For eight days, I’ve driven the 60th anniversary 2013 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport convertible.
Yep, it’s been 60 years since the Vette was born; 60 days in my hands would have been so fitting.
Performance in the new one comes from a 436-horsepower, 6.2-liter V-8 engine with a 6-speed automatic transmission and paddle shifters.
It’s very fast, and, in my mind, that drew a contrast with the very slow launch the Vette experienced 60 years ago. I remember, for I was a high-schooler when it was introduced in ’53.
Though the first pre-production Corvette was unveiled at the GM Motorama in New York City in January 1953, production didn’t begin until June; that was kind of late for a ’53 model, and only 300 were built.
The following year, after production was moved from Flint, Mich., to St. Louis, only 3,600 ’54s were built, and many sat unsold on dealer lots by year’s end. For all its racy looks, the Vette had little under the hood – a 150-horsepower, 6-cylinder engine and 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission.
Ford in 1955, with its new two-seater sports car, the Thunderbird, nearly blew away the Corvette with sales of 16,000. But Ford was concerned with other models, such as the Edsel and a rectractable hardtop, and let the T-Bird two-seater grow into a four-passenger auto, and, you know the rest of that story. There is no T-Bird today.
In the meantime, Chevy stayed the course, installing a V-8 in the Vette in ’55, adding a Stingray style a few years later, and was on its way to creating the iconic sports car for America.
“Most American males, at one time or another, have yearned for a Corvette,” onetime Denver megadealer Marshall Chesrown said to me as I sat in the office of his Chevrolet dealership almost 20 years ago. He was right on, and the yearning continues today.
The 2013 Grand Sport convertible is a testament to the refinement of recent years in the Corvette.
Though few exterior or interior changes were made for ’13, the 60th anniversary design package gives it a special appearance. It’s arctic white outside, with a blue soft top and full-length racing stripes in pearl silver blue and a ZR1 rear spoiler. The finishing touches are “60 years” badging on the hood, wheel center caps, steering wheel and seat headrests. The interior is finished in diamond blue with sueded accents.
The driver sits tightly in the Vette’s narrow seats, heavily bolstered. In a throwback to the roadster’s earlier days, the top is unlatched and latched at the header with a twist-grip handle before it is powered down or up. Bose premium sound with nine speakers entertains, whether audio dialing or USB drive.
Jan and I drove to Laramie, up through Cheyenne and over I-80, then back down hilly U.S. 287 to Fort Collins.
It’s not only the guys that fall for the Vette. Sitting in the parking lot of War Memorial Stadium at the University of Wyoming in Laramie, we were approached by Linda Monroe, who said she was driving from her home in Idaho to the family home in upper New York state. “My 78-year-old mother has always wanted a Corvette,” she said. With her iPhone, I photographed her in the driver’s seat of the ’13 Vette.
The 6-speed automatic is well-suited to the powerful, smooth 6.2-liter V-8; much more accommodating than the 4-speed automatic installed in the first C6 generation in ’05. The paddle shifters will lend a good match to the driver’s performance demands. Unlike many other shifters, which downshift with the left-side paddle and upshift with the right, the operation consists of pulling the paddle on either side for downshift and pushing either side for upshifting.
As part of the car’s magnetic selective ride system, the driver can switch from “tour” to “sport” setting for firmer suspension, better control and sensational cornering. Great sound comes from not only Bose – two sets of centered twin chrome tailpipes deliver from a dual-mode exhaust, and as acceleration increases, butterfly valves open inside the pipes and the rumble becomes a roar.
The LS3 aluminum-block V-8 will power the Vette on a track to speeds of 190 miles per hour and a 0-to-60 clocking of 4.2 seconds. It is rated at 436 horsepower and 428 lbs.-ft. of torque. A head-up display gives the driver a hologram reminder of speed out front over the hood.
The front air dam on the low-slung Vette is positioned so low, it scrapes at nearly every dip of the road or driveway.
The 60th anniversary package, the power convertible top, navigation, Bose audio, magnetic selective ride and the paddle-shift transmission helped boost sticker price of the ’13 Vette to $78,485 from a base of $59,600. Among other included options are leather interior, heated sport seats, Bluetooth for phone and dual-mode exhaust.
Saturday Drive can also be viewed online at DenverPost.com/Autos. Bud Wells can be reached via e-mail at bwells@denverpost.com.
