Buying the New Chevy Corvette – Get to Build Your Own Engine

Antony Marceles
From: http://www.nitrobahn.com/

Chevrolet may just have unleashed a masterstroke in product-marketing by allowing customers who order their Corvette (Z06 and ZR1) to have the option of a one-day experience where they will help a master technician build their engine from the block up. Customers can shell out an additional $5,800 to hand-assemble at GM’s Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan. In case you’re left wondering – the customer cannot add additional parts to up the horsepower, and the engine will still be covered by warranty.

Every customer who orders a ZR1 will also receive complimentary two-day course at either of two official Corvette ZR1 Driving Schools: Ron Fellows Performance Driving School at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, Nev., or the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Chandler, Ariz. The course will teach new owners how to fully enjoy the performance of the ZR1 (read: Heel/toe shifting, threshold braking, and cornering) in a safe, closed-course environment.

Also available is a Museum Delivery program that will allow customers to take delivery of their Corvette at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. They will receive a private tour of the GM Bowling Green Assembly Plant, home of the Corvette, and the National Corvette Museum, along with a personalized demonstration of the Corvette’s features. The Museum Delivery option is $490.

The Corvette Buyers Tour is another unique feature that allows for customers to watch their Corvette follow the build process from the start of body assembly to the end of the line at GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant. This tour includes the chance to witness areas of the plant not included on the general Plant tour. The customers will also have the opportunity to buy a photo album that entails the entire build process of their car. The leather-bound album includes more than 20 pages of text and photos devoted to capturing the entire Corvette build process, along with a letter of authenticity from the National Corvette Museum.

via GM

The Corvette ZR1 was chasing a Lambo LP670-4 SV around Millbrook

by Jonny Lieberman

Corvette ZR1 chasing a Lamborghini Muricelago LP670-4 SV - Click above to watch video after the jump

On Monday we shared a very nifty video of the lads at Autocar and a fire-breathing Blue Devil corvette chasing something around the hill route at Millbrook. Obviously, speculation was rampant about what sort of car had the camera strapped to it. Some folks went ahead and checked out Autocar since it was their video, others simply guessed. Results: Some of you were right! Others, very wrong. But, like the good parents that we are, Autoblog loves all of you equally. Moving on.

I'm going to go a little inside baseball for a moment, so bare bear with me. Yes, Autocar revealed that the chase car was indeed a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SuperVeloce about two weeks ago. Trouble was, the clip wasn't on YouTube, meaning that we couldn't share it with you here on Autoblog. A questionable decision, but a decision, nonethelss. Anyhow, look – a Chevy Corvette ZR1 chasing a Lamborghini Murcielago LP670-4 SV around a track!!!

This really is an unbelievable video. First of all, you got two of the hottest cars in the world. Second, the Lambo should be a bit quicker than the ZR1, right? It has around 30 more horsepower, weighs about 60 pounds less and has AWD, allowing it to exit corners more quickly. Plus, the Lamborghini has a factory driver at the helm while the Corvette is being piloted by (gulp) an auto journalist. Only thing is, well... watch for yourself, after the jump. One more thing – not counting the "joke's on you, rich people!" Reventon, the LP670-4 SV is Lambo's most expensive vehicle and the ZR1 is (obviously) Chevy's. Can you image a race between the two brands' cheapest vehicles? Aveo vs. Gallardo LP560-4 strikes us as very funny.

[Source: YouTube via Autocar]

Stile Bertone Mantide: Part Corvette ZR1, Part Italian Model

By The Auto Insider

Meet the one-off Bertone Mantide — part Corvette ZR1, part Italian model, all sex appeal. Designed by Jason Castriota, the Mantide may even outshine his last great design, James Glickenhaus' Pininfarina P4/5. Exclusive gallery below.
Bertone Mantide

Bertone Mantide Live

There's something we really hate and that's covering bespoke supercars we'll never own, built specifically for the über-rich. Really though, we secretly like the Mantide. Okay fine... we love it. Designed by Jason Castriota of Pininfarina P4/5 fame, the Bertone Mantide had its coming out party today at the Shanghai Auto Show to one very surprised writer — me. I honestly thought that I'd hate this thing, thinking to myself; "Ick, another Corvette-based supercar?" But it truly is a beautiful work of art, best appreciated in the flesh.

Stile Bertone started with the best 'Vette platform yet, the 638-horsepower supercharged LS9 2009 Corvette ZR1. By creating the Mantide's body shell in carbon fiber, they were able to shave off 220 lbs from the already lightweight ZR1 allowing it to rocket to 62mph in 3.2 seconds and break police radar detectors and lasers with its 217mph top speed.
Bertone Press Release
Stile Bertone is proud to present the ULTRA HIGH PERFORMANCE one-off MANTIDE.
Few, if any, automobiles have been as awe-inspiring as the show-stopping prototypes and "fuori serie" cars designed by Stile Bertone - the Alfa Romeo Carabo, the Lancia Stratos Zero and the Lamborghini LP500 prototype to name just a few
TRADITION
Stile Bertone has a long history of creating one-off prototypes based on the mechanicals of Chevrolet's sporting automobiles spanning over 50 years. Today, Stile Bertone is proud to utilize the mechanicals of the formidable 2009 Corvette ZR1. Employing know-how from the Le Mans winning Corvette C5R, the ZR1 is the greatest all-round performance car in the world, the undisputed "King of the Ring", posting the fastest ever lap time for a true production car at 7:26:4 seconds on the famed Nurburgring Nordschleife in Germany, long considered the benchmark for a car's true performance. Mantide has been designed and fully engineered in collaboration with the renowned Danisi Engineering and aims to be the world's greatest street legal performance car, wrapped in an iconic and radical Stile Bertone design.
Mantide's futuristic design draws equal inspiration from modern aerospace and the world of Formula One. The iconic theme is clear to see: a teardrop-like fuselage which tightly encases the mechanicals and the passenger cell which is embraced by two prominent wrapping aerodynamic appendages. While shockingly bold and technical, Mantide's unique design maintains a sensuality unique to Italian sports cars thanks to a futuristic interpretation of the classic Kamm Back two volume silhouette.
The aerospace inspired design aesthetic is further characterised by innovative yet beautiful forms which are fully driven by performance: the low-slung nose, jet fighter style teardrop canopy and butterfly opening doors, as well as the numerous air inlets and exhausts for maximum air efficiency.
Mantide also boasts cutting edge aerodynamic performance fine-tuned in an advanced full scale wind tunnel. Features include a Le Mans prototype-derived flat floor and diffuser as well as "flying buttresses" which help to increase aero efficiency, guarantee a lower drag coefficient and greater levels of down force. The final aerodynamic results are class leading, with drag reduced by 25% (Cd 0.298) and a 30% improvement in down force. The Mantide not only delivers greater speed and stability, but also more efficiency and therefore lower fuel consumption.
The Mantide promises even greater performance than the ZR1, due to significant weight savings and its highly advanced aerodynamics. Using carbon fibre for all body panels, interior trim, seats and even the wheels, the overall vehicle weight has been reduced by 100 kilos. The result is a staggering 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 351 kph (217mph) Safety and chassis rigidity have been increased with the incorporation of an FIA regulation triangulated roll cage, light-weight carbon fibre racing seats and 4pt racing harness for track use.
Stile Bertone invites you to follow Mantide on its year-long journey as it travels to major auto events around the globe at www.insideprojectm.com
[via Bertone]

Behold the Vettaro!

Behold, the Vettaro!

What happens when a Chevy Camaro and a Corvette ZR1 get blind drunk, turn down the lights, crank up the Motown and do something that makes them feel a bit awkward around each other the next day?

The HPE700, that’s what. American tuner Hennessey Performance has taken the 2010 Camaro SS and stuffed it full of the lovely ‘LS9’ V8 straight out of the Corvette ZR1. Oh, and added a few more horsepowers for good measure.

So you’re looking at a muscle car armed with a 705bhp supercharged V8 and 717lb ft of torque. That’s a lot.

There’s no firm word on performance figures yet, but assuming that the HPE700 can get its power down on the road – and that’s a big assumption – it should be capable of hitting 60mph in not-very-much over three seconds.

The HPE700 also gets the 15-inch carbon ceramic brakes from the ZR1, as well as that kitschy love-it-or-hate-it see-through bonnet bulge. There’s a whole load of aero-trickery too, plus uprated suspension and big sticky tyres.

If you decide to splash $109,500 on your very own HPE700, Hennessey will generously treat you to a track day to teach you how to control your rear-drive beast. We’d imagine the first lesson goes something like ‘hold on and pray, boy’…