The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport is Ready to Race

We learned yesterday that the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport would debut today in Geneva, but with the Swiss debut, we get all of the vital details on the newest GM supercar to sport the Grand Sport name. As expected, the new Grand Sport has a collection of handling and aerodynamic modifications that make give it remarkable road racing capabilities. This doesn’t come as a big surprise, but what is a bit of a shock is the comment from the GM release that this C7 Corvette Grand Sport is almost as fast around the road course at their Milford Proving Grounds as the C6 Corvette ZR1.

Keep in mind, the Corvette ZR1 had a supercharged LS9 with 638 horsepower while the 2017 Grand Sport has “only” 460 horsepower from the Stingray’s standard LT1, but this new Grand Sport will challenge the 638hp ZR1 on the company’s test track.
That is a remarkable feat, serving as yet another reminder of just how good the C7 Corvette is when it comes to track capabilities.

"Racing has been part of Corvette's essence for more than 50 years and that track experience has helped us build better, more capable cars," said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of Global Product Development and Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "The global acclaim for the seventh-generation Corvette validates that direct link and the 2017 Grand Sport takes its track-bred technology to a new, exciting threshold."

2017 Corvette Grand Sport Details
The 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport is based on the Stingray coupe or convertible, so the package begins with the 460 horsepower LT1 V8 with either the 7-speed manual or the 8-speed automatic transmission – although the Grand Sport automatic transmission has been specially tuned for improved performance. The Grand Sport is available with all of the interior and exterior color options of the Stingray line, along with one unique appearance package that we will discuss below.

The unique features of the 2017 Grand Sport begin on the outside, with wider rear fenders, package-specific front fender vents with Grand Sport badging, a Z06 grille and unique lightweight wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires (285-30ZR-19 front, 335-25ZR-20 rear). Next, a Brembo brake package has been fitted up behind the new wheels, with 14 inch rotors and 6-piston calipers up front and 13.4 inch rotors under 4-piston calipers out back. An electronic limited slip differential and Magnetic Ride Control from the Stingray are standard for the Grand Sport, but the Grand Sport gets unique stabilizer bars and springs for improved handling compared to the Stingray.

Finally, the new Corvette Grand Sport is available with a new Z07 package, which adds the Carbon Ceramic Matrix brakes and the Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires from the Corvette Z06.

The result of these changes allow the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport will pull 1.05 lateral Gs during cornering and with the Z07 package, that number climbs to 1.2g. No braking figures have been offered, but I would bet that the Grand Sport with the massive carbon brakes from the Z06 will stop in a serious hurry.

"Racing has been part of Corvette's essence for more than 50 years and that track experience has helped us build better, more capable cars," said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of Global Product Development and Global Purchasing and Supply Chain. "The global acclaim for the seventh-generation Corvette validates that direct link and the 2017 Grand Sport takes its track-bred technology to a new, exciting threshold."

Grand Sport Collector Edition
There will be a special edition package when the Grand Sport is launched, named the Grand Sport Collector Edition (shown above). This car is mechanically identical to the “regular” Grand Sport, but it comes in a unique Watkins Glen Gray Metallic exterior with Tension Blue hash-mark graphics, satin black stripes, black wheels and a unique Tension Blue full leather and suede interior.

The 2017 Corvette Grand Sport officially goes on sale in the US this summer, with the Collector Edition coming “later in the model year”. No pricing has been offered, but we can expect that the Grand Sport will be towards the top end of the Stingray pricing scale.