

To say this news caught us off guard would be an understatement. Tomorrow is March 1st and not April Fools Day, right?

But according to Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin, who also serves as a Chevrolet ambassador in Europe, a Corvette Grand Sport model will be making its world premiere at the Geneva Motor Show on March 1.

Gavin posted a rundown of the March 1st Chevrolet Press Conference on his Instagram account and it specifically references the World Premiere of the Grand Sport. According to the schedule, Oliver Gavin will join Corvette’s Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter on stage at 10:45 am local time (4:45 am ET).

Made it to Geneva. Now heading to #genevamotorshow for rehearsal for the @corvette #GrandSport world premiere tomorrow. A photo posted by @olivergavin on Feb 29, 2016 at 3:37am PST



We have no clue whether this new Grand Sport will actually go into production or if it’s a concept model only.

The previous C6 Grand Sport model took the widebody of the C6 Z06 and combined it with aspects of the base Corvette model. It served a purpose of keeping Corvette buyers and enthusiasts excited about the C6 generation whose production cycle began to go longer than expected.

Assuming that a C7 Grand Sport takes the similar route by utilizing the C7 Z06 body combined with the powertrain of the Stingray and a reworked quarter panel design, Chevrolet would have another hit on its hands. Corvette buyers have flocked to the Z06 which accounts for nearly 30% of production and if the widebody was offered with the 460hp Stingray engine, I think you’ll see the Grand Sport model outsell the base and Z51 Stingrays much like the C6 Corvette Grand Sport did from 2010-2013.



It’s interesting that Chevrolet is bringing brought back the Grand Sport model for C7. Since the introduction of the Z06, the boys from Detroit made a big deal about the Stingray and Z06 being the only offerings during the C7 model run. Stingrays and Z06s are still selling at a good pace and the plant is running at near capacity.

However, there is a precedent for unveiling a new Corvette model at the Geneva Motor Show. The C4 Corvette ZR-1 was introduced in Geneva and its roll-out there marked Corvette’s official return as a world-class sports car. in 2014, the Corvette Stingray Convertible model made its public debut at the show.

But for now we’ll have to wait until we see what Chevrolet is bringing to the table tomorrow in Geneva.



Source:

Oliver Gavin/Instagram



Related:

[VIDEO] Corvette Racing’s Oliver Gavin Leaves Geneva – One Step Closer to Le Mans

2015 Corvette Z06 Debuts at Geneva Motor Show

[VIDEO] Watch the Live Reveal of the 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible

