Thule will provide the Corvette Premier Edition's matching set of luggage.
The very first 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray commanded a whopping $1.1 million when it went up on the auction block earlier this year. True, it was a charity benefit event but there are only so many dedicated Vette fans able to come up with cash like that.
Nonetheless, Chevy has something special for those on a bit tighter budget a special Corvette Premier Edition that will be offered in a limited run of just 500 models for an estimated $75,000 apiece.
The news coincided with the 60th anniversary of the factory roll-out of the very first Corvette, Chevy working hard to prove the new model lives up to the so-called C7’s advanced billing. The maker pulled the wraps off during a special launch party at the National Corvette Museum – which is around the corner from where the seventh-generation sports car is getting ready to go into production.
The Corvette Premiere Edition is officials known as a 3LT model, the top-spec version of the new Stingray, each one coated in a distinctive Laguna Blue Tintcoat paint job with a contrasting Brownstone suede interior. The upgrades also include a visible carbon fiber T-top roof, a Stinger hood stripe, “Stingray” kickplates and wheel caps – and a matching set of Corvette luggage designed by Thule.
Other unique touches will include a unique vehicle identification number, starting with 300001, as well as an exclusive dash plaque commemorating the limited-edition model.
For true aficionados, of course, performance will be key, and the Premiere Edition will get the Z51 performance package that bumps the 6.2-liter LT1 engine up to 455 horsepower – enough to launch from 0 to 60 in 3.8 seconds. The Premiere Edition also will feature the Magnetic Selective Ride Control, or Magneride, a system that used nano-sized magnetic particles to allow the shocks to be almost instantly and infinitely adjustable to respond to both driver input and road conditions.
The C7 was originally supposed to be in showrooms in time for the 60th anniversary of the original Corvette’s debut but the project was repeatedly delayed, most notably by parent General Motors’ 2009 bankruptcy. Project leaders insist that, in the long run, it allowed them to actually turn out a bit better of a car.
The Premiere Edition is one of several special editions expected to follow the 2014 launch of the new Corvette – the first model to get the Stingray designation in three decades. A convertible will follow soon after launch and next-gen versions of the Corvette Z06 and ZR1 are also reportedly in the works.
Meanwhile, Chevy has also been working with Fisher-Price on what might be called the junior edition, a tyke-sized version of the Stingray that the toy maker will call the Power Edition. Top speed? A full 6 mph.