The ‘gong invaded by Stingrays and Sharks !It was an attack the likes of which had not been seen before in the coastal town of Wollongong (90km south east of Sydney), when an invasion of over 100 Stingrays and Sharks collected at Flagstaff Hill under the historic lighthouse, to celebrate the NSW Corvette’s 2012 National Convention. Unlike the usual response to an invasion by stingrays and sharks though, in this case, people couldn’t keep away from the iconic location, and were drawn to the spectacle of It was the 24th Annual National Corvette Convention hosted by the NSW Corvettes Unlimited Car Club, which attracted the best corvettes from around Australia. With three car parks forming layers down the side of the cliff edge hill, the perfect show case was naturally built for this collection of ageless, classic and vintage cars, presented together with the most modern and up to date versions of America’s number one sports car. To the delight of the Wollongong locals and visitors alike, the range on show represented each generation of Corvettes from 1953 (C1) through to the current C6 Grand Sports and Z06 super cars. Since 1953 when Chevrolet launched the first Corvette in it’s only 6 cylinder form, these fibreglass beauties have evolved through the classes of ;
The first Stingrays appeared with the C2 generation, when their body shape first took on the Stingray shape. There were many standout C2 examples at the show. These included Murray and Wendy’s brilliant split-window 1963 duo of silver `Rocky2′ and the red NCRS certified original, and the show stopping Charlie Spiteri custom featuring the 7.0Litre LS7 engine. The Stingray body shape began the evolutionary leap for the Corvette which led to the Mako Shark design of the third Generation C3 cars. This Mako Shark body shape was so popular, and so far ahead of it’s time from both aero dynamic perspective as well as being visually appealing, that it lasted largely un-changed for almost 20 years ! Besides minor evolutionary adjustments, chrome bumpers being dropped in 1973 – 1974, changes in side gill design and rear window changes, the basic body shape of the C3 Corvette remained the most popular of all. Although the engine and chassis of the C3 were mostly carried over from the C2 Stingray, there were enough new additions to warrant a full model upgrade. The 350ci (5.7L) engine replaced the 327ci (5.36L) as the base engine and this provided a solid, high performance block with which to evolve the Corvette’s reputation as a powerhouse track car as well as a road car. Big block performance engines included the 427 ci (7.0L) and 454 ci (7.4L) with `stroked’ variations ranging as high as 502 ci (8.1L). At the height of the power wars in America, power packages quickly emerged like the LT-1 (370Bhp/276kW), ZR-1 and ZR-2 (430Bhp/321kW) and many Collector and special track ready editions. In 1978, the 25th Anniversary version was used as the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500. The public loved them, so Chevrolet commissioned a Limited Edition Collector Series, with a special RPO-Z78 performance pack celebrating the sport it represented. These came in two tone silver and black paint, full silver leather or silver leather/gray cloth upholstery and gray carpeting, new glass t-tops, alloy wheels, power windows, air This generation also saw two very special and extremely rare one-off Special Editions. These are known as the ZL-1 1969 versions and featured an all aluminium 427 ci (7.0L) big block engine that powered the ZL1 through the standing 1/4 mile in 12.1 seconds. These cars were 460Bhp/343kW powerhouses that at the time were labelled by Motor Trend magazine as the fastest production car in the world. It was largely believed that only two versions of these cars were made; a yellow and a white each with black stripes. However, Car and Driver magazine in 1969 revealed that a third, red ZL-1 was also built but it apparently disappeared after that 1969 road test and was never found. Just quietly, I’d be checking the test driver’s garage .. just saying ! As these are rare cars, there were none on display at the NSW Corvette Convention, however Andy Felton’s ’69 (which we reviewed in Edition 29 – the Sydney Harbour Edition), is inspired by the white ZL-1 and presented in reverse black with white stripes. Along the same styling inspiration, SR Performance’s Steve Rosenfel’s recently rebuilt his famous 1973 big block in amazing red paint with similar ZL-1 inspired black stripes. For both vehicles though, the resemblances are only visual, as these two machines are modern day 500Bhp + mechanical rockets, integrated to the classic C3 Corvette frame and chassis. In the case of the SR Performance mascot, the rear end and steering are entirely designed and built in house by Steve Rosenfels. Although the Stingray / Shark monikers and nick-names were only associated to the C2 and largely the C3 Corvettes, many more incredible cars followed with the C4, C5 and the current C6 generations. Each of these generations has had it’s own powerhouse representation that kept the Corvette powerful, popular and very much alive in the American and global market place. The C4 ZR-1 was capable of 375Bhp/280kW) but if that wasn’t enough, Chevrolet had partnered with Callaway Motors to create the Callaway Twin-Turbo Corvette. This was essentially a Regular Production Option (RPO-B2K) and the first time that Chevrolet had entrusted an external specialist manufacturer with a technically advanced high performance RPO. The C5 generation Corvette saw the introduction of the Z06 to replace the ZR-1. Introduced in 2001, the Z06 used a high-output, tuned version of the standard LS1 Corvette engine (designated LS6), which initially produced 385 hp (287 kW). Although its total horsepower output was less than that of the ZR-1 it replaced, the Z06 was much lighter, and could out-perform the ZR-1 in every category except top speed. It also cost substantially less money than the ZR-1 making it more attractive to more people.. The C5 generation returned to the Indy 500 with another pace car version and as before, Chevrolet commissioned a Pace Car Replica (RPO Z4Z) for the public. The Pace Car Replica package consisted of a special paint colour (“Radar Blue”), unique interior colours (black and yellow), and painted yellow wheels. The Pace Car Replica package also included other optional equipment: the newly introduced Active Handling System, an electronically tuned AM/FM radio with CD player and a Bose speaker system, an electronic dual-zone heating & air conditioning system and leather adjustable sport bucket seats. Of course Indy 500 decals adorned the sides to make this equally as popular a sports car as the C3 version that preceded it. The C5 generation celebrated it’s 50th Anniversary and a 50th Anniversary Edition (RPO Z25) was offered during the 2003 model year, to commemorate the half-century During the 2004 model year, a 24 Hours of Le Mans Commemorative Edition package (RPO’s Z15 & Z16) were offered as an option for all three C5 models (fastback coupé, convertible, Z06) in celebration of the C5-R “1–2” in-class finishes at Le Mans. By the time the current C6 generation came into being, there was a lot for this model to live up to ! And live up to was certainly what it did ! On the styling side, the current generation Corvette is the first with exposed headlights since the 1962 model. On the power and performance side though, variants include the In 2010, Chevrolet re-released the Grand Sport which carries Z06 styling and brake package together with a special drive train that makes this car very track ready as it’s name would suggest. What ever your favourite Corvette may be, the 24th Annual National Corvette Convention hosted by the NSW Corvettes Unlimited Car Club at Wollongong, had every generation and almost every car represented! Congratulations to the club leadership, president Gary Nelson and his team, for the co-ordination and effort in hosting what has come to be the greatest Corvette showing in Australia. ________________________________________________ Featured ‘vettes
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wow, awesome blog.Really looking forward to read more.