Guy Fieri of Food Network fame, among many other things, will officially be the pace car driver piloting the 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 pace car at the upcoming Indy 500.

“There are races and then there are races,” Fieri said. “And without a doubt, the Indy 500 is the race that I’ve always wanted to attend. And now, to be driving the Corvette Pace Car … this is going to be unbelievable.”

Fieri is probably most readily known for the show he hosts: Diners Drive-Ins and Dives, the seven restaurants he co-owns and operates in Northern California, or the books he’s authored on food.

Sandwiches aside, he’s also a certified car fanatic. With a collection including his recently recovered Lamborghini Gallardo and a host of classic Chevorlets including his 1968 Camaro SS, which appears on his show.

“We look forward to welcoming Guy Fieri to the Indianapolis 500,” said Jeff Belskus, Indianapolis Motor Speedway president and chief executive officer. “He’s full of energy and is a longtime ‘car guy’ – a perfect match for ‘The Greatest Spectacle in Racing.’ I’m sure he’ll remember forever the moment he fires up the incredible 2013 Corvette ZR1 and paces the field to the green flag.”

And incredible it is. With a 638-hp 6.2-liter LS9 engine, this will be the fastest car to ever pace the race, which will run on May 27.

Just announced as the pace car for the 96th Indy 500, the Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 will be the most powerful to fulfill the role in history. 

While there really isn’t anything new about the ZR1 itself, there’s little doubt that Chevrolet’s supercar featuring a 6.2-liter LS9 V8 will dazzle the crowd. To date, Chevrolet has provided the race with a pace car 23 times, 11 of which were Corvettes.

You’ll be able to see the 638 hp ZR1 which can run from 0-60 mph in 3.4 seconds on May 27 when the race starts at noon, Eastern Standard Time, but until then there’s a video fo it below.

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Shoving small block engines into short bed, half-ton trucks is nothing new. But a supercharged LS9 from a Corvette ZR1 into a Chevrolet Silverado pickup? Now that’s something worth checking out.

Aside from the side exit exhaust on the truck – which is a pretty common modification on Silverados – absolutely nothing else has been done to it on the exterior, giving no hint as to what waits underneath the hood. The video shows off the acceleration of the truck as well as a dyno pull, whipping down 510-hp and 504 lb-ft of torque. That’s at least 205-hp and 169 lb-ft of torque over the most powerful factory powerplant Chevy offers in their four-wheel-drive Silverado.

Check out the video after the break.

[Source: Bang Shift]

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One of America’s most iconic sports car is due for a refresh and now renderings of the new Chevrolet Corvette C7 has hit the Internet thanks to hours of hard work from Jalopnik who got a glimpse of the next generation

They decided to do all of us automotive nuts a favor, whipping up renderings rather than leaking the actual photos – to protect their sources – and confirms that this render is as accurate as it can get with the next-generation ZR1.

Jalopnik also confirms that they’ve showed the renderings around to different sources at GM, all of which have confirmed that it’s an accurate depiction of what we can expect from the Corvette C7. Obviously we’ll be seeing the base model Corvette hitting the market first, but the ZR1 variant is expected to bow sometime shortly.

There is quite a bit going on with the new C7 in terms of styling changes. At first glance it looks as if Chevrolet’s merely updating the Corvette’s look and feel, just as it has every other generation prior. But clearly there’s some Camaro-inspired design cues going on, and who can blame Chevy given how successful the Camaro has become.

Check out the link to Jalopnik below for more Corvette C7 renderings

[Source: Jalopnik]

Lingenfelter Performance Engineering has been hard at work tuning the LS9 found in 2009-2012 Chevrolet Corvettes, and now has three engine packages for those hungry for more horsepower. The first, offers up to 680-hp thanks to a supercharger pulley upgrade, while the remaining two are both supercharger system upgrades, one of which brings power output to 710-hp while the other is a more extreme 750-hp.

The pulley upgrade package is a surprisingly affordable $2,995 (installed) package helping safely increase boost to 12-13 psi from the factory supercharger. The increase isn’t too shabby either, taking the factory figure of 638-hp and 604 lb-ft of torque to 680-hp and 660 lb-ft of torque. As with all other Lingenfelter products, even the pulley upgrade comes complete with pre- and post-install dyno and a 1-year/12,000-mile warranty on added components.

The lesser of the two supercharger upgrades is available at $5,295 with additional upgrades which include Lingenfelter’s Heat Exchanger upgrade, Corsa stainless steel cat-back exhaust and an Akrapovic Titanium Evolution Exhaust. Total power output on this package is 710-hp and 680 lb-ft of torque thanks to the addition of Lingenfelter’s supercharger front cover or snout and air intake system.

Lastly, the most extreme of the three packages gives the ZR1 750-hp and 730 lb-ft of torque in exchange for $12,895 from your bank account. But this isn’t just your typical supercharger upgrade, Lingenfelter adds on their GT9 supercharger camshaft and Lingenfelter CNC ported LS9 cylinder heads. This comes with a 2-year/24,000-mile warranty and can take anywhere from three to four weeks to complete.

So those looking for more power out of their ZR1, head on over to Lingenfelter Performance Engineering to see what they’ve got.

[Source: Topspeed]

To showcase just how much a few small changes can mean, Chevrolet took the updated 2012 Corvette ZR1 to the Nurburgring, knocking 6 seconds off the car’s previous best time set back in 2008. The new 7:19.63 lap time was set by Corvette engineer Jim Mero and is a solid three seconds off the Viper ACR’s best, but its just shy of the production car record set by the Porsche GT2 RS at 7:18. (Faster lap times do exist by a Radical and the Gumpert Apollo, but it’s not hard to argue that those cars aren’t true production models).

Corvette credits much of the car’s added performance to its new Michelin Pilot Sport Cup Zero Pressure tires, which provided an 8 percent gain in lateral acceleration, as well as improved braking. The new tires are available on the flagship 638-hp ZR1 as well as on the 505-hp Z06.

Watch the video after the jump:

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A big-name outlet like Edmunds.com may get a lot of sports cars, but it’s not all burnouts and apexes—they have to pay for them as well. So they tallied up the fuel costs among 9 sports cars over one month to see what $4-gallon gas gets you these days if you’re not schlepping about in a Camry.

Ranging from the Mini Cooper to the Jaguar XFR, the BMW M3 to the Corvette ZR1, the list found that—to the surprise of no one—the Minis were the cheapest to fill up, and the BMW M3 and Corvette ZR1 were tied as the priciest. The non-supercharged Cooper cost $165/month to fill up, while the BMW/Corvette combo topped the chart at $330—almost the same cost of a full-size pickup,  but with less of your friends calling you whenever they need to move a couch.

Click the jump to view the whole chart.

[Source: Auto Observer]

Talk about giving your own car the personal touch. Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports NASCAR fame personally assembled the engine that will go into his own Corvette Z06 Carbon Edition.

Being able to put together the very engine that will power your car is not something you hear about everyday, but thanks to an Engine Build Experience package offered through General Motors, those who order a new Z06 or ZR1 Corvette have the opportunity to do so at the company’s Performance Build Center in Wixom, Michigan. The $5,800 option, which buyers must sign up for, includes lodging, transportation and a concierge service, while in town as well as scheduling the engine build and related activities, but does not include travel to and from the Detroit area.

Even though owners are themselves putting together these engines, once assembled, each of the LS7 and LS9 motors in the program, is still backed by GM’s 5-year 100,000 mile warranty, just like any other. Once the motor has been assembled, a special customized plaque for the owner is mounted next to the engine builder’s name. The motors are then shipped from Wixom, to the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky for installation in the cars.

Hendrick is the 13th individual to choose the Engine Build Experience program and remarked, “for me, participating in this engine build is the ultimate connection to my Corvette. This is one of my favorite cars in the world, and now it will be that much more special knowing I personally built the engine. It’s a really unique experience that Chevrolet is offering its customers.”

In the old days, when you had newspapers and magazines, it was relatively easy for automakers to keep a lid on new models and changes to existing ones. Not anymore. The first whiff of a new car or a significant update and it’s being blogged, tweeted or placed in a viral video of some kind.

Now, according to Corvette Blogger, changes to Chevrolet s sportscar for 2012 are already out and making news, slightly before the General actually intended.

Among the updates, are high performance packages for both the supercharged  ZR1 and the 505 hp Z06. These include lightweight, black painted wheels; R compound Michelin Pilot tires and a close ratio six-speed manual gearbox, while the Z06 gets Brembo carbon ceramic brake rotors; the black painted wheels and Pilot rubber, plus selective magnetic ride control and a Performance Traction Management feature, designed to further enhance grip (which until now was a ZR1 exclusive).

Other updates, include a shuffling of exterior colors (Carlisle Blue Metallic replaces Jetstream Blue) and the debut of the Centennial Edition in celebration of Chevy’s 100 anniversary later this year. This one will be finished in a unique shade of black (called Carbon Flash Metallic), with special black painted wheels, red brake calipers, leather wrapped instrument panel and special ebony seats with red stitching among other things. For more info on these and other features of the 2012 Corvette, click on the link below.

[Source: Corvette Blogger]

Chevy’s had some entertaining commercials as of late, from a memorable Super Bowl spot for the new Camaro this year, to last year’s ‘America still builds rockets‘ Corvette ad. Well, the boys at Chevy’s marketing agency quietly introduced a new ad for the ‘Vette over the weekend during the 12 Hours of Sebring race.

In case you missed it, the ad touts the Corvette ZR1′s capability and awesome horsepower, commenting that in order to keep things fair on the track when competing with Porsches and Ferraris, they were asked to dial-down the power – 168-hp to be exact.

Unfortunately for Chevy, they only managed to place third and fourth in class, and it wasn’t a Porsche or Ferrari who beat them, but a BMW.

[Source: CorvetteBlogger]

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Two one-of-a-kind Chevrolet Corvettes were given away recently at the Corvette Dream Giveaway, one of them being this 2010 Brad Paisley Hero Edition Corvette ZR1. The other was a 1967 Corvette convertible Sting Ray.

The draw was created to aid in the expansion of the Kids Wish Network’s “Hero” program and the Corvette Dream Giveaway’s lucky winner was Brian Landgren of Washington.

While a unique supercar-killer in its own right, this particular ZR1 received some tweaks from Lingenfelter Performance Engineering, squeezing out 720-hp, a nice increase over the factory’s 638-hp figure.

Unique features in the aesthetics department include country star Brad Paisley’s signature under the hood of the vehicle. The exterior of the 2010 ZR1 has been refinished in Ermine White, matching the 1967 Sting Ray that was also given away.

Inside the cockpit, a red interior with a ton of red accents contrasts the carbon fiber accessories.

GALLERY: Brad Paisley Corvette ZR1 Hero Edition

[Source: Topspeed]

In the glory days of the muscle car, Chevrolet dealers would sometimes manipulate GM’s centralized ordering system to whip up some crazy concoctions with performance parts not normally available on regular production cars from the Bowtie brand. Nowadays, the COPO cars (as they’re known, in honor of GM’s Central Office Production Order system) can bring in huge bucks, as collectors strive to snap up the remaining cars built by Yenko and other notable dealerships.

Fast forward a few decades, and two dealerships, DeNooyer Chevrolet in Albany N.Y, and NeSmith Chevrolet, which has two location Georgia, are reviving this trend by using parts from GM’s Performance Parts catalog. NeSmith’s car puts down 700 horsepower from an LS9 V8 (the same type used in the Corvette ZR1) but will run you $125,000. The DeNooyer car uses a GM crate engine, known as the LSX454, that puts down 620 horsepower.

More information can be found at www.nesmithnow.com, www.denooyerperformancedivision.com as well as www.gmperformanceparts.com

[Source: GM Inside News]