This article is part of the GM Authority Opinion Desk series, where you can see exactly what’s on the minds of GM Authority writers and editors.
Hey gang. I felt like I had to get something off my chest. I promise to keep it sweet, short, and to the point. Here goes nothing…
The 2010 Corvette Grand Sport- what the hell is the point? I know, I know – the Grand Sport concept originated way back in the 1960’s and has an historic past that has its place in the books. But If you ask me, there is no place for it in today’s Corvette lineup.
No Place For The Grand Sport In Today’s Corvette Lineup
Now, before you whip out your automotive red cards, please let me explain. You see, GM released the Z06 Corvette in 2006 and quickly soared to the top of the sports car world. It boasted many high performance options like a 7.0L 505 hp engine, dry sump oiling system, flared quarter panels, and even a carbon fiber splitter and body panels. It really was the best bang for the buck and in my opinion, still is. But GM decided to screw up a good thing.
Talk Of Cannibalization!
If you ask me, the Grand Sport it destined to completely cannibalize the famed Z06. The reason behind my theory is quite simple. GM took all that made the Z06 the king of the road, applied it to a base C6, and slapped a Grand Sport badge on it.
And for what purpose? The world was perfectly fine without a Grand Sport. The purists had their base C6 LS3’s while the hard core crowd had their Z06 with an LS7 and big brakes. Now there is an option called the Grand Sport that offers practically all the performance options of a Z06 minus the LS7. Even the 6-speed manual Grand Sport has a dry sump oil system and the battery in the back. The question is quite simple: where’s the incentive to buy a Z06 when the Grand Sport is nearly $20,000 less?
That’s right, for about $20,000 less, you can purchase a Grand Sport with a manual transmission, throw an aftermarket heads and cam package on it, and have more power to the wheels than a Z06. Sure, you don’t have the magnesium roof or the 427 cubic inches under the hood, but who cares? You get the same six-piston brakes, splitter, hood scoop, quarter panels, and oiling system that the Z06 has.
Oh, and I almost forgot: you can even get a Z06 body with a convertible! Tell me – how many serious road race guys are going to buy a convertible? None will – believe me!
In The End…
In the end, it’s just a shame. If I was a proud Z06 owner, I would be super pissed at The General for releasing a vehicle that just took the breath right out from my real high performance vehicle (aka Z06).
So, what do you think? Do you agree, disagree, or plainly not care? Let me know in the comments below!
This article is part of the GM Authority Opinion Desk series, where you can see exactly what’s on the minds of GM Authority writers and editors.
Comment
It’s a pretty interesting article, I agree for the most part but I believe the Grand Sport trim is a very interesting idea but would have to be re-worked. Porsche for example has this ‘lighter and more sport oriented’ trim on the Cayman and I think it’s what the Grand Sport should kinda be…The Gran Sport doesn’t need the bigger brakes, the base Corvette brakes are fine, it should have most of the aerodynamics and weight-saving advances of the Z06 and the ZR1 and this way it would attract it’s own clientele