Chevrolet showed off the budget-friendly Grand Sport Corvette this year at the Geneva motor show, but we didn’t know how much less it would cost than the Z06 – until now. The 2016 Corvette 1LT (base model) coupe starts at $56,395 and the 1LT convertible starts at $60,395, so when compared to the base model trimline for the Stingray, the Grand Sport has a price starting $10,050 higher than the Stingray in its base form. Other changes including cooling upgrades, plus a unique vented carbon-fiber hood, a new front splitter, and a new rear spoiler.
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The new Corvette GS also has an impressive 0-60 miles per hour time of 3.6 seconds and can run the quarter-mile in 11.8 seconds at 118 miles per hour, when equipped with the Z07 package and available paddle-shift eight-speed automatic transmission. With the standard tires, Chevrolet says to expect 1.05g of cornering grip, which rises to a ludicrous (for a street car) 1.2g with the Z07 package.
Meanwhile, the Heritage package gives the race auto hash-mark fender exterior graphics, hash-mark interior details with brushed aluminum trims, full-length stripes in five colors, and five wheel choices. That version will arrive later in the model year.
Also, standard on the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport is the magnetic ride control system, as well as Brembo brakes.
Bridging the gap between the wild Z06 and the regular Stingray by offering just about everything except the supercharger from the former on the latter, the Corvette Grand Sport goes on sale this summer. Also, while we don’t have the pricing for the new Z07 package for the Grand Sport, that is the only way that you can get the Z06 Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes and the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires on a Stingray-based C7 Corvette. The standard transmission is a seven-speed manual with automatic rev matching. Full-length stripes are offered in five colors.
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The original Grand Sport race cars were made just before a corporate order halted all Motorsports involvement. A three-dimensional representation of an original Grand Sport race vehicle is embossed in the headrests and that shape is also used on an instrument panel plaque that carries a unique build sequence number. They didn’t compete officially, but Zora Arkus-Duntov got them to racers who campaigned the cars privately.
