Grand Sport 2010 MY: Return of the Grand Sport

[vetmaniac]

Think wide body like the ZR1 and Z06.

"A widebody does not a Z06 or ZR1 make."

 

[Aurora40]

My guess is that it will be pathetic, since the team that put together the '96 Grand Sport, led by the legendary John Heinricy, put their hearts and souls into creating something truly special to mark the end of the C-4 run, instead of making it an afterthought, which the 2010 0ne-of-six options is likely to be. How sad!!! : ( : ( : (

Spence
GSR Lifetime; Re-Owner \\ GS697

Just curious, what are you referring to regarding Heinricy and the '96 GS? Also, what heart and soul in the car are you referring to? It's a decal pacakge and larger rear wheels that differentiate it from the base car.

Also as far as marking the end of the C4 run, it shared that limelight with the Collector's Edition. So the 1 of 6 thing of a C6 GS wasn't much different for the C4 GS.

I am certainly not trying to knock the car, I just found it pretty weird you ripping on GM if they introduce something that is mainly an appearance package to keep sales going, yet hold up as a shining example what was an appearance package to keep sales going.

 

[JBsC5]

Just decals or stripes and I wouldn't think to much of it...but ....and its a big butt..

Add wider fender flares, wider wheels and wider tires and you have a true performance improvement...worthy of the grand sport name..

lets remember the Z51 corvette as it sits this year has a top speed of 190mph..and thats not something to frown upon..

Same can be said of its 4.1 second runs to 60mph...or its handling and braking capability...

The wide body Grand sport will if priced correctly be extremely well recieved in the marketplace..

and in the sports car world...

Lets face it...the c6 z51 base car tops out at 190mph...and is truly a sports car supercar icon...

The grand sport is just a slightly richer flavor..(if it has the widebody/wide wheels and tires)

 

[Sting Ray]

You think the '96 GS is a good tribute to the orginal? You really need to read up on your Corvette history.

Tom M

What Mo said. Whatever, it certainly won't diminish the value or enjoyment factor of our '96 Grand Sports, which themselves are just wonderful tributes to the original. If this helps keep Corvette as a viable brand, knock themselves out. It's all good.

 

[JBsC5]

The 96 grand sport was a hell of a performance car...

it regularly smoked c5's at the drag strip too..

That LT4 motor was bad @ss for the time...IMO and underated..

In this economy to get people to open their wallets ..GM needs more than stripes and decals..

Big @ss wheels and tires on a wide body would be the ticket to get people into buying at MSRP or at least without all the discounts..

Now if GM goes and rips the consumer off for the wide body Grand sport..

Well they will get what they deserve....which will be slow sales until they discount the product..

My feeling is 5 grand would be fine for a wide body C6 with the grand sport stripes.. over and above a C6 Z51.

non runflat tires would be a smoking good idea..

not sure the GM faithful could wrap the brains around that one..but if they could...the drop of 25 lbs of unsprung weight over the runflats would be a hell of a smart move and would probably cut the cost quite a bit..

I'm pumped..I can't wait to the news release on this car..

If gm does the wide tire, wide wheel thing...the magazines will go nuts over the car for the next three months with corvette comparos etc..

Add in the camaro SS, the Cobalt SS,the HHR SS, the Corvette Grand sport...the Z06..the ZR1...

Thats the smokin hottest lineup in the entire United states..


make one hell of a press release.

Forget the global recession.....and all the doom and gloom..

(and the cars all get....excellent gas mileage too))

 

[dmd]

Just curious, what are you referring to regarding Heinricy and the '96 GS? Also, what heart and soul in the car are you referring to? It's a decal pacakge and larger rear wheels that differentiate it from the base car.

Also as far as marking the end of the C4 run, it shared that limelight with the Collector's Edition. So the 1 of 6 thing of a C6 GS wasn't much different for the C4 GS.

I am certainly not trying to knock the car, I just found it pretty weird you ripping on GM if they introduce something that is mainly an appearance package to keep sales going, yet hold up as a shining example what was an appearance package to keep sales going.

Thanks Aurora40, I couldn't have said it better myself (and was just about to try before you saved me the trouble). I do have a bit to add, though. The LT4 is a great motor but it was a necessity, not some stroke of genius or outpouring of heart and soul.

1996 wasn't even supposed to be a C4 year. C5 should have been done by then, but due to the LAST GM apocalypse in 1990 it kept getting pushed back. If not for the side-impact standards of 1997 it would've been pushed out to there too, but there was no way for C4's structure to meet those standards. 1996 was the last year for a car that had been designed in the '70s with pencils, protractors and slide-rules. It had so many well-known and insurmountable engineering flaws that it could no longer be re-engineered to meet governmental regulations for emissions and crashworthiness, not to mention structural rigidity to meet performance and customer satisfaction goals, without a ground-up redesign. It desperately needed to be replaced, but Chevrolet still had to sell one more year of it after 1995, the last OBD-I year. Everyone knew C5 was coming and how great it was going to be, so 1996 would have been a tough year to sell any Corvettes with only an LT1 on the order sheet in the shadow of ZR-1's six-year run. They needed a special engine option. LT5 production had been stopped since 1993, and it would have been cost-prohibitive to rework it for OBD-II anyway. So the production-ready engineering work that would have produced the stillborn GEN-III small-block went into the LT1 to make the LT4, and made OBD-II compliance for both engines fairly easy due to their similarity.

Point is, the '96 Grand Sport is in no way a glorious homage to the originals, and if you want to see an example of John Heinricy's heart and soul in a car, it's in Snake Skinner, not the '96 Grand Sport. The GS came straight from Chevy's marketing department, not John.

 

[BeagleMaster]

Grand Sport.....again??

Again..... a sad attempt at selling cars based on the name of a success.

Mo

I guess it's pretty obvious why GM is in the position that they are.
Doesn't anyone have the creativity to at least dream up a new name, let alone a new paint design scheme these days? First they re-use the ZR-1, confusing everyone whether you ar etalking about and "old" one or a new one, now they dupe the nameplate of another recent icon.

Let's not forget when they called a V-6 Blazer the "ZR-2".

The guys at GM used to tell me that GM was a great place to get experience before you went to work for a good automaker. Maybe the people who name cars are all gone.

I can think of a few off hand.

How about the Demovette? No down payments and payments for the rest of your life.

Or how about the Stimulavette? Once its broke you just keep dumping money into it.

And of course we could all use a BarneyVette. It has the jack and handle shoved up the exhaust....hnoes

) jvd, Founder
The GSOR.

 

[Tikitb8]

What do you mean "a sad attempt?"....Your negative comments are not welcome here in this forum!...if you don't like the new GS, don't buy it!...we have to be supportive of GM and Chevrolet in this time of crisis, my friend!!...if you don't like Corvettes, then why do you own several?...can you explain that one to me??...it doesn't take a rocket scientist!!

Ummmm, who died and left you in charge of "what's welcome on this forum"?
Let's just say I won't lower myself to your level to reply any further.

Maureen "Mo" Waller
You CAN of course respond privately if you want to continue this.

 

[Tikitb8]

You think the '96 GS is a good tribute to the orginal? You really need to read up on your Corvette history.

Tom M

As you said, it was a tribute. I think that is what GM may have been after, and probably a good idea. We will never replicate history, but imitation is the best form of flattery. ;-)

Mo

 

[JBsC5]

whats the GM release date for information on the new Grand sport?

April what?

TIA

 

[6 Shooter]

WOW - Having owned/driven both, I get tired of seeing replies like this...

The 96 Grand Sport was a hell of a performance car... it regularly smoked C5's at the drag strip too...

Apples to Apples/Stock 6 Speed vs. Stock 6 Speed: The LS1 was/is Top Dog!

1996 LT4 Performance Specs

1997 LS1 Performance Specs

​

Later . . . . . .
6 Shooter

 

[caninelver]

8000???

If it is more marketing than substance, it's understandable.

With something like 8000 unsold cars from 07, 08 and 09 in inventory, GM has a big problem in moving metal as far as the Corvette goes.

I wonder where these unsold cars are, in some warehouse or on dealers lots. I would think GM would sell them a a nice discount.

 

[GRANDSPORT]

Just curious, what are you referring to regarding Heinricy and the '96 GS? Also, what heart and soul in the car are you referring to? It's a decal pacakge and larger rear wheels that differentiate it from the base car.

Also as far as marking the end of the C4 run, it shared that limelight with the Collector's Edition. So the 1 of 6 thing of a C6 GS wasn't much different for the C4 GS.

I am certainly not trying to knock the car, I just found it pretty weird you ripping on GM if they introduce something that is mainly an appearance package to keep sales going, yet hold up as a shining example what was an appearance package to keep sales going.

I do not believe you know of what you speak, a lot of thought went into the 1996 Grand Sport.

 

[Rob]

Just curious, what are you referring to regarding Heinricy and the '96 GS? Also, what heart and soul in the car are you referring to? It's a decal pacakge and larger rear wheels that differentiate it from the base car.

Also as far as marking the end of the C4 run, it shared that limelight with the Collector's Edition. So the 1 of 6 thing of a C6 GS wasn't much different for the C4 GS.

I am certainly not trying to knock the car, I just found it pretty weird you ripping on GM if they introduce something that is mainly an appearance package to keep sales going, yet hold up as a shining example what was an appearance package to keep sales going.

That's not entirely true.

The Grand Sport came with only the LT4 engine. It did come with a unique paint/stripe package, but it also came with the ZR-1 rear tires and wheels, and if I'm not mistaken bigger brakes.

A lot of testing went into the Grand Sport as well as the adjustable suspension which was supposed to be more advanced than the FX3 from previous years, but was basically unique to the 1996 model year.

Sharing the limelight with the Collector's Edition? Not sure I totally agree with that.

The Collector's Edition came with unique Sebring Silver Metallic paint and ZR-1 front wheels. It could be ordered with either the LT1 or the LT4 engine. However, for all intents and purposes, the Grand Sport was the Swan Song of the 1996 model year, and its performance pretty much matched that of the ZR-1.

 

[JBsC5]

When does GM release official information on this new Grand Sport..

If it comes with a wide body and wider wheels and tires...and NOT too much of an increase of price...

GM will have a winner on its hands..

if GM was flush with cash...I'd would have been pleased to see direct injection on the LS3 for another 10% more hp...465hp on the direct injection LS3 should have been doable...

That would have completed the Grand sport package..and made it a slam dunk to drive consumers to shop the vehicle...and given better mileage and emissions at the same time... (always a fan of DSG but thats pretty much a pipe dream with the current state of GM affairs)

Just the wide body and wide wheels/tires would make a great grand sport..

Sometime in april would be a cool release date of GM official info on the grand sport? Does that sound about right?

TIA

 

[Aurora40]

That's not entirely true.

The Grand Sport came with only the LT4 engine. It did come with a unique paint/stripe package, but it also came with the ZR-1 rear tires and wheels, and if I'm not mistaken bigger brakes.

A lot of testing went into the Grand Sport as well as the adjustable suspension which was supposed to be more advanced than the FX3 from previous years, but was basically unique to the 1996 model year.

Sharing the limelight with the Collector's Edition? Not sure I totally agree with that.

The Collector's Edition came with unique Sebring Silver Metallic paint and ZR-1 front wheels. It could be ordered with either the LT1 or the LT4 engine. However, for all intents and purposes, the Grand Sport was the Swan Song of the 1996 model year, and its performance pretty much matched that of the ZR-1.

LT4 was on all 6-speed 1996 cars, not just Grand Sports. J55 brakes were standard on all Corvettes starting in 1995. The F45 suspension was also not a Grand Sport only thing, and I always assumed GM adopted it because it was cheaper than the Bilstein setup, though I don't know that for sure. I don't even think that most GS's had the F45, did they?

The only thing you could not actually order on any car but the GS was the 11" wide rear wheels (not on 'verts though), and the white stripe and red hash marks.

It is most definitely an appearance package. For the record, I have not said there is anything wrong with that. I found it odd that someone would rip this new car as just an appearance package, yet at the same time point out how the '96 GS "did it up right".

 

[Aurora40]

I do not believe you know of what you speak, a lot of thought went into the 1996 Grand Sport.

It should be easy to expound on it then, no?

 

[sbrady]

Hangin' with My GSR Peeps!!!

Friends:
Can I get some 'Church' in here for Hutch and Mo? These two wonderful people (and their significant Others) have put their hearts and souls into keeping the '96 \\ GS in the forefront of everyone's consciousness, and I for one believe that they are due the respect of all Corvette enthusiasts.
That said, the '96 \\ GS is a special car, and if you are like me, and have driven C-5 and newer Vettes, you know that while more refined, the C-5 is not as pure performance-feeling like the '96 \\ GS.
See you at The Woodward

 

[sbrady]

How special The '96 Grand Sport Really Is!

To Aurora40:

I have waited, paused, and, I have been interrupted by the server swap. During this time, I pondered whether or not it was appropriate to respond to your comments about the '96 GS, and how you believe, apparently, that the car is just another '96 C-4 model, hoping to boost sales for thay year, in advance of the C5.

I do not know you, but, I suspect that you are more of a "car person" than I am, since I am relatively new to these forums, and also, due to the fact that until recently, I thought a throttle body was a carburator. Yes, I am still learning. Someday, I will earn the title of "Car Guy."

That said, the '96 GS is truly a special car, and moreover, the people who own them know that like all Corvettes, they are special. And further, as the leader of the Grand Sport Registry, a Mr. John 'Hutch' Hutchinson frequently says, quote, "There is just something about a GS." A more factually correct statement has rarely been uttered.

Here is some additional proof as to how special the '96 GS really is. What I am going to disclose to you is information sent to me privately, via email, by John Heinricy, who as you well know, is the heart and soul of the GS, and along with other dedicated GM employees, fought to get the car built. I am apologizing to John in advance, since I know that the following comments from John were not originally intended for public broadcast. Given the tone you evoked in your ealier post, I am taking license with John's comments to me, as I believe John would not object, since my sole purpose is to correct what appears to be a distorted historical record on this forum.

One of many, many examples of how special the '96 GS car is can be traced to a committment John had to make requiring the "saleability" of all the GS cars The General built. One can imagine why such a requirement was needed, given the relatively small number of cars (1,000), and the need by the bean counters to spread the development costs of the GS over as wide a production number as possible, in order to maintain some level of profitaiblity.

John related to me that all cars produced, including the Pilot cars, numbering perhaps 20 or so, had to be up to high quality standards, and be deliverable to the dealers for sale, after all the photo shoots, car shows, and long-term testing was completed. No crushing of GS cars was to be performed.

This high quality standard has become the norm for The General, and John Heinricy deserves the credit for making it happen, and for being the first GM Manager to accept such a high standard.

Every '96 GS owner knows how special the car is, and some know it more than most. I consider myself to be one of those fortunate souls, since I have owned both a '96 GS, and a C5 ('00 Coupe). Without question, the GS is the better car, because it gives the driver more of a performance car feel. I liken the comparison to what The General was trying to produce when the hardtop coupe was introduced a few years ago, e.g. fewer options, a stronger, stiffer car, but more of a race car feel.

Yes, as Hutch says, "There is just somenthing about a GS!"

Live It!

Spence
Grand Sport Registry Lifetime Member
Re-Owner GS \\ 697

 

[Aurora40]

That said, the '96 GS is truly a special car, and moreover, the people who own them know that like all Corvettes, they are special. And further, as the leader of the Grand Sport Registry, a Mr. John 'Hutch' Hutchinson frequently says, quote, "There is just something about a GS." A more factually correct statement has rarely been uttered.

I'm not sure why what I said caused such a stir? I don't believe I ever said the car was not special. As you note, many Corvettes are special. I also think the Grand Sports, and the LT4, are pretty neat. I think what they did to send off the C4 (and the Chevy smallblock) was great, especially considering they likely had little time or budget in which to do it.

That said, it does not change what constituted the Grand Sport option. I don't understand why it is considered a slight to point out it was an appearance package.