Update: The 2023 Corvette 70th Anniversary, including Stingray and Z06 versions, has been officially revealed and confirmed. You can read the full Corvette 70th Anniversary Edition story here on Autoblog.
Last year at the LA Auto Show, Chevrolet put out a display of scale-model C8 Corvettes painted in the full range of exterior colors available. The problem, as the Corvette Forum member who posted photos of the display realized, was that the Bowling Green Assembly Plant that builds Corvettes is limited to 12 colors in its paint shop, but the LA Auto Show display featured 14 Corvette models in 14 colors. Another Corvette fan said he happened to be standing by the display when Chevy reps emerged and removed the display. Corvette Blogger pegged the two additional hues as a Pearl White and a Carbon Flash Metallic Black. The thought was that these could be two replacement colors arriving for the 2023 model year, but the Carbon Flash Black Metallic had been used in 2012 for Centennial Edition Corvettes celebrating 100 years of Chevrolet. Its return could be for a 70th Anniversary Edition Corvette celebrating the original 1953 sports car.
Fast forward to last week, when a Corvette Blogger contributor visited the 2023 Corvette Z06 visualizer. Apparently, in addition to finding the standard Z06 configurations that have been online for weeks, he finds a 70th Anniversary Corvette Z06 and descriptions of its extra features. The first two special attributes are two available exterior colors: White Pearl Metallic Tri-Coat with optional Satin Matrix Gray Stripes, or Carbon Flash Metallic with optional Satin Black Metallic Stripes.
Chevy eventually pulled the entire visualizer down, replacing it with a GM page that required an employee log-in. The visualizer is back up, without any mention of the model that got the Vette-sphere humming. Of course, the page hadn’t been taken down before people had scraped all the listed information about what’s on the way. According to the discoverers, each of the commemorative trims gets its own VIN sequence, Edge Red brake calipers behind Carbon Flash wheels with an Edge Red stripe and 70th Anniversary wheel center caps, Carbon Flash mirror caps and spoilers, an Edge Red engine cover, a rear bumper protector and a trunk cover, and special badging. The interiors will come with white GT2 Competition seating with red stitching and red seat belts, a suede-covered steering wheel, and more badging. And so that owner can let the wider public know what they drive when they’re away from the car, there will be a custom luggage set with red stitching and more 70th anniversary logos.
There was no mention of engine upgrades for this trim, but the images said to be taken from the visualizer showed cars with the Z07 Performance Package, which adds equipment like larger brakes, Michelin Cup 2 tires, and the FE7 Magnetic Ride Suspension. The six anniversary models created from 1978 to now, and the 2012 Centennial Edition, didn’t get performance upgrades, either. On top of that, this is the first year of the new Z06, and its 670-horsepower naturally aspirated V8 should be performance enough to start with.
We shouldn’t have to wait long to see whether this is the real deal.
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Source: www.autoblog.com