we are to win both car and truck of the year,” GM product chief Mark Reuss told the crowd as the Z06 arrived on stage. He said the Z06, which packs a supercharged 6.2-litre V8 under the bonnet and has already blitzed GM's test track record, was the “big nasty” and “the most amazing Corvette we've ever built”. “It's a world class supercar to rival any exotic,” he said. Traditional sportscars that press enthusiasts' buttons took Detroit motor show by storm on the opening day, with Asian brands joining the party. Toyota sprang one of the show's few surprises with the FT1, a design study for a “sexy halo sportscar” that was first developed in virtual reality as part of the Gran Turismo computer racing game.The idea came from Toyota's California design studio and it won over company boss Akio Toyoda, who drives race-cars in his spare time and is on a mission to put excitement into the brand. The FT1 has yet to be approved for production but wowed the Detroit crowd with its curvaceous surfaces, “slingshot” cockpit and visible -- but unspecified -- internal combustion engine.Studio chief Alex Shun said it had been a two-year “labour of love” that revived Toyota's heritage of producing sportscars, such as the Supra. Pure driving pleasure was also the target at Kia with its GT4 Stinger, a front-engine, rear-drive, 2+2 designed as a tribute to “traditional sportscar values”.Its six designers, all dressed in black suits and ties in the manner of characters from the film Reservoir Dogs, played to the stand's movie theme after Hollywood trivia questions had amused the waiting crowd.Porsche was another to win over the cynical motor show audience with its 911 Targa and a “world first” folding roof system.The entire rear panel and domed glass lift up and back to give the roof panels room to fold behind the cabin. Porsche chief Matthias Mueller said the Targa version of the 911 dated back to 1965 and the latest edition harked back to styling elements of the original.Most luxury brands, including Porsche, boasted record sales in 2013 and expect a repeat this year. BMW remains the luxury leader with 1.65 million buyers last year and it made a double pitch for the enthusiast dollar with two models from its M performance division. The M3 sedan and M4 adopt a turbocharged inline six-cylinder engine instead of the previous V8 but have more power, at 317kW, and are 25 per cent more fuel efficient.   

GM's dark days of bankruptcy left the company without a compact sports car-- leaving room beneath the Camaro and Corvette for such a model. While the dynamically-focused 2014 Corvette Stingray starts at a reasonable $51,990 in the US (AU$50,750), that's about double the US price of the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ. Lesser Camaros can be had for 86/BRZ money, but they lack the dynamic edge of the new Japanese heroes. Chevy wants to step back into the affordable, compact sports car market, says GM's North American president -- and former head of Holden in Australia -- Mark Reuss. It's not much of a surprise after the launch of the Code 130R concept at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show, though Reuss told Automotive News the 130R's design won't be used, as it's "already dated." Instead, a new design would be dropped on an entirely new platform -- something "scalable and efficient", according to Reuss, rather than the Alpha platform that underpins the Cadillac ATS and is tipped for the underpinnings of the next-gen Camaro. Considering the ATS' relatively light weight of about 1542kg, we would like to see a much more compact car using the same architecture. Such a car could conceivably check in under 1360kg -- perhaps as low as 1270kg, putting it in the range of the Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ twins. If GM chooses to go with an entirely new platform, it will be a challenge to meet weight and performance targets within a cost-return ratio likely based on relatively small volume targets. If Chevy can pull it off, however, with a choice of normally aspirated and possibly turbocharged four-cylinder engines -- with options to upgrade to V6 and turbo V6 engines, at least in theory -- a light, rear-drive sports car might just find the niche Chevy needs below the larger, heavier, far more powerful Corvette. The idea, however, remains on the drawing board for now. GM hasn't yet decided to give the green light. www.motorauthority.com

Let's go back 60 years to 1953 -- and the Waldorf Astoria in New York.  In main auditorium is a wondrous display of General Motors production cars and dream cars. For this is the 1953 Motorama. The centre of the crowd's attention is a smallish, white, fibreglass bodied sports car showing off a red interior. Its designer is Harley Earl and its engineer is Ed Cole. Both know the car by its code name, EX122. You and I know it as the Corvette. The Corvette is only a concept car, but the strong, visceral reaction of Motorama visitors causes GM Chairman Harlow "Red" Curtice, to order it into production. Within seven months the six cylinder speedster is in dealer showrooms. Also in the auditorium, is another engineer. He's Russian, born in 1909. He's seen the Tsar toppled and the communists come to power in 1917. He's worked in Berlin during the rise of Hitler and because of his Jewish faith, had to make a fast escape through Paris and Spain, where he boarded a ship that landed him in New York in 1939. His name is Zora Arkus Duntov, and 33 years later at the opening ceremony of the National Corvette Museum 120,000 Corvette devotes will give him a standing ovation for all that he has done to make the car one of the most iconic marques of the automobile world. A brilliant engineer, in 1953 Duntov was already well known in hot rodding circles for his development of cylinder heads for flat head V8 Ford motors which increased power by a stunning 60%. What he sees in front of him at the Waldorf is his future. He writes to GM asking for a job on the Corvette program and is hired to help with engineering issues. Then as sales slow, less than 4000 sold in two years, and GM top brass get cold feet about the car's potential. Duntov puts his corporate neck on the line and writes a memo to the key decision makers. It is a passionate call for the need to have a car in the Chevrolet line up that speaks to the youth of America and to provide the whole Chevy range some much needed pizzazz. He prevails, and the Corvette gets a reprieve. Duntov then sets about making some changes. He rips out the six and powerglide transmission and inserts the new Ed Cole designed, small block V8. He adds a four speed gearbox and fuel injection, tweaks the suspension and within three years his magic has transformed the Corvette from a stylish cruiser into a object of primal desire for generations of Americans. And the rest of the story you know. When he died in 1996 American columnist George Will wrote of Duntov: "If you do not mourn his passing, you are not a good American". David Burrell is the editor of Retroautos.com.au  

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible is just a day or so away from its official unveiling, but for the moment we get a sneak peek at the car as it rolls off the truck toward the show floor. Posted to Chevrolet Europe's Facebook fan page, the image shows what is clearly a roofless Corvette Stingray rolling down the ramp. Unfortunately, a car cover obscures the choicest details, but the general proportions of the rear end -- arguably one of the most important aspects of any convertible -- are clear. And they're good. Of course, we expected the Stingray Convertible to look good. Last month, what appeared to be a design study for the car leaked onto the web, and then earlier this month, Chevy confirmed the car for its Geneva debut. Following its debut in Europe, the first Stingray Convertible will be auctioned at Barrett-Jackson in April, with proceeds going to the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute in the US. www.motorauthority.com    

The 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was just unveiled at the 2013 Detroit motor show, and unless you've been hiding under a very large rock, you already know what it looks like and every other detail, too. Now, it seems the coupe's convertible alternative has leaked about a year ahead of its expected arrival.The images, posted by The Auto Insider, look to be authentic. In fact, if they are a digital manipulation of the coupe photographs, they're the best we've ever seen--and we see dozens of attempts daily.So, ogle to your heart's content--this is, if not the real deal, so close as to make no difference.It's worth noting, however, that we're disappointed these images leaked. It doesn't require much imagination to envision what a convertible version of the 2014 Corvette Stingray would look like, but there's something to be said for mystery, anticipation, and that mixture of fear and excitement over the unknown.Early leaks spoil the magic. By the time the actual Stingray Convertible rolls across an auto show stage, likely some time in late 2013 or early 2014, it'll be old hat.And that's just sad.www.motorauthority.com 

When the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette arrives late next year, it will be powered by a technologically advanced, race-proven 6.2-litre V8 delivering an estimated 335kW and helping produce 0-100kmh times in under four seconds. The new Corvette LT1 engine, the first of the Gen 5 family of small block engines, combines several advanced technologies, including direct injection, Active Fuel Management (AFM) and continuously variable valve timing to support an advanced combustion system. “Our objective for the development of the all-new LT1 was to raise the bar for performance car engines,'' said Mary Barra, senior vice president, Global Product Development.' ‘We feel we have achieved that by delivering a true technological masterpiece that seamlessly integrates a suite of advanced technologies that can only be found on a handful of engines in the world. “What makes this engine truly special is the advanced combustion system that extracts the full potential of these technologies. The art and science behind that combustion system make the Corvette LT1 one of the most advanced V8 engines in the world,” said Barra. Output, performance, and fuel economy numbers will not be finalised until early next year. It will be: the most powerful standard Corvette engine ever, the quickest standard Corvette ever and the most fuel-efficient capable of achieving around 9.0 L/100 kmh.  Australia will get this engine sometime soon and hopefully, it will make its way into a V8 supercar replacing the decades-old pushrod V8s currently used....  

The Corvette Stingray will feature among several other General Motors products in the sequel to the 2007 action movie Transformers to be released here in June (see trailer video at end of story).The Stingray concept has been tipped as the shape of the next-generation C7 Corvette with wide shoulders, four tailpipes, vertical headlights and sculpted fenders.However, GM is tight-lipped about it going into production as a Stingray or the C7.GM Global Design vice-president Ed Welburn said the idea of the Stingray Concept was to incorporate past design cues in a futuristic shape."By giving my creative team the freedom to design no-holds-barred vision concepts, it helps them push boundaries and look at projects from different perspectives," he said.The car plays the character Sideswipe in the movie, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.In the original cartoon, Sideswipe was one of the original crew members of the ARK, although it was a red Lamborghini.GM has had the exclusive contract to provide cars for both the original movie and the sequel. GM cars in the sequel include the Chevrolet Volt rechargeable electric car, Camaro production muscle car due here in 2012 and the Beat and Trax subcompact concept cars which are intended to go into production.Chevrolet North America vice president Ed Peper said the first Transformers movie helped GM reach younger car buyers in the 18 to 34 age group."Chevrolet is thrilled to again be part of one of the most anticipated movies in years," he said."Transformers gives us a great opportunity to connect with young people on their terms, with a dynamic, environmentally friendly image."The new characters represent the change going on in Chevy showrooms. From the exciting Camaro, the 21st century sports car, to the game-changing Volt, there's more than meets the eye at Chevrolet today."Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, is about humans caught in an intergalactic war between armies of giant robots that can change into cars, planes and other technological creations.Stars Shia LaBeouf and Megan Fox return as Sam and Mikaela, who know the secrets of the heroic Autobots, led by Optimus Prime.In the sequel, they are under attack by the evil Decepticons because of something Sam has learned about the origins of the Transformers and their ancient history on Earth.The US Department of Defense gave its official stamp of approval to the Michael Bay-directed film, in the hope it would lead to recruitment interest.Movies such as Top Gun, regarded as a major boost for recruitment in its day, and the recent Robert Downey Jr. blockbuster Iron Man also received military cooperation for the same reason.US military, some just returned form active duty in Iraq, were involved in the massive battle scenes for the movie.The film crew was allowed on the dunes of the Army's New Mexico missile range and to follow jets and fighter planes through the sky from nearby Holloman Air Force Base.More scenes were shot on the Navy's aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, and Marines fill the ranks of the strike team battling the invading Transformers.The film's Army liaison, Lt. Col. Gregory Bishop, said: "As far as I know, this is the biggest joint military operation movie ever made, in terms of Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines. I can't think of one that's bigger."Military equipment used include two A-10 Thunderbolt II "Warthog" tank-killing jets; six F-16 Fighting Falcons; 10 armoured Humvees; the Army's Golden Knights parachute team; two Abrams tanks; two Bradley tanks; two missile-launcher vehicles; two armoured personnel carriers; and a quarter-mile of the missile testing range, cleared of unexploded ordnance and built into an Egyptian town and temple. 

It's the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 and the first car has just landed in readiness for a right-hand drive work-over. The ZR1, called the 'King of the Hill' in America, is the personal property of a man who makes his living turning left-hand drive dream machines into a down-under drive. "This ZR1 is my personal toy. But if someone wants to buy one we'll be happy to assist them, bring it in and then convert it for them," says Peter Whiston of the Corvette Clinic in Melbourne. He has been doing the left-right switch hit on 'Vettes since the early 1980s and is looking forward to the new challenge with a car that's called the 'King of the Hill' in America. The ZR1 has a supercharged 6.2-litre aluminium V8 that produces a brutal 476 kiloWatts and 819 Newton-metres of torque. The two-door coupe is a genuine supercar with a 0-100km/h sprint time of 3.4 seconds, a top speed of 330km/h and a Nurburgring lap time of 7 minutes 26.4 seconds - which Chevrolet claims as a production car record. Whiston says the first ZR1 conversion will not be easy - with everything from a new dash pad to relocation of the air-conditioner and drive belts on the job list - but he is looking forward to the end result. "It's all going to be a bit of a bunfight, unfortunately. I'm 58 and I'm past all that. Once I would have enjoyed it, but now I'm looking to the result," he says. "It's early days with this car. It's going to be two or three months to get it converted. And now they've changed the steering ratio on the car, so it's totally different again." But Peter and Kane Whiston know Corvettes and know conversions. "We registered the business in 1981. Corvettes are all we do. I started with doing cars from '69 onwards," he says. "Over that time we've probably done about 500 cars. We are coming up to 30 cars with the latest C6 model." But the Corvette Clinic is not a retail store. "Our prime business is conversions for people. We do it under orders. We don't have a heap of stock," Whiston says. That's no surprise when a C6 conversion is $49,500 and the ZR1 will be worth around $400,000 by the time it is ready to roll. Whiston says the company's conversions are not costed on an hourly work rate, but an all-in price for a drive-in, drive-out service. "The hourly rate has nothing to do it with it. The car comes in left- hand drive and goes out right-hand drive," he says. Business is good because the Corvette has always been an American classic, although the recent drop in the Australian dollar and regulations which allow older classic cars to continue with left-side steering have cut the waiting time at the Corvette Clinic. "Business has slackened a little since the Aussie dollar took a dive. But we've still got plenty of work. We're probably got six months of work at the moment." That includes the complicated process for the ZR1, which must be certified under low-volume compliance regulations. Older cars get by under rules for a Registered Automotive Workshop, but all-new cars are different. "We'll have to update the compliance. It's noise, it's brakes, it's the engineering on the conversion," Whiston says. "But that's what we do. And this is the first car, so once that's done then anyone who wants a ZR1 can be taken care of."  

Despite rocketing fuel prices, there always seems to be a market for muscle cars. Holden and HSV last year sold a record number of V8s and 1970s muscle cars continue to sell for record prices. And GM Holden — which this year is reintroducing another of its American brands, the Cadillac — is doing nothing to hose down rampant industry rumours that it is going to import the fastest Corvette yet. They keep sending details of the ZR1, yet claim we should “not read anything into it”. Yeah, right. The latest details on the new 'Vette American muscle car show just how fast the car goes. It accelerates from rest to 100km/h in 3.4 seconds, which is 0.3 seconds faster than the previous Z06 model and the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano which was released here recently at $595,600. The ZR1 also has recorded a quarter-mile elapsed time of 11.3 seconds at 210km/h and has a top speed of 330km/h, making it the fastest Corvette produced. It's not only faster than some half-million-dollar supercars but also more economical. According to fueleconomy.gov, the ZR1's official economy ratings of 16.8 litres per 100km on the city cycle and 11.7 litres per 100km on the highway beat 2008 competitors such as the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano (21.3 city/15.6 highway); the Lamborghini Murcielago (29.4 city/18 highway) and the Aston Martin V8 Vantage (19.6 city/12.3 highway). They're competitive with the Dodge Viper (18 city/10.6 highway) and the Porsche 911 GT3 (15.6 city/10.6 highway). Under the carbon-fibre bonnet is the new LS9 6.2-litre supercharged small-block engine. It belts out 476kW of power and 819Nm of torque, making it the most powerful automotive production engine manufactured by General Motors. The ZR1 also features a six-speed manual transmission with race-hardened gears and dual-disc clutch technology that delivers exceptional clamping power and lower inertia, as well as strengthened axle components. Fuel economy testing has not been completed, but engineers are confident the ZR1 will be the most fuel-efficient 600-plus-horsepower car on the market. The LS9 engine is hand-built by technicians at GM's Performance Build Centre in Wixom, Michigan, a small-volume engine production facility that also builds the Corvette Z06's LS7 engine and other high-performance GM production engines. The LS9 also features the industry's first production application of a new, positive-displacement Roots-type supercharger with a four-lobe rotor design, promoting quieter and more efficient performance. The large 2.3-litre displacement provides adequate air volume at high rpm. Maximum boost pressure is .72 bar (10.2psi). It is teamed with an integrated charge cooling system that reduces inlet air temperature for maximum performance. A raised bonnet provides adequate clearance for the LS9, while a polycarbonate window in the bonnet provides a view of the engine beneath it. If Holden doesn't import the ZR1, Queensland company Performax International could bring in left-hand-drive models and convert them to right-hand-drive. The Gympie company, formerly Corvette Queensland, already converts Corvettes to right-hand-drive, along with the Hummer H2 and several American pick-ups. General manager Nick Vandenberg says they would be keen to import the Corvette.