Chevy is bringing back the Grand Sport, this time in a much more meaningful way. In 1996 Chevy recalled the once mighty 1960’s Grand Sport race cars with a limited run of Corvettes featuring nothing more than special paint and trim. This time around, Chevy is being respectful to the race-ready Grand Sports of the past.
The Grand Sport replaces the Z51 package, and aims to give the standard Corvette more of an edge, bringing handling and performance closer to the Z06. Chevy claims the car is ready for the track, with goodies like a dry sump oiling system, differential cooler, Z06-sized brakes and a rear mounted battery. Manual tranny cars get revised gear ratios, and automatic cars get a revised rear axle ratio. Chevy claims a Grand Sport can corner at 1.0 g’s, and is 0.2 seconds quicker to 60 mph than a standard Vette.
Visually, the Grand Sport will stand out from other Corvettes, the most notable difference being the wider front and rear fenders, housing wider rubber wrapped around unique 18″ (front) and 19″ (rear) wheels. Other cues will be a Z06-style front splitter, rear spoiler and functional brake ducts.
In essence, the Grand Sport package retains the more aggressive spirit the Z51 package gave you, but adds a name that is dear to Corvette fans as well as a distinct appearance. If the Z06 is just too serious and focused for what you want in a Corvette, but crave a little more bite than a standard model, this is your car. The Grand Sport is available in convertible or coupe (with the removable roof) with a choice of a manual or automatic transmissions. Unlike a Grand Sport, the Z06 is a fixed roof car, and is only available with a manual transmission.
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }