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Grand Sport 2010 MY: Return of the Grand Sport

For discussions related to a Grand Sport Corvette.
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.


Aurora, it's not WHAT you say, it's the way you say it. (Don't mean to sound like the "mom" here but I guess I do).

And as for the "nothing more than an appearance package"....how many corvettes have been consecutively numbered and actually limited - in the GS case to 1000 - instead of limited to as many as GM could make?
 
The '96 GS Is Truly Special

Aurora40:
Greetings.
If you continue to believe, as it appears that you do, in the notion that the '96 GS is about an appearance package, and nothing more, then my previous attempt to illuminate the historical record that you are conveniently (intentionally???) omitting, was a waste of my valuable time, as well as the valuable time of all those Corvette enthusiasts who took the time to read our posts on this forum.
Albert Einstein once opined that doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result to occur, was one definition of insanity. Thus, any further attempts by me to correct your spurious beliefs about the '96 GS would be 'insanity.'
I will therefore, cease any effort to correct your aforementioned spurious beliefs, and instead, I will ask you to read up on the history of the '96 GS.
See you at The Woodward Dream Cruise!
Live It!
Spence
Grand Sport Registry Lifetime Member
Re-Owner GS \\ 697
 
Many years ago I owned GS328. Over the years I had her, I did a lot of reading about the '96 GS's. Based upon everything I read, I came to the conclusion that Mr. Heinricy's original goal with the GS was for it to be the sole swan song for the C4's.

The GS was to be the only '96 'Vette available with the LT4 and a 6-speed. But bean-counters being who they are, Mr. Heinricy had to spread out the cost of developing the LT4 over as many cars as possible. And thus the LT4 became available in CE's and "regular" '96's.

I can understand how some might think the GS is just an appearance package, with the LT4 and 6-speed tranny being available in other non-GS cars in '96, but I do believe that the the original intention was for only the GS to have the LT4, much like the LT5 was only available in the ZR-1.

As for the upcoming 2010 Grand Sport, I eagerly await more info!

:v Jason
 
I agree with Jason. I also used to own GS#582 and was extremely proud to be the owner of such a low production Corvette. To some, it might appear to be just a unique paint package, but the GS went much further than that which Spencer, Mo and Hutch have addressed.

I no longer own my GS#582, but I have more than 5 years of memories with a very special, unique Corvette.

Elaine
 
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!!


Lets see you are a new member and you are speaking for "The Forum" Mo has her opinion and you have your's. If you owned a GS you would fell the same way. She Loves Corvette's and she is Welcome here same as you. If you knew her and all the work she does for Corvette events you would Not have posted what you did.
 
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".


The J-55 option does Not have the Black Caliper that has CORVETTE letters cast on it like a GS does. There are other differences, flairs, GS seats.
 
The J-55 option does Not have the Black Caliper that has CORVETTE letters cast on it like a GS does. There are other differences, flairs, GS seats.
Quite right. The difference in GS calipers vs the standard J55 brakes that year are the appearance. Same with the seats and the flair.

If you look close, you may notice a 1996 Collector's Edition also has black calipers with the word "CORVETTE" on the fronts. They also had unique paint, wheels, and seats. No flair, but then GS 'verts didn't have that either.
 

Albert Einstein once opined that doing the same thing over and over again, while expecting a different result to occur, was one definition of insanity.
Heh, it's funny, because I feel the same way. You've pointed out the car is "special", the GS club folks are "special", and the cars were made with "high quality".

Would you feel better if I said it was a special, high quality appearance package, and the owners were above reproach?

I've met some of the GS folks, and no doubt they are good people. The GS cars are quite cool too. As are many Corvettes. And the GS's are unique, have their own VIN's, etc. Pretty neat.

That said, I sure wouldn't go and trash this proposed 2010 Grand Sport, especially before any details are released. The basis of this seems to be that it's an appearance package to boost sales.

Perhaps when they actually start making them, they'll be a special appearance package, made with high quality. Also, only really nice people will buy them. So why deride the car when all the facts aren't even on the table yet?
 
Aurora, it's not WHAT you say, it's the way you say it. (Don't mean to sound like the "mom" here but I guess I do).

And as for the "nothing more than an appearance package"....how many corvettes have been consecutively numbered and actually limited - in the GS case to 1000 - instead of limited to as many as GM could make?
Since I typed it, rather than said it, perhaps it's how you read it? I don't believe I implied any slight or offense to the GS. If so, it was not intended.

If you want a real answer to your question, I believe the 1988 35th anniversary was limited to the 2,050 they sold. I seem to recall that being the case vs them happening to sell that many. The '93-95 ZR-1s were all limited ahead of time to 448 per year.

Also, I believe all Corvettes, or at least 4th gens, had consecutively numbered VIN's. They all came down one line, and only made one model. For distinct VIN's, I think only the ZR-1 and GS had that from the C4 run.
 
Since I typed it, rather than said it, perhaps it's how you read it? I don't believe I implied any slight or offense to the GS. If so, it was not intended.

If you want a real answer to your question, I believe the 1988 35th anniversary was limited to the 2,050 they sold. I seem to recall that being the case vs them happening to sell that many. The '93-95 ZR-1s were all limited ahead of time to 448 per year.

Also, I believe all Corvettes, or at least 4th gens, had consecutively numbered VIN's. They all came down one line, and only made one model. For distinct VIN's, I think only the ZR-1 and GS had that from the C4 run.

LOL, I guess how we read things and how we UNDERSTAND them is VERY important. I used the word "consecutively" when I was explaining the Grand Sport. So I meant to refer to JUST the 1000 GRAND SPORTS being numbered consecutively. The 5,412 "Collector 96s" were NOT numbered consecutively, they were mixed in with the regular VIN/production numbering system. Get it? Go read about the GS and maybe you will understand what I meant.

If you want to go toe to toe about Corvette knowledge with me bring it on.
Oh, and I meant that just like I wrote it.
 
I think we are straying from the intent of Rob's initial post, which was to tease us with info about the upcoming 2010 Grand Sport.

We all have strong feelings about the '96 Grand Sport. No one is denying it was an excellent car, but this thread is to discuss the upcoming 2010 Grand Sport. Lets try to keep it on track. :w

:thumb Jason
 
I think we are straying from the intent of Rob's initial post, which was to tease us with info about the upcoming 2010 Grand Sport.

We all have strong feelings about the '96 Grand Sport. No one is denying it was an excellent car, but this thread is to discuss the upcoming 2010 Grand Sport. Lets try to keep it on track. :w

:thumb Jason

Jason, you are 100% here and I apologize for straying. I wondered about transferring over to the '96 LT4 area, but didn't know how.

(Actually for those that know me I thought I did pretty good holding off as much as I did, my fuse is usually MUCH shorter) ;-)

The New Quieter Mo
 
A "Special" Car

To All:

Greetings.

In an effort to re-direct the discussion, as well as to illuminate the antecedent of my post on the special qualities of the GS, I will offer up the following thoughts.

My post was a bit of a jab at the 2010 GS option, penned out of frustration, since it seems unlikely to me that the car would, or could have the same historical backdrop as the '96 GS. Who knows, maybe the General will surprise me...it will not be the first time this has occurred.

Secondly, while all carmakers seem to be interested in increasing sales, I remain frustrated by The General's plight, and that of other domestic carmakers who are crying to Washington, when it was, and is, their own fault for being where they are (with a little help from the UAW).

To illustrate what I mean, all I need to do is to say the name of one totally awesome automobile...the "K" Car. Not to be outdone, the UAW wants its members to make over $150K per year, when other countries' workers are content with making $25K. Enough said.

Live It!

Spence
GSR Lifetime Member
Re-Owner GS \\ 697
 
Since no corvette coupe or convertibles were shown at the NY auto show this year...

Possibly this coming friday we'll see a new body style?

Could it be the wide body Grand sport will lead to an update for the iconic corvette..?

Wide body....wider wheels and tires.... air filter and Pcm tune for an additional 15 ponies? Add in the Grand sport stripes...and we've got a winner!
 
There are those that say they've seen the wide body Grand sport..

here is another sighting account:

"Rick,

I haven’t written in a while, but I’m at the Bash this week and took the plant tour. I was surprised to see some many ZR1’s being built, but also many of the new GT1 and Grand Sport models.

The grand sport looks like it has many of the Z06 body parts, wide fenders front and rear, the wide front fascia with the air scoop, extended Z06 type splash guards, a ZR1 type spoiler, special silver calipers and the LS3 engine. Pretty much a C6 with Z06 looks. I’m sure they will sell a lot and save people from buying the aftermarket parts.

Regards,
Ron in FENTON, MO."
 
here is another sighting account:

"Rick,

I haven’t written in a while, but I’m at the Bash this week and took the plant tour. I was surprised to see some many ZR1’s being built, but also many of the new GT1 and Grand Sport models.

The grand sport looks like it has many of the Z06 body parts, wide fenders front and rear, the wide front fascia with the air scoop, extended Z06 type splash guards, a ZR1 type spoiler, special silver calipers and the LS3 engine. Pretty much a C6 with Z06 looks. I’m sure they will sell a lot and save people from buying the aftermarket parts.

Regards,
Ron in FENTON, MO."

Hope to see some photos soon !
 
From Autoblog:

The New Grand Sport Corvette

Chevy is bringing back the Corvette Grand Sport, and unlike the one offered at the end of the C4's run in the mid-Nineties, this one sports a long list of performance upgrades that would make even Zora Arkus-Duntov proud. Rather than treating this revival as a special model with a limited run, Chevy has decided to ditch the Z51 package entirely and offer the Grand Sport that pushes the standard Vette's performance even closer to that of the Z06.

While the 430-hp (436-hp with the two-mode exhaust) LS3 V8 remains unchanged, wider front and rear fenders allow for 18- (front) and 19-inch (rear) wheels that are also wider than before. Larger brakes are included and the special suspension tuning is now even closer to that of the Z06. You'll also notice other Z06 elements like the front splitter, rear spoiler and functional brake ducts behind the doors. Unlike the Z06, you can order a Grand Sport with a manual transmission or the Vette's six-speed automatic with paddle shifters. If you're a true track hound, though, go with the manual that also comes with a dry-sump oil system, differential cooler and rear-mounted battery.

Though available as a convertible, coupe models also feature a removable roof. The Grand Sport can also be had in all four Corvette trim levels (1LT, 2LT, 3LT and 4LT) and any standard Corvette color, and a special heritage package gives a nod to the past by adding a pair of hash marks to the front fenders. The new Grand Sport is being announced at the 12th annual C5/C6 Corvette Birthday Bash at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

grandsport1-1280_opt.jpg



Move over Z06!.... The Grand Sport is HERE !!!

I like this BETTER than the Z06... It comes TOPLESS!!!!

The side gills look good too!... And the wheels have a more exotic look.

Another Awesome Vette!!! ... I LIKE IT !!! :thumb

:beer :Twist :dance :pat :BOW ;worship :Steer :v :drool: :J :blue:

gmnews.gif
 
Move over Z06!.... The Grand Sport is HERE !!!

I like this BETTER than the Z06... It comes TOPLESS!!!!

The side gills look good too!... And the wheels have a more exotic look.

Another Awesome Vette!!! ... I LIKE IT !!! :thumb

:beer :Twist :dance :pat :BOW ;worship :Steer :v :drool: :J :blue:

gmnews.gif
It certainly looks good in red! I dig the gills, it's a bit 550/575 Maranello looking. Also, sounds like it has plenty of performance upgrades to boot. I guess the big question will be how much it costs over a standard C6.

If they price it right, it should be a success I would think. With suspension, brake, and tire upgrades, plus things like the dry-sump system and diff cooler, it has some real track-ready performance upgrades that align well with the original Grand Sport effort.
 

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