Douglas Barton, Author at CorvSport.com

Since 2006, Car and Driver has brought the year’s hottest cars to what is dubbed as one of the country’s most challenging racetracks, Virginia International Raceway. In the process, their Lightning Lap has become one of the benchmarks of performance testing for manufacturers. Case in point, the E-Ray was no...

Douglas Barton·

News

News Recap C8 ZR1 Edition: First EX-VIN Assembled; 2025 Model Year Likely

On February 5th, tours of the Bowling Green Assembly plant were officially suspended “due to manufacturing advancements,” with “no confirmed date for plant tour resumption.” Those were the direct quotes from the National Corvette Museum that sent waves of speculation throughout our community. Shortly after this startling announcement, CorvSport canvassed...

Douglas Barton·

DIY

GUIDE: Do-It-Yourself C5 Clutch Installation

Welcome to a new DIY series where CorvSport canvasses the internet for the best do-it-yourself guides. Let CorvSport be your digital encyclopedia and bring you the best guides and resources from our vast Corvette community. This series can also give an enthusiast contemplating a DIY project the clarity needed to...

Douglas Barton·

For Sale

FOR SALE: The Top Three Lowest Mileage Corvettes Currently In The Market

Welcome to this week’s installment of The Top Three, where CorvSport combs the internet for the lowest mileage Corvettes currently in the market. I’m still a bit bewildered by how an enthusiast can own any of these beautiful Corvettes and resist driving them regularly! If you want to try to...

Douglas Barton·

News

Meet The Rezvani Beast: How Does 1000-HP, Gas Masks, And Bullet-Proofing Sound?

Is the Rezvani inventor the newest outside-the-box visionary to take Corvette-based concepts to the next level? We’ve had many over the past few generations, like the wild C6-based ValarraVette, the tastefully imagined C8-based DeLorean, and most recently, the Caravaggio Unica Series 1, which is once again based on the revolutionary...

Douglas Barton·

News

Would You Spend $899 A Month To Lease A Brand New Corvette?

When this lease deal recently popped up on a popular Facebook page, my first thought was, is this really a deal? Once I looked at the fine print, the specifics looked pretty reasonable. For $5000 down, one could realize their dream of having the revolutionary eighth-generation Corvette in their garage....

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

Meet The Genius Prodigy Inventor Who Took The Title For Youngest New C8 Owner

It never fails to fascinate me when the younger generation falls in love with the iconic 71-year-old Corvette, even more so when they strive to own one in their teens. Perhaps some of this fascination is because I was a “late bloomer,” waiting until 31 to consummate my Corvette addiction...

Douglas Barton·

News

Did This Remarkable ’53 Kindig CF1 Custom Roadster Beat The Recent $770k Record?

When the Number 005 Kindig-It Design CF1 Roadster hammered at this year’s Mecum Kissimmee auction for $770,000, it was a historic benchmark sale for Dave Kindig. The 1953 CF1 series was his first venture into a “series-built” car, and this extraordinary custom Corvette has been sending ripples throughout the community...

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

Enthusiast Creates Canyon-Carving Off-Roading C6, Then Taunts Social Media

Meet Ryan from San Diego, a creative enthusiast who decided to transform his 2007 C6 into a California canyon-carving beast, then decided to have some fun with social media in the process. I’ve watched this character since last July when he first posted the beginning of his build, which meant...

Douglas Barton·

News

New Camouflaged ZR1 Photos Blasting Across The Internet Reignite Engine Debate

As we approached the weekend, the internet blew up when new pictures of camouflaged ZR1s from San Diego, California, started circulating on popular social media pages like Facebook’s C8 Corvette Owners (And Friends). As these new ZR1 spottings made their way around social media, what I coined “The Great Engine...

Douglas Barton·

News

News Recap: Surprising Exit From Corvette Museum CEO; C8 Production Update

I’m on all the notable Corvette forums and social media pages all day, every day, and I’ve done the legwork for you. Here are some compelling stories from the Corvette community, with concise, straight-to-the-point summaries for your busy lifestyle. 1) NCM CEO Sharon Brawner Makes Surprising Exit Back in June...

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

Would You Spend $160,000 On This C6 Split Window When A Real ’63 Is Less?

When this 2009 sixth-generation Split Window retro-conversion popped up on Facebook the other week, my first thought was, no way somebody is going to pay $160,000 for a clone when they can get the real deal for less. Well, boy, was I wrong because by the time I came back...

Douglas Barton·

For Sale

FOR SALE: The Top Three Lowest Mileage Corvettes Currently In The Market

It still amazes me how many super low mileage Corvettes are floating around, many you may never hear about because they are tucked away in an enthusiast’s garage, never to hit the market till death do us part. This will be a regular CorvSport series, but if you want to...

Douglas Barton·

News

Did The Top Seven Corvette Sales At Barrett-Jackson Break the Bank?

In today’s collector car auction arena, it’s hard not to compare the two top dogs in the ring. Behind the brilliant leadership of Craig Jackson, Barrett-Jackson invented the “bright lights, liquor, and live TV” collector car auction atmosphere. As a used-car dealership owner, I still vividly recall my 2006 Palm...

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

C8 Owner Blames Wife’s “Jeep Phase” On Excursion That’s Stirring Up Social Media

While there are Corvettes out there that are actually customized for off-roading (see one feature here), no sane C8 owner would attempt to take their Corvette mudding. But, what about if a Jeep-crazed wife got ahold of the keys and wanted to have some fun? Well, that’s exactly what this...

Douglas Barton·

News

Bowling Green Assembly Plant Sets New Daily C8 Production Record

The daily production record of 225 C8s (set back in September of 2023) was beaten last Friday when the Bowling Green Assembly Plant cranked out 228 C8s. As impressive as that record was, it was short-lived, as the plant beat it this Monday with 232 C8s. Then, not to be...

Douglas Barton·

News

A Rare Pair: The First And Last Corvette L88 Hammer For Millions

This is the last installment of our special series on the Mecum Kissimmee 2024 auction, where 527 Corvettes were offered, with an astounding 72% meeting the reserve and hammering off to a new home. If you’d like to revisit any of the special Corvette sales from this spectacular 2024 auction,...

Douglas Barton·

Racing

Corvette Racing Recap: Daytona’s Rolex 24 Delivers Disappointing Results

All eyes have been on the Corvette Racing program this year, as the shift from factory-backed to factory-supported racing sent ripples through the community. It may just seem like semantics, and here is how Mark Stielow, GM’s motorsport competition engineering director, described it during last year’s announcement: “We’re not going...

Douglas Barton·

News

Did The George Foreman Collection Punch Above Its Weight In The Auction Ring?

Just before the end of 2023, CorvSport featured an interesting and eclectic collection of Corvettes owned by none other than George Foreman. At the time of the initial publication, this mix of ‘Vettes had already garnered $217,200 in bids, with 20,571 views, and 46 bids. How did they do after...

Douglas Barton·

News

News Recap: 2024 C8 Wins Most Satisfying Car; Production Updates

I’m on all the notable Corvette forums and social media pages all day every day, and I’ve done the legwork for you. Here are some compelling stories from the Corvette community, with concise straight-to-the-point summaries for your busy lifestyle. 1) 2024 C8 Wins Most Satisfying Car Despite what some of...

Douglas Barton·

News

Stunning Record Setting ’53 Custom Kindig CF1 Corvette Hammers For $770,000

This is a historic benchmark sale for Dave Kindig, as the 1953 CF1 series was his first venture into a “series-built” car, and this extraordinary custom Corvette has been sending ripples throughout the community since its debut to the world at the 2021 SEMA show. If the name sounds familiar,...

Douglas Barton·

News

The Ten Wildest Custom Corvettes From The King Of Collector Car Auctions

CorvSport reviewed every single Corvette of the 527 offered by Mecum at this year’s extravaganza in Kissimmee, Florida, and we have come up with a list of the 10 wildest custom Vettes. In case you missed it, we have already highlighted the sales results from the Colorama Collection, which was...

Douglas Barton·

News

Would You Pay $53,000 For This C8 With Nearly 100,000 Miles?

As we enter the fifth year of the revolutionary eighth-generation Corvette, enthusiasts who use their C8s as daily drivers should become very apparent (or that rare occasion when one lands as a rental vehicle). This 2020 Stingray with 98,252 miles was posted recently on Facebook and has stirred up quite...

Douglas Barton·

News

UNDISPUTED: Top 10 Corvette Sales From Mecum Bring $7,975,000!

If there is any doubt about who the new champion of collector car auctions is, let this graphic below sum it up for you. I, too, used to be dazzled and mesmerized by the bright lights of Barrett-Jackson, but Mecum has snuck up on them and taken the reins in...

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

Young Guns: Encouraging Demographics From ‘Vette Group With 85,000 Members

It’s well known that GM has been striving to get younger buyers for decades now, but the numbers don’t seem to budge much. As the edgy and exotic-looking seventh-generation Corvette made its debut at the Detroit auto show, GM design head Ed Welburn stated the Stingray aims for “a bit...

Douglas Barton·

News

Mecum Magic? How Did The Historic Collection Of 1963 Split Windows Do?

This year’s Mecum Kissimmee auction was a 13-day extravaganza that spawned many notable events, including a special dedicated Corvette Day, and a feast of Corvettes for enthusiasts to dream about. How much of a feast? For 2024, does over 465 Corvettes spanning every single generation satisfy your Corvette appetite? This...

Douglas Barton·

C8 Corvette E-Ray

The Interesting Journey Of Early E-Ray Production For Customer Cars

Editor’s Note: This feature will have timely E-Ray production updates (scroll down). As the Bowling Green Assembly Plant ramps up E-Ray production, first and foremost this is a time for Corvette enthusiasts to celebrate, as this ground-breaking Hybrid gets one step closer to reaching customers’ hands. Now, I realize there...

Douglas Barton·

News

Why Has 2024 Z06 Production Been So Erratic?

Editor’s Note: This feature will have timely Z06 production updates (scroll down). Discussions have been surfacing recently around the internet regarding the erratic 2024 Z06 production, which began dipping well below its average on December 20th of last year, making many wonder if we had yet another issue affecting the...

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

Why They Laugh At Us: Tron-Inspired C8 Has Internet In Uproar

At first glance, this crazy Tron-inspired Corvette almost looks like it’s AI-generated, but it’s certainly real, and recently a friend of the owner tried to show off his buddy’s ‘Vette on a popular Facebook page. The comments got so bad and polarizing that an admin had to turn off commenting,...

Douglas Barton·

Corvette Culture

“Nothing Can Stop My Love For This Car! I Just Want The Issues To Stop”

If you’ve been following the C8 on social media, you will notice our beloved eighth-generation Corvette does have some issues. We highlighted some of the first-hand perspectives in an ongoing series, available here: Mid-Year Durability Report, and End of 2023 Report. The issues the C8 is having may be marginally...

No Radio Allowed: Inside the Original Corvette ZR1

The C5 Corvette Is the Sweet Spot Between Classic and Modern

The Road to the Hybrid Corvette Started With the C4

Lightning Lap 2024: How Did The E-Ray Fare Versus 2023’s Record-Setting Z06?

News Recap C8 ZR1 Edition: First EX-VIN Assembled; 2025 Model Year Likely

GUIDE: Do-It-Yourself C5 Clutch Installation

FOR SALE: The Top Three Lowest Mileage Corvettes Currently In The Market

Meet The Rezvani Beast: How Does 1000-HP, Gas Masks, And Bullet-Proofing Sound?

Would You Spend $899 A Month To Lease A Brand New Corvette?

Meet The Genius Prodigy Inventor Who Took The Title For Youngest New C8 Owner

Did This Remarkable ’53 Kindig CF1 Custom Roadster Beat The Recent $770k Record?

Enthusiast Creates Canyon-Carving Off-Roading C6, Then Taunts Social Media

New Camouflaged ZR1 Photos Blasting Across The Internet Reignite Engine Debate

News Recap: Surprising Exit From Corvette Museum CEO; C8 Production Update

Would You Spend $160,000 On This C6 Split Window When A Real ’63 Is Less?

FOR SALE: The Top Three Lowest Mileage Corvettes Currently In The Market

Did The Top Seven Corvette Sales At Barrett-Jackson Break the Bank?

C8 Owner Blames Wife’s “Jeep Phase” On Excursion That’s Stirring Up Social Media

Bowling Green Assembly Plant Sets New Daily C8 Production Record

A Rare Pair: The First And Last Corvette L88 Hammer For Millions

Corvette Racing Recap: Daytona’s Rolex 24 Delivers Disappointing Results

Did The George Foreman Collection Punch Above Its Weight In The Auction Ring?

News Recap: 2024 C8 Wins Most Satisfying Car; Production Updates

Stunning Record Setting ’53 Custom Kindig CF1 Corvette Hammers For $770,000

The Ten Wildest Custom Corvettes From The King Of Collector Car Auctions

Would You Pay $53,000 For This C8 With Nearly 100,000 Miles?

UNDISPUTED: Top 10 Corvette Sales From Mecum Bring $7,975,000!

Young Guns: Encouraging Demographics From ‘Vette Group With 85,000 Members

Mecum Magic? How Did The Historic Collection Of 1963 Split Windows Do?

The Interesting Journey Of Early E-Ray Production For Customer Cars

Why Has 2024 Z06 Production Been So Erratic?

Why They Laugh At Us: Tron-Inspired C8 Has Internet In Uproar

“Nothing Can Stop My Love For This Car! I Just Want The Issues To Stop”

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