Most expensive Corvette ever sold coming to Carlisle

By Jeff Glucker

Published May 13, 2013

High Gear Media

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A Carlisle car gathering is an automotive event attended by a sea of like-minded auto enthusiasts. Carlisle, Pennsylvania serves as home for a rotating run of various automotive events, but one of the most popular has to be Corvettes at Carlisle.

This is a celebration of the iconic machine that's been produced since 1953. There have been more than a handful of special models over the course of the Vette's production run. One in particular, however, is making an appearance at the 2013 Corvettes at Carlisle show, and it's a pretty special one-off model.

Called the Chevrolet Corvette Rondine, the car seen above is the world's only steel-bodied Corvette ever produced. It is a concept car that was created for the Paris Auto Show. Based on the 1963 body-style, this metal machine was housed in the Pininfarina museum in Italy until 2008. From there it wound up crossing the stage at a Barrett-Jackson auction where it fetched $1.76 million and became the most expensive Corvette ever sold at auction.

Now it's heading to Carlisle where it will no doubt dazzle Bow-Tie-brand fans. This is a special piece of the Chevrolet Corvette history despite the fact that it's body is built from a material that no other Corvette utilizes. It still has a V-8 engine under the hood, however, and it bears the familiar Vette shape. Albeit one tweaked a bit by the famed Pininfarina designers. Regardless, getting a look at the Rondine is certainly a special treat for Corvette fans and lovers of all things automotive alike.

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US officials probe Corvette headlamp problem

Published May 13, 2013

Associated Press

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U.S. auto safety regulators are investigating complaints that the low-beam headlights can go dark without warning on some Chevrolet Corvettes.

The probe by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration covers more than 103,000 Corvettes from the 2005 through 2007 model years.

The agency says it has gotten 30 complaints from owners about low-beam headlight failure. No crashes or injuries have been reported. But in one case a driver ran over a discarded tire while trying to pull off the road.

The high-beam headlights and fog lights keep working even if the low beams fail. But the agency says driving with the high beams all the time can harm vision of oncoming drivers.

Investigators will check into how often the problem happens and decide if a recall is needed.

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2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray price revealed

Published April 26, 2013

FoxNews.com

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Aside from how it fast it is, the biggest question surrounding the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray has been what it will cost.

Question answered.

The seventh generation ‘Vette will bow later this year with a starting price of $51,995 destination charge included. That’s just $1,400 more than the current car. Convertible Stingrays will cost $56,995, a $1,240 jump.

Both models feature a much higher level of standard equipment than the over the hill sixth-generation car, including carbon fiber bodywork, improved interior materials and a touchscreen based infotainment system, not to mention it’s all-new 450 hp 6.2-ltier V8.

Some significant options include a magnetic active suspension system for $1,795, a Z51 performance package priced at $2,800 and a full leather-wrapped interior upgrade for $8,005.

Load one up with everything on the options list and you’re looking at around $73,360.

Sales of the 2014 Corvette are expected to start in late summer.

Read: First 2014 Chevrolet Corvette sells for $1.1 million

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Callaway designs a 2014 Corvette Stingray shooting brake

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  Callaway shooting brake concept/2014 Chevrolet Corvette StingrayCallaway/Chevrolet

The Callaway name is synonymous with truly unique Corvettes, with one only having to look at past creations, such as the Callaway C16 Speedster of 2007, for an idea of the types of masterpieces the company can come up with.

With the reveal of the new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, it appears Callaway founder Reeves Callaway and his crew in Old Lyme, Connecticut just couldn’t help themselves from designing another stunning custom Corvette.

This time, Callaway has gone with a shooting brake bodystyle for the Corvette, which, if this early rendering is anything to go by, lends itself rather wheel to the lines of the latest C7 generation.

The shooting brake bodystyle, traditionally a coupe with the tail of a wagon, has undergone a strong resurgence of late, appearing on a number of concepts and product cars in the recent past.

We must admit that Callaway’s take on the design is particularly handsome and we hope the company ends up building one once it finally gets its hands on one of the new Corvettes.

Callaway says its Corvette Stingray shooting brake, dubbed the AeroWagon, will be produced if demand is sufficient. The company is currently taking orders for the vehicle and says the option should cost no more than $15,000.  

The rear hatch will feature carbon fiber structural components developed using Callaway’s proprietary Resin Transfer Molding process, so it should be both lightweight and strong.

Callaway also says its AeroWagon will be capable of speeds in excess of 200 mph, though it’s not clear what drivetrain is required. The 2014 Corvette Stingray, which features a 6.2-liter V-8 engine rated at an estimated 450 horsepower, is unlikely to have a top speed above 200 mph, though future versions of the car certainly will.

We’ll bring you the first photos of Callaway’s new AeroWagon as soon as we get our hands on them. If production goes as plans, the first Callaway AeroWagons will be delivered by the fourth quarter of the year.

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Chevy builds last sixth-generation Corvette

Spring cleaning came early in Kentucky this year.

The last of the sixth-generation Chevrolet Corvettes (C6) rolled off the assembly line in Bowling Green yesterday morning, as the automaker began prepping for the launch of an all-new ‘Vette later this year.

The final car built was a white over blue 427 convertible, which was also the last version of the C6 introduced, created to celebrate the model’s sixtieth anniversary in 2013. The 7.0-liter V8 of this particular example hand-assembled by Corvette executive chief engineer Tadge Juechter

It was the 215,100th C6 built since 2005.

But don’t go looking for it in showrooms hoping to snag a future collectable, the drop top is on its way o the GM Heritage Center in Michigan, where it will join GM’s collection of historic vehicles.

And while it’s gone and not forgotten, just 26 mins after the car came off the line, workers started retooling and remodeling the plant for production of the 2014 Corvette Stingray.

They hope to have the work done in record time, just four weeks, and the new car on the road by the end of the summer.

Test Drive: 2013 Chevrolet Corvette 427

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