Category: Corvette News & Opinions

NEW Corvette Stingray Concept Car Art Print

Published on by Scott

While it’s NOT the C7 Corvette, the Stingray Concept is one of the most exciting Corvette concept cars ever made.

In the August 2011 issue of VETTE Magazine my Illustrated Corvette Series No. 170 column covers the beautiful and popular Corvette Stingray Concept Car. After pulling a few strings and several phone calls, I had the good fortune of having a delightful phone conversation of Corvette Chief of Styling, Tom Peters.

Before I go any farther, I must say that Peters is on record stating, “The Corvette Stingray Concept is NOT the C7.” Several years ago, Tom and his team of designers wanted to explore some traditional and new styling themes, just for fun. The Corvette Stingray Concept was the finished effort and judging from the response from crowds at the car shows, I’d say the car is a home run hit. So KUDOS to Tom Peters and his team of super talented designers. Continue reading “NEW Corvette Stingray Concept Car Art Print” →

We’re Waiting For the 2013 60th Anniversary Corvette

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Will there be a 2013 60th Anniversary Corvette? The odds are, YES!

Be sure to CAST YOUR VOTE at the bottom of this post. Let us know what you think
Plus, there’s a slide show of past Anniversary Edition Corvettes!

Now that it’s “official” that the C7 Corvette will be a 2014 model, that means that the final C6 will be a 2013, which opens up the very real possibility of at least one definite special edition Corvette and possibly another. (What might that be? Stay tuned!)

Beginning with the ‘07 Ron Fellows Z06 Special, Chevrolet has been on a roll, offering six Special Edition Corvettes between 2007 and 2011. “Anniversary” Corvettes started in 1978 with the Silver Anniversary paint option to commemorate the Corvette’s 25th year. To date we have seen four unique anniversary specials:

1. 1978 Silver Anniversary paint option, for $399.

2. 1988 35th Anniversary package, for $4,795.

3. 1993 40th Anniversary package, for $1,455.

4. 2003 50th Anniversary package, for $5,000.

It’s highly unlikely that Chevrolet is going to let two coinciding Corvette milestones go without some kind of celebration. So what would a 60th Anniversary Corvette look like and how would it be equipped? Obviously, we won’t know until Chevrolet wants us to know. But in the mean time, I thought it would be fun to do some speculation. Continue reading “We’re Waiting For the 2013 60th Anniversary Corvette” →

Father’s Day Special For Corvette Men

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From Now Till June 13, FREE Personalization On All Corvette Parchment Prints and Laser-Etched on Metalized Mylar Prints!

Father’s Day is only a few weeks away and we know that sometimes, Corvette guys can be a little hard to buy for. (Really???) So here’s a sweet deal for that special Corvette man in your life. We are offering FREE “personalization” on all of our Corvette, 11” x 17” parchment paper prints.

What is “personalization”?

We have two distinct layouts of prints. Our classic version of The Illustrated Corvette Series is as the articles appeared in VETTE Magazine, featuring three illustrations of the featured Corvette, plus the story copy that surrounds the art. We add the personalization under the layout. (See below) Continue reading “Father’s Day Special For Corvette Men” →

Vote For Your Favorite Baldwin-Motion Corvette

Published on by Scott

Which Baldwin-Motion Corvette is YOUR FAVORITE?

(scroll down to cast your vote)

From 1967 to 1978 Joel Rosen, Marty Schorr, and the crew produced an astonishing array of Chevy supercars. “The Fantastic Five” included the Biscayne, the Nova, the Chevelle, the Camaro, and Corvette. If you wanted a true sleeper supercar, the Biscayne was the way to deliver one heck of a surprise. While the big 427 and 454 monster cars got most of the attention, Mr. Motion would build you whatever you wanted. So, there were also a few Motion cars powered with enhanced 350 small-blocks, and a few Corvettes that received turbochargers!

All of the Baldwin-Motion cars were special and unique, but let’s face it, the Corvettes were the halo cars. Since every Motion supercar was custom-built according to the customer’s wants and checkbook, every car is slightly different. The only thing standard was Joel’s selection of heavy-duty after market parts needed to keep the machine relatively bulletproof.

From ‘68 to ‘78, there were six distinctive Baldwin-Motion Corvettes. Let’s have a look-see… Continue reading “Vote For Your Favorite Baldwin-Motion Corvette” →

Reeves Callaway’s C12 Corvette

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“Build To Standard, Rather Than A Cost”

“Specialty cars” have been with us for almost 100 years. As long as there have been those with deep pockets, there have been craftsmen who said, “I can build you a special machine – for a price.” By the end of the ‘60s, a few small shops and car dealerships began offering personalized performance cars. Names such as Shelby, Dana, Nickey, and Baldwin-Motion became legends. Although the performance party was over after ‘70, the passion never went away.

In the mid-’70s, Reeves Callaway was a young foreign car enthusiast fascinated with turbocharging. Turbos had been used on the ‘60 Corvair and Olds Jetfire V8, but it was the 1,000-HP ‘73 917/30 Porsche racer that captured the imaginations of speed freaks everywhere. Continue reading “Reeves Callaway’s C12 Corvette” →

The POWER of the Corvette

Published on by Scott

From the Blue-Flame Six to the Mighty LS9,

a Salute to Corvette Engines

Check out the SLIDE SHOW at the bottom of this post!!!

If you are new to the Corvette hobby, it’s hard to realize that 57 years ago the car began as a 150-HP beauty queen, made from a new and exotic material called “fiberglass,” available in any color, so long as it was white. As soon as Duntov could get his “magic hands” on the first small-block Chevy, the party began. Dual quads showed up right away and before we knew it, in ‘57 we had a fuel-injected Corvette. Take that! European exotics! F.I. is common today, but back then, wow, that was American-style autoexotic.

Corvette engines all have a story – small-blocks, big-blocks, the new LS series engines. Continue reading “The POWER of the Corvette” →

C7 Corvette Set To Be a 2014 Model!

Published on by Scott

Concept art by Tamas Jakus.

GM North America President, Mark Reuss Makes a MAJOR Corvette Announcement.

Here’s some serious C7 red meat for ya! GM North America President, Mark Reuss made a major announcement at the Bowling Green Corvette assembly plant that GM will be investing $131 million dollars in the plant that will create 250 jobs, AND that the C7 Corvette will likely be introduced in the Spring of 2013 as a 2014 model.

I think that about nails it, Corvette fans. With GM making a major investment like that, it’s a done deal. The only thing I can imagine that would push the model back would be if it takes longer for the Corvette engineers to get the new C7 as perfect as a mass production car can be. Corvette quality control took a big step forward with the C5 model, thanks to then Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill’s background with Cadillac cars. Expectations for the next Vette are VERY high and I’m certain that the Corvette team is well aware of how high the bar will be. “No pressure” folks! Continue reading “C7 Corvette Set To Be a 2014 Model!” →

1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette – Minus the Split-Window?

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Corvette “Urban Legend” or FACT? What do you think?

Called by some, “The Original American Idol.” The rear split-window was one of chief of GM styling, Bill Mitchell’s pet design elements. And NOT to be messed with by a lowly engineer!

I have been writing about Corvettes and illustrating them since the mid-’70s. During that time and before then, I have read dozens of books and hundreds of articles about Corvettes. Somewhere, way, way back (I really do not recall when or in what book or article) I remember the following story about the ‘63 Split-Window Coupe Corvette Sting Ray… Continue reading “1963 Split-Window Coupe Corvette – Minus the Split-Window?” →

1965 396 L78 Corvette – The First Big-Block Corvette

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The Latest Installment in VETTE Magazine’s “Illustrated Corvette Series” by K. Scott Teeters

Were it not for NASCAR Chevys trailing behind nearly everyone in the early ’60s, there may never have been a big-block Corvette. Fuelie Corvettes were doing very sell in SCCA sports car racing, but the NASCAR Chevys where in trouble. While GM was officially not racing in the late ’50s and early ’60s, Duntov and a few other Chevy engineers kept select Chevy racers supplied heavy-duty specialty parts for field testing. Engineers tried to help with the Z11 Impala option that made a 427 out of the 409 truck motor. The car performed well as a drag racer, but wasn’t a competitive stock car racer.

In the Summer of ’62, Chevy engineer Dick Keinath was tasked to design the next generation big-block Chevy engine. Since the 348/409 was called the Mark I, the new engine was named, Mark II. The new block was based on the thick bottom end design of the 348/409 for low end strength, and new free-breathing heads. Continue reading “1965 396 L78 Corvette – The First Big-Block Corvette” →

C7 Corvette Images… Real, or Photoshopped?

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Is “Seeing” Believing???

If this car was sitting at your local Chevy dealer as the 2013 Corvette, would you order one?

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I have been following the Corvette hobby since the mid-’60s. Nothing stokes the faithful loyal Corvette fans like a really hot-looking Corvette show car. The first question is obvious, “Is this the next Vette?” C7 Corvette rumors started in mid-’07 with chatter about a possible mid-engine as the design layout of choice for the next generation Corvette. I’m not sure of where that came from, as mid-engine cars are notoriously inefficient when it comes to use of space and workability.

In the olden days, (‘60s, ‘70s,’80s, and ‘90s) fans had to wait for either artwork or one of Jim Dunne’s famous, long-lens, blurry images of a Corvette prototype being thrashed about at one of GMs test centers. Many of those cars were wearing grotesque panels to disguise the car’s new shape. Those kinds of images inevitably lead to reader comments, such as, “YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!” OR “What are they THINKING?!” Continue reading “C7 Corvette Images… Real, or Photoshopped?” →

C7 Corvette Split-Window Coupe “Option”?

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If a “Split-Window” option was available on the C7 Corvette, would you order your C7 with one?

This is the photo from the Car and Driver story.

I Photoshopped the split-window out of the rear window on this photo.

If you were buying a new 2013 C7 Corvette and the "Split-Window Coupe" was an option, would you get one?

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Last week I talked about the Car and Driver C7 update from their April 2011 issue. Among all the rehashed jib-jab, there was one tantalizing paragraph. The seventh paragraph says…

“More startling, it seems certain that the coupe’s going-away view will feature a split rear window – ‘a la the one-year Sting Ray coupe of 1963 – though in this case it will be an optional feature. Chevrolet first signaled its interest in reviving the split-window by outfitting the Stingray concept vehicle with one. Yes, that’s the one that appeared in the second Transformers movie.”

In my initial hunt for some technical/technical red meat in the story, I kind of skipped by the above detail. The rearview image from the Car and Driver story (quite possibly a styling study) shows a split-window, although due to the low angle of the image, it’s easy to not notice. Continue reading “C7 Corvette Split-Window Coupe “Option”?” →

Car and Driver’s C7 Corvette Update…

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Car and Driver Magazine Stokes the C7 Fervor…

(Editor’s note: Before I get started, I want to point out that I personally have NO inside information or connections. What follows is educated speculation on my part.)

Do you like the direction of the C7 Corvette as presented in this post?

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We invite you to leave your thoughts and opinionson this latest iteration at the bottom of this post.

The April 2011 issue of Car and Driver magazine arrived in my mailbox yesterday and my immediate response was “WOW!” The cover story is, “25 Cars Worth Waiting For!” and splashed in the front of the grouping of three red hot cars is, what is most likely a computer generated images of the 2013 Corvette. Just behind the Corvette image is the 2012 ZL1 Camaro with a tiny image of a 2012 911 Porsche. It’s a good-looking cover, with the Corvette in the lead. Continue reading “Car and Driver’s C7 Corvette Update…” →