Autoblog

Click above for high-res gallery of the Corvette Competition

The Chevy Corvette trails only the Ford Mustang in number of special editions offered from the factory and by third-party tuners. Aside from the Z06 and ZR1, GM has also offered Vette-o-philes the Victory Edition (Euro only), 427 Limited Edition Z06, the Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06, and many Indy 500 Pace Car special editions over the years. And that's just from the factory. Check out Callaway and Lingenfelter for an even longer list of special Vettes.

GM of Europe has announced one more special Corvette to add to the list. Along with the aforementioned Victory Edition, GM will also be offering Europeans the Corvette Competition, which supposedly celebrates the new racing season that kicked off in mid-March with the 12 Hours of Sebring. Despite that race being held on American soil as part of the American Le Mans Series, the Corvette Competition is for Euro consumption only.

The Corvette Competition bears little resemblance to the C6.R race car from Corvette Racing, other than the fact they're both Corvettes. While the race car is a precision tool of speed and endurance, the production Corvette Competition is a gussied up base C6 coupe. Exterior mods include a honey comb grille in the lower front air intake and between its pair of dual tailpipes, a Z06 rear spoiler perched out back, and unique 5-spoke alloy wheels in Competition Grey. The rest of the car is dipped in black paint for maximum stealth effect. Other than that, the Corvette Competition's hardware is identical to that of a garden variety C6 Coupe, though GM claims it's limited the available options on to keep weight down. Since it is a special edition model, production will be limited and the price has only been referred to as "competitive".

[Source: GM]