Chevrolet Corvette 1978 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 .”

We all know the Middle East has a healthy abundance of big-dollar luxury and supercars, but this video juxtaposes the typical ‘bunch of hoons hanging in a carpark' situation with exotica from Ferrari, Porsche, Aston Martin, and Rolls Royce.This Ken Block-wannabe Ferrari 599 driver clearly has the budget of Block, but the skill level of a P-plater in a Gemini in the mall carpark after Coles shuts, as he slides precariously past a Ferrari 458, a pair of Californias, a Porsche 911 Cabriolet, a drop-top Aston and a Rolls-Royce Ghost - and a relatively pedestrian C7 Corvette.However unlike many Hagwalah drift videos, the gathering survives the clip unscathed, so perhaps the graduation from the usual Hyundai Sonata, Toyota Camry and Honda Accord fare is just the ticket to successful Middle Eastern drifting.Watch the Ferrari drifting around other exotics video on our desktop site. This reporter is on Twitter: @Mal_Flynn 

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  

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....  

Driving simulators such as Forza Motorsport, Gran Turismo and Need for Speed are well-known--and well-loved--here at Motor Authority.However, there is a new title in the works that may upset these video game heavyweights, and that’s GRID 2 from Codemasters.The sequel to 2008’s GRID, the focus of the new game is having arcade-style fun rather than creating a totally realistic driving experience.Nevertheless, the graphics are still as realistic as that of any of the rival games and the lineup of cars looks promising.The list includes the likes of the Chevrolet Corvette, Ford Mustang, McLaren MP4-12C and the Pagani Huayra. The game’s creators say the total list of cars spans four decades and three continents.GRID 2 will be released early to mid-2013 and will be available for the Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360 and PC.Motor Authority  

However, be prepared to dig deep for the privilege of owning the Porsche-killing American supercar.  The ZR1 will cost around $300,000, more than double its North American price.Peter Whiston, who owns the Bundoora-based conversion company Corvette Clinic, plans to use the sleek American musclecar as his own personal transport but if anyone wants one he is prepared to do more. Whiston's company has 30-years experience converting the sportscars. It has a solid business with the C6 Corvette and Whiston believes the supercharged ZR1 could attract a small following. But he makes no apologies for ZR1's high price."There's a lot of local engineering input into the car," he says. Corvette Clinic even sources the leather dashboard material from the same orginal US supplier to Chevrolet. "We love Corvettes, and to be able to have this car - the first right hand drive example in the world - is a real thrill," he says.The company is the only Australian operations with the compliance paperwork to work on the ZR1. "We don't make a big song and dance about what we do, but we really are proud of our work," Whiston says.Although the ZR1 is based on the C6, the small operation faced many challenges to overcome. "The interior and dash is the most obvious and visual area of any conversion, and the ZR1's interior and leather-wrapped dash are unique," Whiston says.Whiston says GM in the US has been on board with the project from the start and even Bob Lutz - former chairman and product tzar - gave the local team the thumbs up. So impressed were GM officials that they say the car could have come straight from the US factory.The 476kW/819Nm supercharged and intercooled 6.2-litre V8 is mated to a six-speed manual gearbox, which pushes the powerhouse to 100km/h in less than 3.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 330km/h. It bristles with state-of-the-art technology, including carbon-fibre mudguards, roof and bonnet to save weight.The high-performance Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes are among the best-performing stoppers fitted to any production car in the world. The suspension has also been tuned to match the huge 19-inch front and 20-inch rear wheels and tyres. The aluminium V8 is hand-assembled using heavy duty, lightweight componentry and is fitted with the latest intercooled Roots-type supercharger. The close-ratio six-speed manual transmission has been upgraded to handle the power and torque.The ZR1 shares its Magnetic Ride Control with other GM products, including the local HSV GTS. Inside the "dual-cockpit"  design features include lightweight, heated, electric leather seats, along with head-up display, navigation system and Bose sound system. Safety equipment includes a full suite of airbags, traction control and active damping system."The Corvette is such an iconic vehicle that there always seems to be a demand for cars and conversions," Whiston says.

"Corvette Summer, Burt Reynolds, Smokey and the Bandit and those muscle car movies of the '70s inspired me when I was a teenager," says Robert Maxworthy, now 44, of Murrumba Downs. But it was another quarter of a century before he realised his teen dream.This Corvette Coupe is one of a limited edition of 6500 made to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the sporty Chevrolet. "Every year Indy 500 invites a different car manufacturer to contribute the pace car for the event," explains Maxworthy. "It was the 25th anniversary of Corvette in 1978, so they invited them. "This is the only colour you can get and it had the L-82 longer-stroke 350 Chevy V8 engine in it."Maxworthy has updated the suspension and fixed some of the very-70s silver upholstery but has yet to restore the original paintwork and signwriting. "With the Australian 30-year rule you can keep it left-hand drive so my search started with 30-year-old models," says Maxworthy who bought it from a New York owner over the web."I like a bit of a story and I fell in love with it because it is a little bit different."But I wouldn't recommend it (buying a car over the web) to anyone. "You hear horror stories and you do get some surprises. "I was pretty fortunate. He was a good guy who sent us pix of his family and helped with transport."Maxworthy paid $US18,000 this time last year when the Aussie dollar was worth 92 cents. It took a week to get to LA on the back of a truck and six weeks on a boat to Australia. "Then there was the task filling out all the import approval papers and red tape," he says. "I got Geezers — these Gold Coast car importers — to help me with the paperwork and transport."After paying them, the final figure to get it here was about $22,000." The fibreglass-bodied Corvette sits on 15-inch wheels with wide 255mm rubber and a high 60 per cent profile which fills out the flared guards.Maxworthy fires up the big Corvette in his garage where it kicks into life with a boom followed by a truck-like V8 exhaust note. He reckons it gets about 12 litres per 100km but he's not sure as he hasn't driven it enough. "I just use it for club events and weekends. "It's reliable and fast but I can't tell you how fast as the speedo isn't working."It's not only hot to look at, but also to drive. "They get really hot in the cabin. They tend to suck the heat in through the firewall," he explains. The limited edition pace car is not the first Corvette Maxworthy has owned.In 2006, he paid $30,000 for a right-hand-driver 1984 C4 which he still has. "I got into the Corvettes Down Under Car Club which was a great resource about the brand and I met people I could ask detailed questions," he says.At the age of 17, Maxwell had a ride in his girlfriend's father's Corvette and fell in love — with the car. However, his first car was a little less sporty. "It was 1969 XR Falcon family station wagon hand-me-down from dad with the big bus steering wheel. "In went the curtains and out came the back seat straight away."He then bought a HQ Kingswood four-door that was "tricked up to look like a Monaro". "After that I went off cars and my wife Tammy and I had 4WDs for years and got into fishing and 4WDing.""When I took over the family business in 2004 we got the opportunity to do a few things that we wanted to do and then the toys started to come." 

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.