Chevrolet Changes Their Tune for the Chicago Auto Show
After a very publicized attempt at appearing more eco-friendly and progressive during the Detroit auto show pushed the Camaro and Corvette to rear of the Chevrolet area in favor of more environment friendly vehicles choices they had. Of course, that was in large part necessitated by the government presence at the Detroit show, and it disappeared at the Chicago Auto Show this past weekend. In a brilliant move by Chevrolet, they brought forward all of their vehicles in bright colors and placed them in central locations, so that the Aveo and the Grand Sport got seemingly equal real estate, and really brightened up the entire Chevrolet display at the auto show.
Instead of drab gray Camaros tucked against a back wall, the Chicago Auto Show featured the Bumblebee Yellow and Synergy Green Camaro front and center. Juxtaposing the single, dark gray Corvette pressed against a dark gray wall at Detroit, at Chicago there were both a bright blue and bright red grand sport up front and on display, and an absolutely gorgeous shining red ZR1 there to induce drools. It is a nice change and a good direction back to what is a proven strategy for these auto shows: place your entire line-up on display looking as good as it can, to show the wide range of good looking options your company offers. All in all, I want more like this from Chevrolet in the future and hope that their sales continue to do well.
You have the two best American sports cars Chevy, show them off with pride!
Click the thumbs below for larger images of the Chicago Auto Show Corvettes!
GT Corvette C6.R Video Lap at Sebring
The 'Vette lovers over at BadBoyVette were able to hook up with Corvette racing driver Oliver Gavin for a video lap of the new C6.R 5.5L racing 'Vette making its way around the Sebring race course. Watching the video, it is easy to see that while Sebring is by no means one of the nicer tracks out there (I've driven gravel roads that are smoother) the C6.R is a fantastic vehicle. It makes its way with vigor through the Sebring course, and absolutely tears it up through the 17 turns, and is fun to watch.
Images Leaked of the 2010 C6.R from Corvette Racing
Well, the guys over at badboyvettes.com got a chance to see the new 2010 C6.R from Corvette Racing, and it looks pretty great. I do wonder though about the barb-wire down the sides of it, seems a little unnecessary and not that attractive. The wheels, black and yellow, and body kit all looks fantastic. What do you think?
Goodyear’s New UHP Tire to Become Z06 Standard in 2011
Goodyear's newest and most advanced tire, their UHP Eagle F1 G:2 has been chosen to be the new fitment for the Corvette. This is the most advanced street tire that Goodyear is making these days, and has some pretty nice features that will be great for any Z06 Driver. With asymmetrical, directional, vehicle side based tread these tires are specifically designed for the best grip and drive possible. They're also meant to look nice, with special lettering from Goodyear to stand out, as well as the directional tread. A few other features include:
- Run Flat
- Serrated band sidewall
- Massive tread blocks on the outboard shoulder to help enhance dry cornering grip
- Aquachannel grooves on the inboard side of the tread help enhance wet cornering grip
- Multi-radius mold shape offers precise handling and smooth, even wear
They seem like a pretty nice touch for the already impressive Z06, and hopefully will get some great reviews when they're officially released this year.
Corvette C6 Halltech Killer Bee II
Rumors are all over the internet that Halltech has a new Corvette intake in the works, the Halltech Killer Bee II. The Killer Bee II is going to be their second generation of the Corvette LS3 and LS7 Killer Bee which has been one of the top selling intakes for the Corvette C6 for the past 5 years. Like the original Killer Bee the Halltech Killer Bee II will feature some improvements over the original Killer Bee. First off, the new Killer Bee II will fit ALL C6 Corvettes including the 05-07 C6 LS2 (The 05-07 LS2's will require a Mass Airflow Conversion Kit, and SCT Tuner to recalibrate the MAF tables which will also be available from Halltech Distributors.
This is a huge difference as the original Killer Bee only worked with the LS3 and LS7 engines. From a design perspective, the primary difference is that the inlet side of the Killer Bee II has been increased from 98mm to 107mm with a 4.5" outer diameter flange and 4.2" inner diameter.
The outlet side of the Killer Bee II is a full 102.5mm to match the 102mm throttle body, and able to dial in perfect Long Term Fuel Trims. By comparison, the K&N Z06 intake has a 94mm outlet and becomes the point of restriction when using a larger throttle body/intake manifold. With the Killer Bee II no tuning is required at all for 15 RWHP gain. The Mass Air Flow sensor mount is now a one piece integrated part of the Killer Bee II, uses the stock screws, has no steps, and is 103mm Mass Air Flow sensor read Area. The unit is now .150" thick or 50% thicker than the original Killer Bee for improved strength and resistance to heat distortion. There has been substantial reshaping of the floor of the Killer Bee II for improved flow numbers and velocity. The new Halltech Killer Bee II filter is 15" wide vs. 14" wide, with allows for much better fitment under the Halltech Beehive. The neck of the filter is 3/4" longer than the old filter to allow the bridge maximum insertion (1.75") depth. The filter flange now features a full bell mouth radiused velocity stack for maximum high velocity at high rpm and smooth laminar airflow at the MAF sensor. The filter media is a ISO 5011 tested low restriction filter media which outflows the previous filters by 10%, with more surface area than its predecessor. The Beehive is an integral component and included with all Killer Bee II systems to avoid loss of power due to heat soak and IAT issues causing timing reduction. Testing is currently being conducted by Katech with results to follow on the blog very soon. The big deal is that NO TUNING is REQUIRED.
Original Halltech Killer Bee
Technical Specs below…
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More C7 Speculation!
Some people may be getting tired of the C7 speculation, but I am not one of them. I love these C7 renderings that keep popping up, and this one from TopSpeed is a good one. I like the look of the vehicle a lot, and it kind of matches some of what we know and expect.
By combining some of the lines of the Stingray concept and the C6, this rendering came up. It looks even more like a super-car than the current C6 (of course, as we've seen from the C6's performance, no matter how much more "super" a Lambo or whatever other car looks like, the Corvette always performs in a class all of its own) which is by no means a knock on the C6 styling, because it's almost undeniably the best looking car on the road today. It doesn't show the back-end in this draw-up, but we do know for a fact already that the C7 will have the split-window, so we can use our imagination. Any other ideas as to what the C7 should look like, or things you would like to see?
Credit to Avarvarii for the mock-up which has been getting a lot of press.
