Autoblog

Motor Trend reports that the upcoming Corvette supercar will sport the ZR1 moniker when it's finally unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January. Interchangeably dubbed "Blue Devil," "SS," and "Z07" by the automotive media until now, the car will feature a supercharged version of the 6.2-liter LS3 V8 introduced in the 2008 'Vette. Look for power and pricing significantly higher than that of the current top-dog Corvette Z06. Don't worry, the Z06 won't go away. The 505-horse car will simply become Corvette's midrange offering. Man, it's gonna be a party atmosphere in Cobo when they unveil this thing...

Thanks for the tip, Jarrod.

[Source: Motor Trend Blog]

The Corvette Z07/SS/Blue Devil is fast becoming one of the worst kept secrets in Detroit. It's not for GM's lack of trying to keep the lid on it, but rather on account of the zealous nature of the Corvette Nation. They're an impatient bunch and are having a hard time waiting for next year's North American International Auto Show in Detroit, where many suspect the super Corvette will bow.

Here we have a set of new pics taken god knows where that show one of the Corvette Z07's most closely hidden secrets. We all assumed that camo on the hoods of development mules was hiding an air intake. Guess what. It wasn't. If these blurry camera phone shots are the real deal, then the ultimate Vette ever will be sporting a clear polycarbonate window in its hood to show off the goods underneath. Say whu? Yeah, a plexiglass window, not unlike the totally transparent hood on the car in which John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John liberated themselves from terra firma at the end of the 1978 film musical Grease. Anyway...

The shaky shots also show some serious braking hardware and what appears to be more extreme air extractor vents behind the front wheels. Aside from that, it appears the Z07 may look much like the Z06. Again, we have to qualify all this with the disclaimer that the car in these pics is most likely not a final production model and may be nothing like what we eventually see on stage in January. Still, a polycarbonate window? We admit, didn't see that one coming.

[Source: Digital Corvettes via GMInsideNews]

Another batch of pics have surfaced of the new Corvette Z07/SS/Blue Devil/Sting Ray/Grand Sport, this time from Popular Mechanics ace Jim Dunne. The car is virtually unmasked, save a cover on the front fender vents and over the hood. The only real differences we see on the outside are the ten-spoke wheels, a black roof and the covered-but-visible hood bulge. Oh yeah, and it's wearing a Devil Red paint job.

The roof is rumored to be carbon fiber to save weight and add strength, a trick commonly employed on a few BMWs. The hood might also be made of the carbon weave, and with or without scoop, PM confirms it's covering a supercharger. Even the wheels might be carbon fiber to save on unsprung weight. Whatever their made of, they look good and appear to be wrapped in even wider tires, especially at the rear. Other changes out back include integrated mudflaps and a revised spoiler lip with a restyled cyclops brake light.

The first Vette to possibly crack the $100,000 mark should be a real supercar, with between 600 and more likely 700 hp coming from its blown 7.0L V8. Click the Read link for several full-car shots from PM.

Thanks for the tips, everyone!

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

That's right, we're still calling the upcoming Corvette SS the "Blue Devil", and it appears from these spy shots that Rick Wagoner feels the same way. Taken by veteran spy photog Jim Dunne for Popular Mechanics, the spyshots include one of the car's rear where a sticker on the bumper is visible. PM asks whether it could be the "Blue Devil" logo of Duke University, Wagoner's alma mater. It's impossible to tell what the sticker shows on the shots provided, but we assume PM and Dunne had larger shots to inspect, and will therefore take their word for it.

PM also claims the Corvette SS may be one of the seven world premiers General Motors is planning for the New York Auto Show in April. There are still at least two debuts that we can't account for, so it's possible the production Blue Devil could debut at the last auto show of the season. It would certainly leave a big impression on the buying public going into the summer sales doldrums. There's nothing like news of a 650-hp Vette costing in the six-figure range to perk up some ears.

[Source: Popular Mechanics]

If the date March 23, 1957 doesn't mean much to you, you might not be a Corvette guy. For on that date, one of the most advanced and beautiful Corvettes ever made, the legendary SS XP-64, debuted at Sebring. It also happened to be the first time Chevy had employed the "SS" moniker for one of its special performance vehicles. Glancing at the calendar, that would make today the 50th anniversary of that historic event.

Zora Arkus-Duntov was the man most responsible for building this special 'Vette. That's him in the photo with driver John Fitch. Besides its super light magnesium alloy body, the SS featured a tube frame chassis and a 283 ci fuelie V8 pumping out more than 300 horsepower. The modifications shaved more than 900 pounds off the curb weight of a standard production Corvette.

Although they had high hopes for the car at Sebring, the SS lasted just 23 laps in the 12 hour race. The plan had been to use Sebring as a test for the LeMans 24 Hours, but changes in the regulations meant it would never race again officially. So the first Chevy "SS" ended up spending its days at the test track. Of course, it did reappear a few years later in the form of Bill Mitchell's 1959 Stingray. Now we have the new Corvette SS hopefully making its official debut in the near future, which should manage to re-spark the SS brand quite nicely.

[Source: Bad Boy Vettes]

Motor Authority is reporting that General Motors' VP of Global Product Develpment, Jim Queen, revealed in an interview with Motor Trend that the next-generation C7 Corvette will produce up to 700 naturally-aspirated horsepower in its top trim. We haven't been able to find the interview on Motor Trend's website or in the current March issue of the magazine, and the April issue has yet to arrive in either digital or dead tree form, so we can't corroborate the information at the moment.

The news of a 700 horsepower Corvette certainly isn't shocking at this point, considering the 2008 Dodge Viper will be packing at least 600 horspower by the time the C7 arrives, if not more, and GM product czar Bob Lutz told reporters at the Chicago Auto Show that a 600-horsepower Corvette would arrive by summer of 2009. He was most likely referring to the C6-based Corvette SS that's been making news on the internet lately. That car appears to be a supercharged version of the current Vette's motor, so it's interesting that they're going for 700 horsepower in the C7 without the use of forced induction.

Queen also confirmed that rumors about an all-wheel drive Corvette are false and that the iconic sports car, along with the Cadillac XLR, would remain on their own unique platform.

[Source: Motor Authority]

UPDATE: After conferring with Motor Trend and finding the original source, it's clear that GM's Jim McQueen did NOT say the C7 Corvette will produce up to 700 hp. The original article's author, MT's Paul Horrell, merely extrapolated on his own and made an educated guess that the C7 might produce that much power, probably considering that the C6 SS would already be producing in the neighborhood of 600 horsepower. The stuff about no all-wheel drive and maintaining a unique platform still stands, though.

First off, we know for a fact that's a Corvette in those pictures allegedly taken by an EMO TRANS employee. That we know. But Josh Oliver at TheGMSource now says the anonymous employee might or might not have been fired from his EMO job. Maybe. And Oliver says it now looks like the alleged photographer most likely was not taken to jail for snapping those pictures. In all likelihood. Though if he did take those sensational photos that have us all excited with Blue Devil anticipation, then General Motors is most definitely not very happy with him. And we can more than likely assume GM and its myriad lawyers have already used up several ink cartridges printing lengthy legal documents with this guy's name on them. At least that's what we would do were we an international automaker with trade secrets to protect. We think.

You get the impression nobody is totally sure what's going on with this case? Then you're right. Probably. Hopefully as the day passes in scenic Romulus, Michigan on Friday, we can take a few allegedlys and a probably or two out of the story. Maybe. Either way, we're (allegedly) on the edges of our seats waiting for the next twist.

[Source: TheGMSource]

UPDATE: After speaking with a representative from General Motors personally, we can say unequivocally that the automaker claims not to have taken any action legal action against anyone in this matter. That's from the horse's mouth, people. Whether or not other companies, entities, or suppliers have done anything is not known, but GM appears to be staying out of it completely.

UPDATE 2: Turns out we didn't know for a fact that the man in the middle of all this is an employee of EMO Trans. The shipping company also contacted us to inform us that the man in question is not an employee of theirs and they do not know him. Furthermore, EMO Trans also claims he is an employee of a company called Central State, which is a handling agency for the German airline Lufthansa.

We've just learned that EMO TRANS, the shipping company that was hired by General Motors to transport a Corvette SS mule to Germany for testing on the Nurburgring, has fired the employee who took pictures of the vehicle and posted them on the internet. In addition, the unnamed employee has been taken to jail, though we don't know what charges have been filed against him. For our part, we've removed the pics from Autoblog for fear of GM's wrath. The automaker has been reportedly approaching various sites all day requesting the images be removed, so rather than waiting for the phone to ring we've gone ahead and taken them down.

This clearly illustrates how seriously GM is taking the development of the Corvette SS, as well as how utterly embarrased and apologetic EMO TRANS must be for the actions of its employee. It's all fun and games on our side of the fence because we got to see some real, informative shots of this very special Vette, but it reminds us that there's a lot of money on the line. We're sure that GM didn't appreciate pics of this powerplant were available for every other automaker to peruse. Lesson learned, though harder for some than others.

We'll keep you updates as more concrete and verifiable info becomes available.

UPDATE: Josh over at The GM Source is reporting that the SShutterbug in question has not been placed under arrest, nor is he in police custody. GM has filed a civil complaint with the Romulus PD, and the matter remains under investigation. Whether or not the individual in question will be charged with a crime depends on the outcome of said investigation. Stay tuned. Full report here.

UPDATE: Images removed

HOLY SCHNIKES!

Here are millions of dollars of development and thousands of hours of work laid bare for us to ogle. This Corvette caught by Fast-Autos.net forum member, Chikara83, definitely has some trick bits on it and apparently it's the real deal. There's a liquid/liquid intercooler perched atop the V8, and where the alternator used to be sits a supercharger. We can't tell what type of huffer it is, though -- positive displacement Roots-type or centrifugal.

The hood and front quarters are wearing camouflage to cover changes in those panels. The low-pressure area behind the front wheels makes the perfect location for extractors, which are likely fed by the high pressure area at the base of the windshield. Together they provide a good path through the engine bay for extra cooling air. That's a nice, tidy explanation for why the camo is where it is, too, so we're going with it. There's also a vent in the leading edge of the rear quarter panel, which we presume is for rear brake cooling. The burning question that everyone wants to know has finally been answered: the interior (of the mule, at least) is still kinda cheap. We are gonna be so embarassed if this is Winding Road messing with us again.

Many thanks to tipster Chris.

[Source: Fast-Autos.net]