Chevy announces Corvette Grand Sport

General Motors may well be in the wars -- of which the Pontiac brand is but one casualty (more here) -- but it's not all doom and gloom for the conglomerate.

Chevrolet used the recent Corvette Birthday Bash, held at the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Kentucky, to announce the new 2010 Corvette Grand Sport -- a wide-bodied derivative of the V8 sportster that also gains a few chassis and drivetrain tweaks.

Offered in both coupe and convertible body styles, with either a six-speed manual or six-speed auto with paddleshift mode (unlike the manual gearbox-only Z06), the Grand Sport derives propulsion from essentially the same 6.2-litre LS3 V8 used in all HSV models (barring the VXR and W427).

In the Grand Sport, the LS3 cranks out 321kW and 575Nm with the standard exhaust system, but an optional two-mode exhaust system boosts outputs to 325kW and 580Nm.

The Grand Sport's mods include more hardcore suspension (than even the Z51 package-equipped Corvette) as it gains firmer damper, stabiliser bar and spring specs, as well as a wider wheel/tyre package. These tweaks are claimed to enable it to generate 1.0 g cornering loads.

In addition, revised gearing is said to trim 0.2 seconds off the regular car's 4.3sec 0-60mph (0-96km/h) split time.

Opting for the manual transmission also brings racetrack-friendly goodies such as a dry-sump lubrication system, differential cooler and rear-mounted battery.

The Grand Sport is easily distinguishable from the standard C6 'Vette, as it's accoutrements include wider front and rear fenders -- with integrated Grand Sport badges -- as well as a Z06-style front splitter and 'tall rear spoiler'.

It also sports unique wheels (18-inch diameter at the front and 19s at the rear), with 275/35ZR18 rubber at the front and 325/30ZR19 gumballs at the rear. Stopping power comes from Z06-size brakes, including 14-inch (355 mm) front rotors with six-piston calipers and 13.4-inch (340 mm) rear rotors with four-piston calipers -- and these are cooled by functional brake ducts.

All the colours from the standard Corvette's palette are offered on the Grand Sport, and there's an available Heritage package that adds front fender hash marks in a choice of four colours, as well as two-tone seats with Grand Sport embroidery.

The Grand Sport moniker is held in high regard by Corvette aficionados as it was conceived by legendary Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov for a factory-built, lightweight and race-ready production model that would trump domestic and foreign road-racing competitors.

The original Corvette Grand Sport was a promising idea stymied by GM's agreement to stay out of manufacturer-backed motorsports.

The planned 125 production models required for racing-class homologation were never built, but five prototypes based on the styling of the 1963 Corvette were hand-assembled under Duntov's watchful eye.

And while they looked like production models, the prototypes were purpose-built racecars that shared little with their assembly-line cousins. Duntov also oversaw the Grand Sport engine program that featured a special, 377-cubic-inch (6178cc) small-block V8 with side-draft carburetors.

Although never officially sanctioned by GM, the five Grand Sport prototypes saw extensive racing experience throughout the 1960s in the hands of "private" racers who had strong contacts within Duntov's engineering circle.

All five original cars are accounted for today and are said to be among the most valuable in the collector market.