Vette Polls: C7 Corvette Update: Is this IT???

Published on March 3, 2012March 3, 2012 by Scott18 Comments

Dateline: 3.4.12

Car and Driver Splashes the C7 Corvette – A PERFECT swan dive or a belly flop?

Cast your vote at the end of this post.

Don’t you just love a nice surprise in your mailbox? You know, a nice fat IRS tax refund, a Publishers Clearance Warehouse winner notification, or a letter from an old flame. (okay, maybe not that last one) The April 2012 issue of Car and Driver arrived in my mailbox today and I was greeted with what appears to be the real car that the November 2011 Jalopnik illustrations were based upon. It’s SO hard to tell computer rendered cars these days. “Usually” computer images are a little too flashy and that’s the telltale sign. A year, or less, from now, we’ll know for sure how spot on Jalopnik and Car and Driver are.

But for now, it’s deal with what’s in front of us. Sometimes, cars look better in person. But the C7 is looking more like a C6.75. I know that Corvettes tend to be evolutionary in their design, but honestly, there’d better be some stunning things going on under all the pretty fiberglass and carbon fiber.

The front view of the car is interesting, but two design elements bother me. The front grille opening looks awfully close to that of the 1993 – 2002 Camaro with its Billy Bass mouth. Going by the Jalopnik renderings, the hood vents and vents on the tops of the rear fenders indicate that this is the 2015 ZR1 configuration. But the vents on the hood look like those on the new ZL1 Camaro. Since when does the Corvette FOLLOW the Camaro? (when Camaros outsell Corvettes 6-to-1?) I suppose we’ll get used to it. But we’re not supposed to “get used to it,” we’re supposed to LUST for it!

Car-and-Driver-C7-Corvette-Update-Rear — The car looks as if there were different “design teams.” This view clearly shows the work of the Back End Team. The design elements and shapes just don’t “go with” the rest of the car. From the side, we see compound curves and swoopy lines. But the rear view shows flat sides. This doesn’t even LOOK like a “Corvette” from the back.

And now to the back end. (sigh) PLEASE!!! Don’t let this be the real back end of the C7 Corvette, PLEASE. If so, we’ll never hear the end of the “Cormaro” of the “Camvette.” Continue reading “Vette Polls: C7 Corvette Update: Is this IT???” →

We’re Waiting For the 2013 60th Anniversary Corvette

Published on May 23, 2011December 27, 2011 by Scott

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” →

Car and Driver’s C7 Corvette Update…

Published on February 23, 2011March 1, 2011 by Scott

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.)

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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…” →

C7 Corvette Daydreaming-Concepts for the Next Generation

Published on November 17, 2010February 2, 2011 by Scott2 Comments

Twenty-Eight Concept Images & Speculation…

Tell us Which Version You Like at the End of This Post!

Ever since the Transformers movie car arrived, C7 speculation has been the hottest topic in the Corvette community. And as if speculation over the C7 wasn’t enough, there’s also speculation about the C8 Corvette! Of course, all of this may well be happy talk because if the C6 doesn’t pull out of its nose dive, we may be looking at those familiar lines for a LONG time. I also want to point out that while anything can be improved, the C6 didn’t suddenly become an outdated, stogy, slug. There’s SO MUCH red meat built into the car. Look at the Lingenfelter ZR1 with some minor intake and slight gearing changes that ran 9.8-seconds in the quarter-mile in December ‘09!!!

My C7 Wish-List

As far as hardware is concerned, it’s all speculation at this point. The Corvette designers are 100% mum about ANY details. About styling, for me, the basic shape of the Transformers / Centennial MINUS the cartoonish front and rear gills, works. I’ve been following Corvettes since the mid-’60s and every time there’s a new design, it takes about a year to get used to the new shape. But in retrospect, I can NOT look back at any new generation Corvette and say, “bad job.” I’m very confident that the designers and stylists that are now working on the C7 will get it right and successfully capture the eseance of that which is “Corvette”. Continue reading “C7 Corvette Daydreaming-Concepts for the Next Generation” →

C7 Split-Window Coupe Corvette Concept by K. Scott Teeters’

Published on August 16, 2010December 30, 2010 by Scott

Will a Split-Window Coupe Sting Ray Be the Next Generation C7 Corvette?

by Illustrated Corvette Series Vette Magazine Columnist and Book of Same Name Author, K. Scott Teeters

K. Scott Teeters C7 Corvette Concept Art

A few months ago on this blog, I published a post titled, “Today’s C7 Corvette Concept Cars – Revving You Up, or Stalling You Out?”. Between the big shakeup at GM and numerous magazine speculation stories about the next generation Corvette, I decided to weigh in on two of the concept Vettes that had been getting a lot of ink. It was a challenging post because, honestly, the Transformers/Centennial car had left me lukewarm. But to be fair in my analysis, I looked very carefully at both cars with the questions, “What do I like? What don’t I like?” Once I looked beyond the cartoonish front and rear Cadillac-like gills, I was surprised to see a lot that I did like. And the more I looked at the Transformers/Centennial car, the more I wanted to uncap my pens and fix it! Continue reading “C7 Split-Window Coupe Corvette Concept by K. Scott Teeters’” →

Today’s C7 Corvette Concept Cars – Revving You Up, or Stalling You Out?

Published on April 15, 2010December 30, 2010 by Scott13 Comments

Are These C7 Corvette Styling Concepts Making You Warm?

We want your opinion, and here is mine.

This is the Centennial/Transformers Movie/C7/Concept Corvette

(Editor’s Note: One of the cool things about running a blog, such as this one, is that we can track the popularity of the topics we post. So far, this post has garnered the most number of hits, telling us that there’s LOTS of interest in what’s in store for the C7 Corvette. After writing this post I was inspired to create a set of drawings that reflect my critique of the Transformers/Centennial concept car shown in this post. The illustrations appeared in my VETTE Magazine column in the October 2010 issue as a 2-page center spread. After the publication of the illustrations, I posted the article titled, “K. Scott Teeters’ C7 Split-Window Coupe Concept Corvette.” So, after reading this post, we invite you to check out the illustrations that reflect the comments below. I included photos of the real concept car and scans of the art so that you can clearly see how I came to my design. So, enjoy the post below, or CLICK HERE to jump ahead to the post with the illustrations. KST)

I want to address the issue as a Corvette enthusiast and an artist with a car designer’s heart, of some of the C7 Corvette concept cars we’ve seen so far. I’m going to give my critique of just the shapes. I’ll tell you what I like and why, what I don’t like, and why. I think the recent magazine articles for these cars are just a lot of PR speculation – some red meat for the fans. But I’m most interested in what YOU think of the styling of these cars. So let’s read what I think and then you send me your opinion at the end in the comments section, Okay?

When I told my wife what the sub-title of this article would be, she said, “Oh, don’t use that sexual expression.” I explained that sports cars are about sex. Driving them is a sensual experience – you don’t just “ride” in a sports car, you “DRIVE” the sports car. The hottest sports cars will always catch your breath. Even the old classics. That’s one of the cool things about owning a Corvette. Even people that don’t know what it is, (other than, just a “car”) will say, “WOW! What kind of car is that?” Continue reading “Today’s C7 Corvette Concept Cars – Revving You Up, or Stalling You Out?” →