[1]Are you as eager and impatient to get some new Corvette news as we are? It seems these days, as the C6 ‘Vette grows longer in the tooth, there is even less and less information out there on what is to come from GM next. The 60th anniversary of the Corvette is next year (model year 2013) and yet it is starting to seem less and less likely that a new C7 generation Corvette will debut.
Corvetteblogger [2], however, was able to get some pearls o’ wisdom from Corvette Product Marketing Manager, Harlan Charles, at the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring.
So what did Mr. Charles have to say? Nothing too groundbreaking to be sure, as GM is remaining exceptionally tight lipped about the next-generation Corvette. However, we did get to hear some interesting tidbits, like Carbon Edition sales are strong (but of course could be better) and that for the first time in years, GM will start leasing the Corvette again. So if you can’t afford $50,000, but you can afford a $599-a-month lease (plus whatever they want down), then you too can be behind the wheel of a new Corvette soon.
Another topic of discussion was the Z06X track car concept, and how it came about. GM is apparently “exploring” the idea of a track-ready Corvette, right from the factory. The package is built in conjunction with Pratt & Miller, and while it is still a concept, it sounds like there’s a bit of hope for this product. The only information we got on the C7 was that it’s “making progress” despite the bankruptcy, and that while it may not be out as soon as we all wanted, it will be coming. Charles does make a good point that each Corvette generation seems to last longer than people think it should, and for a car that’s been around for 60 years, it’s only had six generations. Another point? None of the C7 sketches were done by anybody at GM… so disregard them. Which makes us wonder just what they have in store.