Month: October 2011

With SEMA coming up next week, we’ve been wondering what the General will have in store for Corvette fans at the show and now we have the answer! In a sea of Camaros and the sporty new Sonics, you’ll find two “tribute” Corvettes at the 2011 show: The Ron Fellows “Hall of Fame” Corvette Z06 and the Corvette Carlisle Blue Grand Sport Concept.

Corvette Z06 Ron Fellows ‘Hall of Fame’ Tribute

Ron Fellows, Corvette Racing ambassador and the “Mayor of Mosport” was presented this stunning Corvette Z06 “Hall of Fame” tribute car at his induction to the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame in September. Like the 2007 Corvette Z06 named after the former Corvette racing champion, there are several personal touches we really appreciate including the Canadian maple leaf motif on the Grand Sport hashmarks, as well as the #3 Carbon-styled door graphics.

“Ron Fellows has a long, distinguished racing career, including driving on the championship Corvette Racing C5.R and C6.R teams. That resume helped earn him an induction to the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame in 2011. This Torch Red show car honors Fellows’ service behind the wheel, using accessories offered from Chevrolet matched with custom graphics. It’s a fitting salute to one of the fastest men ever to drive a Corvette.”

Vehicle highlights include:

• Z06 Performance Package (Z07)
• Magnetic Selective Ride Control
• CFZ carbon fiber package with splitter and rocker moldings
• Carbon fiber raised hood
• Black headlamp housings and mirrors
• Red brake calipers
• Ebony interior with red stitching
• Suede-trimmed steering wheel, shift knob, parking brake handle and armrests with red stitching
• Centennial-model seats
• Genuine Corvette Accessory Racing Pedal Package
• Racing-style graphics that honor racing wins, National Corvette Museum Hall of Fame, Spring Mountain Driving School and Mosport

Corvette Carlisle Blue Grand Sport Concept

We first saw the Carlisle Blue Grand Sport Tribute at the Corvettes at Carlisle show in August. This special one-year color honors the long running Corvette show founded by Chip and Bill Miller. GM outfitted the Carlisle Blue Grand Sport with a bevy of Genuine Corvette Accessories so it should feel right at home on the floor at SEMA.

This Corvette celebrates 30 years of “Corvettes at Carlisle,” one of the largest annual Corvette events in North America. It introduces a new Carlisle Blue exterior, new Silver-painted Torque 2 wheels and Pearl White full-length racing stripes. The Carlisle Grand Sport also showcases all-out performance with a dual-mode exhaust and Magnetic Selective Ride Control. Corvette was born to race, and that performance DNA runs through every inch of this unique Grand Sport.

Vehicle highlights include:

• LS3 6.2L with dry sump oil system – hand-built at GM’s Performance Build Center
• Six-speed manual transmission
• Magnetic Selective Ride Control
• Gray six-piston brake calipers (2012 option)
• Goodyear® F1 Supercar Gen 2 tires
• Dual-mode exhaust system
• New Carlisle Blue Metallic exterior
• Cyber Gray headlamps (2012 option)
• Genuine Corvette Accessory Torque 2 silver-painted wheels in 18×10-inch (front) and 19×12-inch (rear)
• Genuine Corvette Accessory Carbon Fiber Ground Effects – front splitter and rockers
• Genuine Corvette Accessory full-width rear spoiler
• Genuine Corvette Accessory GRAND SPORT hood blanket
• Genuine Corvette Accessory Pearl White full-length stripe kit
• 4LT trim level with Ebony/Titanium leather color interior and blue stitching
• New-for-2012 Bose® Premium Audio with nine speakers, USB port and audio jack with iPod® integration on the touch screen
• Genuine Corvette Accessory GRAND SPORT Ebony floor mats
• Genuine Corvette Accessory GRAND SPORT console lid
• Genuine Corvette Accessory Racing Pedal Package

CorvetteBlogger will be out at SEMA to cover all the action this year and our live coverage starts with the opening of the show on Tuesday. I’ve already bulked up on video tapes and extra camera batteries for the show so if there is anything specific you’d like to see or to have us find out more information about a particular part or vendor, let us know!

Sources:
General Motors

Related:
[VIDEO] Unveiling the 2012 Ron Fellows SEMA/Spring Mountain Corvette Z06
[VIDEO] Corvettes at Carlisle: GM Walk-Around of the 2012 Corvette
[PICS] Corvettes at Carlisle

 

A couple weeks back we received the regular Insider’s newsletter from Corvette Market magazine. Included in the email was a link to a video clip of one of the 3 Scaglietti bodied C1 Corvettes assembled in Italy. Having never heard of this trio before we did some Googling to find out more about them. Turns out these three cars were the brainchild of three men from Texas, including one named Carroll Shelby.

The story of the cars is a very interesting one. Here’s the short version: Back in the late 1950′s a racer and oil man named Gary Laughlin, Jim Hall, and the aforementioned Shelby discussed how to get a big, V8 powered American car to have the style and performance of a European car. Once the plan was in place the three used a media contact, Peter Coltrin, to begin conversations with Sergio Scaglietti. Scaglietti was the leader of the Italian coach builder of the same name which was assembling bodies for Ferrari among others at that time.

As the plan progressed the team got GM involved. Soon after, three bare 1959 Corvette chassis without bodies were pulled from St. Louis and sent to Italy to be fitted with custom Scaglietti coachwork. One chassis was a fuelie four speed and the other two were dual-quad automatics. When the nearly three year long project was completed, three stunning pieces had been created. The resulting cars were 400lbs lighter than a standard Corvette, but still retained all that American horsepower up front.

This is where the story takes a turn. Amid pressure from upper management, GM declined to pursue the Italian-bodied Corvette idea. Laughlin took delivery of one car, Hall another, and the 3rd one was sold elsewhere.

Shelby would later take the big-motor-small-car concept to Ford with an AC Bristol. We all know how that plan worked out.

GM’s cancellation of this project begs the question, “what if?”

• What if GM had decided that this project was a success?
• What if Carroll Shelby and Zora Duntov had worked on the Corvette together?
• What if there were no Shelby 427 Cobras or no Shelby Mustangs?

Finding information on these cars was somewhat difficult. After sifting through out of date and conflicting information, an old thread on Corvette Forum and an article on Coachbuild.com seem to have the best info we’ve found. We’ve summarized the Scaglietti Corvette story here, but each of the sources has more detailed information and some great firsthand stories on the cars. In addition, you can follow the discussion thread we started on the NCRS Discussion Board.

So where are they now? One car, the blue one, is in California, another appears to have been or currently is in Japan. At this point we’re not 100% sure where the 3rd one is, but we’re pretty certain it’s overseas as well. If you’ve seen any of these cars in person or know where they are now let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear more about them.

Sources:
Corvette Forum
Coachbuild.com

Related:
Rare Pininfarina Corvette Heading for Barrett-Jackson
Coachbuilt Corvette Soleil Anadi from Ugur Sahin Design Makes Debut at Monaco
Stile Bertone’s ZR1-Based Project M Revealed as Mantide

 

One of my favorite features from Hemmings is the vintage photographs showing life in America from the view on the street. This photo shows downtown Long Beach, Washington in what is believed to be the summer or early fall of 1964 shows a crowded street with a Riverside Red mid-year Corvette driving away from the camera. Check out the attention the Corvette commands from the pedestrians on the street!

A large version of the photo.

If the time period is from 1964, then consider that sighting a Corvette coupe would have been pretty rare with only 19,000 coupes built during the first two years of C2 production. The red Sting Ray really stands out in the sea of 4-door sedans.

A couple more notes regarding the photo:

• Note the trailer hitch on the back of the Vette.
• The guy to the right of the Corvette exiting the car is really giving it a look!
• The boy scouts and the American flag in the lower right corner.

You can see this photo and other vintage street scenes at Hemmings or check out the flickr photosteam from Roadside Pictures which was the source for this vintage photo.

Source:
Roadside Pictures via Hemmings

Related:
Racing Legend Tony DeLorenzo to be Reunited with His 1967 L88 Corvette
Corvette World Tribute to Showcase Famous Corvettes and Drivers at Road America
Corvette Ad Watch: The Genius of David E. Davis Jr