GRAND SPORT

If there was ever any doubt that GM was trying to globalize its products, the unveiling of the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport in Geneva recently should confirm it. The cars, which are set to go on sale late this year, come fitted with the 460hp LT1 engine instead of the supercharged LT4 in the Z06. That means the Grand Sport gets the lower, flatter Stingray hood. The weight savings offered by this combination have seen new spring and anti–roll bar components developed to accommodate the lighter nose. To help with the track-friendly-yet-budgetconscious nature of the cars, they are fitted with the Z06 brakes and a unique Grand Sport wheel design, available in no fewer than five finishes. The visual clues, apart from the wheels, are the hash marks on the front fenders, which come in six colours, and the tail lights, which use the Stingray’s red lenses instead of the blacked-out Z06’s lights. Despite having 190hp less than the ZR1, the cars are reportedly almost as adept on the racetrack, and are capable of 0–60mph in 3.6 seconds, giving them the potential to become the most popular C7 variant to date.