C6Performance Journal

A custom 1964 style Corvette that was once owned by Chevrolet General Manager Semon E. “Bunkie” Knudsen will be on display at Mid America Motorwork’s SEMA booth in Las Vegas next month. The Corvette will be the centerpiece display by the Corvette catalog company and will showcase MA Motorwork’s Performance Choice interior products.

The 1964 Corvette is owned by MA Motorwork’s chief cheerleader Mike Yager who purchased the Corvette for $400,000 in November 2010 at the Bob McDorman auction. According to MA Motorworks, the Style Corvette showcases the ability for their in-house Perofmrance Choice manufacturing division to duplicate a one-off interior that was created by GM’s Styling Center.

The 1964 Corvette was built specifically for Knudson and features a varitiey of special options and equipment not found on the production Corvettes at the time. His company car features a specially designed hood with custom large depressions, unique front bumper treatment and Cadillac’s firefrost blue paint. Other unique items include custom high back bucket seats with all white leather trim, custom Cadillac cut-pile carpeting, special toe board stainless polished grates and one-off door panels with power windows and power vent wings.

“In a sea of Mustangs and Camaros, you seldom find a classic Corvette in this condition at SEMA,” said Mike Yager, Mid America Motorworks founder and Chief Cheerleader. “This Corvette highlights the custom craftsmanship available at PERFORMANCE CHOICE and gives enthusiasts a glimpse at GM’s corporate vision for the future at that time.”

The 1964 Style Corvette will be on display November 1-4, 2011 at Mid America Motorwork’s SEMA Booth 24297. Stop by for a first-hand look at this one-of-a-kind piece of Corvette history. And if you can’t make it to SEMA, the car will return to Mike Yager’s MY Garage Museum in Effingham, IL.

Source:
Mid America Motorworks

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Vette Testarossa – $16500 (las vegas)

Found that headline while browsing Craigslist this week and for some reason, I got a kick that out of all places, the car is in Vegas. Now its got to stay there, right? Our black faux-testarossa sits on a 1984 Corvette chassis and the merged kit car looks to be well executed, down to the prancing horse logo on the rear. If you’ve got $16,500 or a 2000 or newer limousine to trade, the Vette Testarossa could be yours!

Inside is the Vette Testarossa is a luxurious wood grain dash, Ferrari-style steering wheel, tan leather seats and graphite colored carpeting. The car even incorporates the star-pattern wheels found on the 512 Ferrari which we think could be basis for the kitcar.

Like any great craigslist ad, the text is brief, to the point, and in many instances, misspelled:

1984 vette testarossa kitcar conv. New motor auto trans brakes the car has been gone through. This car really turns heads and alot cheaper to maintain and insure then the real one.This is not a fire sale so no lowballers/bottomfeeders Im just thining out some of a very large collection of over 60 cars All reasonable offers will be concidered but not 50% off or more I would be interested in trading for a newer limo 2000 or up or something interesting .NO SPAM PLEASE and thanks for looking.

You can check out the ad on Craiglist for click here for a pdf version if the original has been removed.

Source:
lasvegas.craigslist.com

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While we were at Road Atlanta for the 14th Annual Petit Le Mans, we had the unique opportunity to talk with one of the most legendary names in racing, Bob Bondurant. Our conversation ranges from Bob’s racing exploits to what new Corvette ZR1 owners learn at his high performance driving school.

Bob began his sports car racing career in 1956 and won the 1959 West Coast “B” Production Championship in a ’56 Corvette. From there he raced in almost every series available including SCCA, Formula 1, FIA and NASCAR. In 1964, Bob was a member of Carroll Sheby’s race team that won the GT class and finished 4th overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Cobra Daytona Coupe.

After recovering from a major crash at Watkins Glenn in 1967, Bob turned his attention to driver instruction with his Bondurant Method and opened the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in 1968. Today his students range from teens learning basic car control maneuvers to professional drivers like NASCAR’s Tony Stewart who return to the Phoenix, Arizona school periodically to brush up on their racing skills.

At 78 years old, Bob shows no signs of slowing down. Last year he and his wife Pat exchanged wedding vows on the Formula 1 track at Monaco’s Grand Prix (turn 12 to be exact) and today he still enjoys giving his students and guests some very fast hot laps in a Corvette ZR1.

I’d like to thank Bob and his wife Pat for their time at Petit Le Mans. What a great honor it was to speak with a living legend of racing. I urge anyone who is interested in learning more about car control and high performance diving to visit Bondurant.com for a list of upcoming events and scheduled classes.

Related:
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While we were at Road Atlanta for the 14th Annual Petit Le Mans, we had the unique opportunity to talk with one of the most legendary names in racing, Bob Bondurant. Our conversation ranges from Bob’s racing exploits to what new Corvette ZR1 owners learn at his high performance driving school.

Bob began his sports car racing career in 1956 and won the 1959 West Coast “B” Production Championship in a ’56 Corvette. From there he raced in almost every series available including SCCA, Formula 1, FIA and NASCAR. In 1964, Bob was a member of Carroll Sheby’s race team that won the GT class and finished 4th overall at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the Cobra Daytona Coupe.

After recovering from a major crash at Watkins Glenn in 1967, Bob turned his attention to driver instruction with his Bondurant Method and opened the Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in 1968. Today his students range from teens learning basic car control maneuvers to professional drivers like NASCAR’s Tony Stewart who return to the Phoenix, Arizona school periodically to brush up on their racing skills.

At 78 years old, Bob shows no signs of slowing down. Last year he and his wife Pat exchanged wedding vows on the Formula 1 track at Monaco’s Grand Prix (turn 12 to be exact) and today he still enjoys giving his students and guests some very fast hot laps in a Corvette ZR1.

I’d like to thank Bob and his wife Pat for their time at Petit Le Mans. What a great honor it was to speak with a living legend of racing. I urge anyone who is interested in learning more about car control and high performance diving to visit Bondurant.com for a list of upcoming events and scheduled classes.

Related:
Bondurant at Barrett-Jackson Orange County
[VIDEO] Bob Bondurant Shows Off the School’s New 2010 Corvette ZR1
All New Corvette Buyers Get Free 2 Day Driving School

 

With the C7 Corvette under development, we’ve taken a sudden interest in the pipeline of future products coming from General Motors. So after we watched the demo video of the new Cadillac CUE infotainment center and the futuristic customizable gauge cluster, we’re holding out hope that the next generation C7 Corvette will benefit from similar technology.

Back in September, Popular Mechanics published an account of writer Colin Mathews prowling Detroit during the Woodward Dream Cruise looking for the scoop on the C7 Corvette. One of the “insiders” he talked with made a comment specifically about the C6 Corvette’s instrument cluster and nav/radio unit. “That’s ancient GM technology” she was quoted as saying and hinted that the next generation would be vastly superior.

Well queue the future because the Cadillac CUE (Cadillac User Experience) is very much the next generation infotainment center that the C7 Corvette needs to have. The touchscreen nav and natural-speech voice recognition are very reminiscent of the last smart phone technology and the CUE’s customizable gauges allow for the driver to have their choice of layouts. All really cool stuff but there is so much more.

Check out this video of the new system in action and then tell us if this is the kind of technology that should be available on the C7 Corvette:

Technology like this in the C7 would accomplish multiple goals. First, it addresses the constant harping on the Corvette’s interior as cheap and inferior. Secondly, it targets the younger buyer demographic who wants performance AND the latest in-car entertainment experience. Finally, the technological leap in the cockpit would go along way to prove that the C7 isn’t merely just a C6.5 upgrade as some have suggested.

We’re very interested in hearing from other Corvette owners. Would you like to see a system like the CUE in the C7 or something more traditional? Use the comment form below and let your views be heard.

CUE will debut in 2012 in the Cadillac XTS and ATS luxury sedans and SRX luxury crossover. Here is the official press release of the Cadillac CUE infotainment system.

Source:
InsideLine.com

Related:
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