Autoblog

click image above or images below to view new live shots of these exclusive Corvettes

General Motors unveiled a pair of special edition Corvettes at the Chicago Auto Show yesterday, both of which commemorate the Vette's involvement in motorsports. The Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06 and Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car edition are both only trim packages with stock mechanicals, yet the visual impact of any Vette in Atomic Orange or the ultra exclusive Arctic White is breathtaking.

The Ron Fellows ALMS GT1 Champion Corvette Z06 was developed to celebrate the first man to win an ALMS race in the C5.R back in 2000. The Fellows Z06 is even more exclusive than the Indy 500 Pace Car replica, with only 399 cars being built. In our eyes, it's the better looking of the two (that's why we took more pics of it), with an exclusive coating of Arctic White paint accented by subtle red and silver fender badging. The Z06 wheels are coated in chrome and the windshield's adorned with a full-width Corvette banner, just like the C5.R.

The Indy 500 Pace Car edition is a capable vehicle already by virtue of being a Corvette Convertible with the Z51 performance package. As such, the car will need hardly any modfications to pace the Indy 500 in May. Chevy will be offering 500 of these replica cars to the public, which, along with the radioactive color, includes many Indy 500 logos on the car's exterior and interior, new aluminum split-spoke wheels, and a rear spoiler from the Z06. To be honest, we'd be way more into this car without all the Indy 500 badging, but we're sure Chevy will find 500 people (collectors?) who won't mind it.

GM hasn't made a big deal about these cars at the show, and it's true they're just trim packages for a car we're already very familiar with. Nevertheless, there always seems to be a crowd of journalists hanging around these jewels.

click above image to view an additional 21 high-resolution images

Nine times. No, we're not referring to how many times Ferris Bueller's been absent this quarter, we're referring to how many times the Chevrolet Corvette has handled the official pace duties of the Indianapolis 500. Actually, the ninth time will occur on May 27th of this year for the 91st running of the most historic motorsport event in America. It also marks the fourth time in a row a Corvette has led the pack at Indy.

General Motors will be producing 500 replica Indy Pace Car editions of the car to be offered to the general public. They'll be Corvette Convertibles in Atomic Orange with Indianapolis 500 exterior graphics, Indy 500 fender badges, a rear spoiler cribbed from the Z06, new aluminum split-spoke wheels in Sterling Siver finish, seats with embroidered Indy 500 logos, interior trim pieces painted Atomic Orange to match the exterior and Atomic Orange engine covers. Of course, the 400-hp LS2 is standard and the cars come with the Z51 performance package and a standard six-speed. Each car will have a base price of $66,995, although if one goes for the only option, a paddle-shifting six-speed automatic, the price rises a bit to $68,245.

You can read the official press release after the jump and don't let the Atomic Orange paint burn your retinas when you check out all the photos in our high-resolution gallery.

[Source: GM]

click on image to enlarge

Ford probably paid a lot of money to sponsor NASCAR's season ending series of races at Homestead Miami Speedway in November. Dubbed Ford Championship Weekend, season enders for the Craftsman Truck Series and Busch Series will precede the Ford 400 on November 19th, the last race of this season's NASCAR Nextel Cup Series. Where there's NASCAR racing there's going to be wrecks, and when wrecks occur you need a trusty pace car to lead the field.

Yesterday Ford unveiled its trio of pace cars for the Championship Weekend, which include an F-150 FX-2 to pace the Ford 200 Craftsman Truck race, a Ford Edge to pace the Ford 300 Busch race, and a Shelby GT500 to pace the race with top billing, the Ford 400 Nextel Cup race. The vehicles will be stock save for pace car decals and a light bar, which essentially prepares them for anything they might encounter during their pace duty. With as frequent as crashes seem to occur in NASCAR races seem as of late, we expect these three vehicles will rack up some decent mileage before the Championship Weekend is over.

Matt Kenseth was on hand at the unveiling of the pace cars, which took place at Homestead Miami Speedway itself before a test session. Currently Kenseth and his DeWalt Fusion are 45 points out of first place in the race for the cup with just a few races to go. Fellow ROUSH Racing teammate Mark Martin is ranked No. 4 in the standings, 102 points out of first place. Jeff Burton and his Cingular-sponsored Chevy Impala are currently the cup race leaders.

[Source: Ford]

Click to enlarge

UPDATE: Press release, hi-res photo gallery added

The 'R' in Type-R stands for 'racing,' so the deciders for Formula 1 thought it best to name the Civic Type-R Prototype as the official vehicle for this week's Japan Grand Prix. The four-door prototype has been given the go ahead for production and will likely hit dealers in its home country in late 2007. The overall shape bears significant resemblance to the current Civic sold stateside, however a revised front and rear fascia give the JDM Civic a bit more flow, when compared to its angular sibling abroad. Motivation will come in the form of a 2-liter, inline-four, producing upwards of 220 HP and sending power through a six-speed manual.

The race, to be held at the world-famous Suzuka Circuit in the Mie Prefecture, is the second to last race of the season and may prove to be one of the most entertaining races of the year. With a course rife with passing opportunities and the two leaders, Schumacher and Alonso, running neck-and-neck in points, we've already planned our Sunday around the race and even if you're not into F1, this may be the race to see.

(Photo gallery, press release after the jump)

[Source: Honda]

Chevrolet announced Tuesday that seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong will drive the 2006 Corvette Z06 pace car at this year's running of the Indianapolis 500.

The striking red, white and blue 'Vette will be the eighth to pace the Indy field in the race's history, marking the 17th time a Chevy has had the honor.

The stars and stripes color scheme is intended to tie in with Chevy's "An American Revolution" marketing campaign, and looks to be a vast improvement over the purple and yellow extravaganza that graced Jay Leno's Corvette pace car at this year's Daytona 500.

[Source: GM]

If one needed more proof that Honda’s Accord Hybrid is an eco hot-rod, here it is. IRL officials have announced the Accord Hybrid will be the Official Pace car for the 2006 IndyCar Series. The entire Delphi hIRL Safety Team will be outfitted with Honda vehicles that include the Accord Hybrid, Honda Ridgeline and Honda Pilot.

The Accord Hybrid Pace Car is modified for pacing duties with a roll cage and high-performance wheels and tires. It will pace every race of the 2006 season except for the Indianapolis 500. The big honor at Indy will go to the Chevy Corvette Z06, which marks the 17th time a Chevy has paced the big race in Indiana.

[Source: Honda]