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Millions of spectators, broadcast viewers and listeners from around the world will be focused on the western region of France as one of Chevrolet’s fifth-generation family of Corvettes (referred to as C5) will pace an international field of sports cars as the Official Pace Car of the 67th running of the Le Mans 24 Hour race on June 12-13, 1999.
To understand why the Guldstrand GS-90 coupe and convertible differ so much, keep in mind that during the course of the C4 development cycle, no ZR-1 convertibles were planned, so the base C4 convertible had to be used in building a GS-90 Nassau Roadster, as it was called. The coupe, however, had the advantage of using the ZR-1 platform right from the get-go.
The Centennial Edition came finished exclusively in a Carbon Flash Metallic finish with satin-black graphics. Special badging graphics signifying Chevrolet’s racing history, including an image of Louis Chevrolet on the B-pillars, were added as accents to the cars finish. The wheels were also finished in satin black. All models also received red brake calipers. The exterior color scheme of the Centennial Edition Corvette is reinforced inside the car.
When one of his cars was severely damaged in 1972, John Greenwood converted his 1969 L88 Convertible into a formidable race car. Included as the formidable ZL1 engine with 750 bhp on tap. Other modifications included a rear spoiler, quick replacement radiator and camber adjusters. At Le Mans, this car set the GT-class record for top speed down the Le Mans straight with 215 mph.
The Astro II was one of the most significant case studies of Duntov’s outright refusal to let his mid-engine dreams die, and as such, ultimately entered the history books as a precursor to the eventual mid-engine, C8 Corvettes of today. The Astro II was designed in a way that was more representative of the Corvette’s typical styling cues, than that of The Astro I.
In 2006, the company behind the Corvette C6.R pulled out all the stops and developed a Corvette (based on a Z06 donor car and a lot of amazing engineering) that featured an unprecedented amount of horsepower and torque under its hood while packing ultimate luxury inside its ultra-wide carbon-fiber body. The car, which was revealed at the SEMA show in 2007, was called the C6RS Corvette.
The 2019 Corvette ZR1 was the official Pace Car for the 2018 Indianapolis 500 presented by PennGrade Motor Oil and led drivers to the green flag on Sunday, May 27, for the 102nd running of the legendary race. It marks the 15th time a Corvette has served as the official Pace Car since 1978, and the 29th time a Chevrolet has led the field dating back to 1948, when a 1948 Fleetmaster Six convertible paced the race.
Two racing icons will unite when Lance Armstrong, seven-time Tour de France winner, drives the 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 pace car to lead the field to the start of the 90th running of the Indianapolis 500 on May 28, 2006. For a record 17th time, a Chevy will pace the race, and it's the eighth time for a Corvette to be leading the pack. The only changes made to prepare it for this year's role were the addition of strobe lights and racing safety gear.
For competition, race customers had a range of options available to them including the N03 36-Gallon Fuel Tank, closer rear axle ratios and the C48 Heater/Defroster Delete (-100). Most cars equipped like this came with either L78 or the L84 with Ram-Jet Fuel Injection.
SIDESWIPE takes the form of a sleek, vision concept dreamed up by the Corvette designers at GM. The design is influenced by the original Stingray race car, introduced in 1959, but also draws on Corvette heritage cues from other generations. It brings them together in a futuristic shape that seems to be equal parts racecar and space ship.
The L88 was a special option package developed under the direction of Zora Arkus-Duntov, director of GM’s performance division. First introduced in 1967, the L88 Corvette featured a highly modified version of Chevy’s 427-cubic-inch V-8 engine. Although this engine received a factory horsepower rating of 435, actual engine output was somewhere between 540 and 580 horsepower, giving the “stock” L88 enough power to run a quarter-mile in the high-11-second range!
The 2016 Corvette Z06 C7.R Edition is a road-going, track-capable homage to the Corvette Racing C7.R racecars. It’s offered in Corvette Racing’s signature yellow livery – or black – with coordinated exterior and interior accents. Only 500 examples of the C7.R Edition were built and all included the Z07 Performance Package with carbon ceramic brakes, as well as a specially serialized vehicle identification number. Corvette special editions don't get more fun than this.
2008 marks the 15th time that Chevrolet has paced the Alstate 400 at the Brickyard and the fourth consecutive time Corvette has led the pack. Chevrolet's pacing tration at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway also extends to the Indianapolis 500 where Chevrolet has paced that esteemed race 19 times with Corvette leading the field 10 times.
In 1956, Ed Cole, then General Manager of Chevrolet, decided Corvette could be saved from extinction due to lagging sales by promoting the car as a performance car which could be raced in production classes. The first of these Corvettes was to debut at Daytona Beach for acceleration and top end speed trials, the 12 hour race at Sebring, and also possibly Le Mans.
2019 Corvette ZR1 in Sebring, Orange
The Corvette ZR1 features an LT5 6.2L V-8 supercharged engine which dramatically advances the supercharging technologies first introduced in the 2009 sixth-generation Corvette ZR1 and continued with the 2015 seventh-generation Z06 Corvette. The engine, which is officially rated with an SAE-certified 755 horsepower (563 kW) and 715 lb-ft of torque (969Nm), establishes an entirely new benchmark in Chevrolet performance.
The Callaway C16 was Callaway’s 16th major automotive project. It was a limited production, bespoke automobile, built to order, by what the Press called “the best specialist engineers in the business”. These cars are seriously fast, beautiful, and exclusive. The C16 was a direct competitor for the Porsche GT3, the Lamborghini Murcielago, the Ferrari 599 GTB. It was both faster and more capable than its competitors, at less cost.
The Specialty Engineering Group (SVE) has partnered with Chevy to create the 2019 Yenko/SC Corvette Stage II. This new Corvette, which is the creation of Specialty Vehicles Engineering in cooperation with Chevrolet, delivers an incredible 1000 horsepower and 875 lb-ft of torque. Better yet, it's an option that you can order from your local Chevy dealership.
The 427 Limited Edition option, code Q8A and Z44, was limited to 505 examples globally with 427 destined for North American customers. As a retirement gift to Wil Cooksey, the Corvette plant manager from 1993 to 2008, he chose the color scheme and hand signed and numbered the underside of the armrest console lids on all 505 examples in which this example is #6. As part of the package, the seats and the floor mats have “427” embroidery, and the center-console trim plate is color matched.