After some recent fails, let’s see a dyno test with a happy ending. This is a 2005 C6 Corvette built by Dallas Performance, which recorded a whopping 1,302 hp and 1,662 Nm (1,226 lb-ft) of torque on the rear wheels, according to the performance charts.
To achieve this, the tuning firm upgraded the V8 powerhouse with twin turbos, Performance Induction LS3 heads, RC120 injectors and single plane intake. The power is transferred to the rear wheels through a TR-6060 transmission and a C6 Z06 differential. The clip is available after the break.
Here at Carscoop, we love us some Corvette design studies. Heck, if we wanted to we could probably serve up a new one every day of the week.
Today’s CAD mock up comes from transportation design student James Robbins. Think of it as a C6.5, a stopgap measure between the current gen Corvette and a future C7 model. The design brief required Mr. Robbins to use the basic proportions of the C6, which limited what could be done with the design.
Now here’s my two cents:
I find the shape of the bootlid and the V-shaped side intakes to be quite pleasing to the eye, but the ugly Dodge Viper / Ferrari 458 Italia taillights don’t fit the car at all. Also, the front end styling is a bit too conservative and I feel that more could have been done with the glasshouse. The overall design is good but it’s hard to say if that’s due to Mr. Robbins’ tweaking or the C6’s nice proportions.
I can’t help but feel that with a little more work around the head- and taillights, this could have been a real stunner. As it stands, it’s a good effort though just not quite there. But don’t take my word for it. Voice your own opinion in our comments section.
How do you replace a motoring icon? In the years leading up to 1968, U.S. automaker Chevrolet was dealing with this very problem with their venerable Corvette. The first and second generation Corvettes, designed by Harley Earl and Larry Shinoda respectively, were stylish and innovative creations that drew countless fans from the automotive community.
The answer lies, in part, with the Aerovette: a mostly forgotten concept that made just two auto show appearances before being relegated to the GM Heritage Museum.
In the late ‘60s, GM engineer Zora Arkus Duntov and his team were toying with the XP-882, a mid-engined design and engineering exercise built on Oldsmobile Tornado underpinnings. Though fascinating from a design and engineering standpoint, Chevy General Manager John DeLorean saw no future for the XP-882 and canceled the project in 1969. It was simply too expensive and too impractical for the impending 1970s America.
When Ford announced it would be selling the Italian designed / American engined De Tomaso Pantera at its Lincoln / Mercury dealerships in 1970, DeLorean hit the roof. He immediately ordered Duntov and GM designer Charles Jordan to dust off the XP-882 and ready it for the New York Auto Show.
Renamed the Aerovette, the XP-882 was a revolution. After being re-engined for the 1973 Paris Auto Salon, the Aerovette now featured four transversely mounted Wankel rotaries, a full five years before they would be popularized in the United States by Mazda’s RX-7. Beneath that sleek glass fibre skin was a steel and aluminium birdcage that was both lightweight and strong.
Innovative features abound such as the bi-fold gullwing doors, V-shaped front windscreen and deformable plastic bumpers. Pop up headlamps, a fully independent coil spring suspension and four wheel disc brakes were also incorporated into the design.
Inside, a digital instrument panel displayed speed and engine rpm, while a switchable screen could show fuel, water temperature, oil pressure or voltage. A second digital display in the centre console could display the date, time and radio station as well as the elapsed time in minute or seconds for time trials.
Though the Aerovette / XP-882 never progressed beyond the concept stage, its design was highly influential in the third generation (C3) Corvette. Many of its ingenious design features would find their way into production cars; though in some cases this process took as long as then years(!).
So there you have it. The Aerovette: a car that was ten years ahead of its time but doomed by the ‘70s oil crisis. Gone, but hopefully, never forgotten.
If there's one manufacturer that every motoring enthusiast adores, it's Ferrari. And from the mid to late '80s, the king of wall poster exotics was the make's epic flat-12 engined Testarossa.
So what does a budding Ferrarista do in the late '80s? Well, you can't buy a Testarossa, as the thing costs US$180,000 or more than the median house price at the time. You could buy a Chevy Corvette for a lot less, though really that's just admitting that you're not as rich or cultured as the guy with the Mercedes-Benz 450 SL.
So why not go for something that's home grown but with an exotic edge? No, not a De Tomaso Longchamp; I'm talking about something that's really home grown. Home built, even. A Brillante Vendetta!
According to the seller, California based Classic International began converting C4 Corvettes into the Testarossa-lookalike "Brillante Vendetta" in the late '80s. The seller bought this particular example new for US$70,000 in 1989 and has owned it ever since. To put that into perspective, a new C4 Corvette would set you back US$32,000 in those days.
With just 15,000 miles on the odometer, all relevant paper work and the promise that it has been regularly serviced, this Italian impersonator comes with a 5.7 L V8, auto tranny, full grain Italian leather interior and inlaid burl wood on the dashboard. Couple that with power everything, climate control, steering wheel mounted controls and even one of those awesome, car phones from the early '90s and you've got yourself...well, something, that's for sure. Finished in Ferrari's trademark red with black soft top and clip on red hard top, a recent insurance appraisal valued the car at an alleged US$35,000.
So what's the verdict?
Well, it looks pretty good for what it is. Yes, Classic International was a little ambitious trying to recreate a Testarossa instead of something simpler like a Mondial and the interior looks a bit more kit car that superstar. And there's the fact that for a few thousand more than the US$21,900 asking price you could pick up an actual, second hand Ferrari or even an immaculate C4 Corvette.
So I leave it to our readers: would you or wouldn't you?
Chevrolet's 2009 50th Anniversary Corvette Stingray Concept that made its way into the Transformers movies is one of those love-it / hate-it cars. On the one hand, it was sleek and muscular and pointed to the next generation Corvette. On the other hand, it owed a bit too much design-wise with the 2003 Cadillac Cien and the nods to the original Corvette Stingray appeared a little forced.
Still, I'd find it hard to believe that anyone, even lovers of the '09 Concept, would consider putting down over US$40 grand on this so-called replica. It's even harder to believe that underneath all that fibreglass is a 2005 C6 Corvette; it could just have easily been based on a twenty year old Mazda Miata / MX-5 like so many other eBay customs.
So what does the US$42,500 "Buy It Now Price" get us? For starters, the underpinnings from the C6 Corvette including its 440 hp LS2 V8 and 6spd automatic transmission. You get a clear title and 29,111 miles on the odometer to boot.
So, what else? Well, the bodywork, exhaust, air intake and interior decals are all new. And an ECU tune is good for a purported, though still unconfirmed, 430 hp. Jet stream blue paint. There's also Jet Stream Blue Paint, LED headlights (which surely can't be road legal) and "adjustable ride control" with "electric tilt front end". Is this a car or a sex toy?
Better still, is trying to choose a favorite quote from the seller's description. My two picks are:
"BUILT BY A PROFESSIONAL CAR BUILDER..... NOT SOME KID IN HIS GARAGE... And take a close look and you will see the difference."
And:
"Now with most "Replicas" you can tell from ten feet away that they are a replica's... We are proud that this "CONCEPT" car looks like a FACTORY BUILT CAR. NO one would ever know that this was not build by Chevy."
Oh, and the capitalization and grammatical errors are all the seller's own doing, not ours. Honest.
There are at least three of these replicas roaming about the Pacific Northwest, one of which allegedly appeared in Vette magazine. Oh, and there's a video too. We'll leave it up to our readers to properly "dissect" this abhorrent mutation, in the comment's section below.
