Crudele's looking to "rent" the Corvette from All American Chevy in Middletown, NJ by using and abusing GM's 60-day money back guarantee. Good idea right? Yeah, except that — if you'll remember from our guide on how to screw GM out of a 60-day money back guarantee — if he puts so much as a ding, dent or scratch in it, he'll be liable for the full price of the 'vette. Now, we're not saying you should put a ding, dent or scracth into Crudele's new 'merican super car. But we can imagine it'd be pretty difficult to not want to do it if we saw it parked — you know — anywhere.

If anyone spots Crudele, be sure to snap a picture of him and his new Corvette to send in to our tips line — if he ends up actually following through with his dastardly plan to screw himself out of taxpayer-paid bailout money. We'll call it Crudele Corvette Watch. [NY Post]

Based on the paint scheme, our first impression was "A C6R ate the wall, Oh No!" then we got to sleuthing. This particular racing automobile is wearing the ZR1's giant ceramic brakes up front, sporting the hood window to show off the ZR1's intercooler, and was racing at Watkins Glen — all things the C6R GT2 cars for this year do not have or do. So we were stumped and resorted to asking for details. Asking a tipster for details on a race car is like asking for directions while your wife and her mother and her father are in the car. In any case, we found out the following:

The Car is owned by Greg Soebelski, and it's a Private car that
essentially mimics the Phoenix Racing C6R cars. The car itself has
been modded (bolt ons, and IIRC increased boost) and is supported by
Entropy Racing (http://www.entropyracing.net/)

He purchased this car in early spring, and has been taking it to track
days with PDA (www.pdadrivingschool.com) and received his comp
license this season with NASA (www.nasanortheast.com). This race (Thunder at the
Glen) was his first 'competitive' race with this car.

The accident occurred between turns 8 and 9 ('Heel of the boot") on
Watkins Glen Long course.

As of last knowledge, he's already looking for another ZR1 to replace
this one. Greg comes to the track with his 'East Coast Racing Team',
which is comprised of an E92 M3 (fully modded engine and suspension) a
Widebody 350z 'vert (Supercharged) and a CLK 63 Black Series...

To which our immediate response was:

This is very important. Do you know if Greg looking to get rid of that motor (or the one supplanted by the race built one in the wrecked car)? Because we know of at least one place it would end up in a very good home if the price is right.

(Thanks for the tip, pictures, and details Cody)

Commenter YankBoffin was cruising through rural Indiana when he spotted this unbelievable headstone, featuring a the visage of the 2007 Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car replica. Of course, he had to stop, even doing that in a particularly Jalop way:

I spotted this near Brookville, Indiana over the weekend, scaring the wife half to death when I pointed and yelled "CORVETTOMBSTONE!!" as we passed a small monument business.

This is in Indiana, so I guess it isn't too surprising that the car etched in granite (yes, it is definitely etched, wished I'd taken a close-up) is an Indy 500 Pace Car C6 convertible.

In case Indiana is too far a schlep for you to pick up your copy of the Corvette headstone, we've hunted down the press image they used, so you can get your own made.

What was it? Ferrari 360 Modena
How Fast? 130 MPH
What happened? The moron driver was showing off for his girlfriend in France when he lost control and hit power posts, splitting the car in two. Amazingly, both survived the accident.

What was it? BMW 528i
How Fast? 135 MPH
What happened? This is what happens when a tire blows at high speeds. The car rolled, eventually coming to a stop by way of a concrete pillar.

What was it? Mercedes Benz SLK
How Fast?135 MPH
What happened? There's not much left of an open-topped SLK after it hit a tree in Germany at speed.

What was it? Chevrolet Corvette C5
How Fast? 140 MPH
What happened? Despite being a high performance car, taking a Corvette up to 140 MPH on a Texas highway is a recipe for disaster, as evidenced here.

What was it? TVR T350C
How Fast? 140 MPH
What happened? This South African crash is pretty brutal. The driver lost control at 140 MPH, hit a concrete barrier, and smashed into an overpass. You know a crash is violent when even the wheels are shattered.

What was it? Lamborghini Murcielago
How Fast? 150 MPH
What happened? After owning the car for six days, this Egyptian driver decided to take it out to the desert and go for broke. Broke is what he got when a truck cut him off and he rolled the car, though he did make it out alive.

What was it? Ferrari Enzo
How Fast? 160 MPH
What happened? The driver in this crash wasn't so lucky and died after crashing at 160 MPH, spreading the car out over a huge debris field in Italy.

What was it? Mercedes McLaren SLR
How Fast? 165 MPH
What happened? The SLR's 22 year old Qatari driver was showing off for his passenger when he lost control, rolling the car into the desert. This one was also fatal.

Head over to Wrecked Exotics for the two fastest supercar accidents on the list. One you've probably not seen and another you're definitely familiar with. [Wrecked Exotics]

Rick Pinito, with GM color and trim, told us:

"Corvette (in all its variations from the very first C1) has always utilized unique composite materials (fiberglass body, fiberglass springs, balsawood composite floor, carbon fiber, etc). The stingray is true to this hertitage with the extensive use of carbon fiber and graphite/nylon reinforced plastic for the various underhood structures (door hinges, hood mechanism, intake manifold, etc) Only in the past 10-15 years have composite materials been used more extensively in production vehicles (and often only expensive sportscars). Corvette has been doing this since 1953."

Topping the silvette dollar from Palau will certainly be a challenge. Not only is it available for a mere 20 bucks, it’s colored yellow, has working headlights and is legal tender on the island nation more famous for its scuba diving and its pledge to settle a number of Uighur prisoners from Guantanamo Bay.

But your task is not impossible. Car currency comes in all shapes and sizes, like this £2 coin from the Isle of Man which features a Ferrari 250 GTO. So dig around and post your best finds below. Coins which incorporate puns based on the interplay between sterling silver and Stirling Moss are worth extra credit.

Put them in the comments below and we'll make sure they rise to the top o' the heap.

Photo Credit: National Collector’s Mint

Limited to just 1000 units, the SV Motor Company SV 9 Competizione appears to be one of the more mature Italian-emulating Corvette 'kit' cars in the CG renders below, but appearances can be somewhat deceiving. While there's no questioning what lust object inspired the SV 9's designer, upon closer inspection we notice the design is lacking a tad in its execution.

The headlamps look as if they've been grabbed under the cloak of darkness from Alfa's parts bin and though the front fascia design is simplistic in its execution, we can't help but feel that there's a cancerous mass hanging off the front. Images of Jim Henson muppets immediately come to mind. Other oddities include a haphazardly sliced hood cutline on the front wing and the strange 'vent' that it awkwardly avoids as well as the faux quarter glass that appears to be painted in a similar fashion to the recently debuted Jaguar XJ's C-pillar. Thankfully, things start to get better once you turn her around. The rear design, while lacking in supple curves and a bit on the generic side of the design spectrum, is actually the nicest element of the car. The removal of the inner-most lamp from the base Corvette tail and the outboard exhaust helps to visually widen the rear as well as give it a distinctive 8C-derived look.

Powering the nearly $100k SV 9, is the base Corvette's LS3 V8, though power has been increased from 436 to 450 horsepower thanks to a revised intake and ANSA-tuned exhaust. With a 3085 lb carbon fibered body, the SV 9 is estimated to accelerate to 60 mph in 4 seconds and run the 1320 in 12 seconds flat.

SV Motors offers a full customization program with 25 unique exterior hues and various interior trim options to guarantee you won't see another car quite like yours, but with only 1000 being produced we're sure the chances of a run-in are about as likely as catching a cab during NYC rush hour. The first production SV 9 is expected to be revealed this weekend, with a public debut to occur on August 14 at the Concorso Italiano in Monterey.

[SV Motor Company via Corvette Blogger]

How hard would it be for Chevy to do something similar on the engine cover of the Corvette, Corvette Z06 and ZR1? I mean, come on, how friggin' cool does that look? Right?

In an interview with Henderson, AutoWeek was able to ascertain certain details about the next-generation sports car, namely that it would arrive sooner rather than later (whatever that means) and it'll be based on further development of the current-gen C6 platform, which itself is derived from the C5 Corvette. Henderson wouldn't elaborate too much on the car other than stating that the C6 is already a superb car and that they (GM) aren't looking to radically advance the engineering of the C7. Could this potentially mean that we'll get a C6.5 before a completely new model in the near future? It's likely, given GM's current financial position. We're just pleased to hear they haven't given up on one of the only exciting products in their lineup. [via AutoWeek]

To be fair, it's not the first ZR1 to take a dive. But it's the first we've heard of that wasn't at a media event being driven by our former boss-man, Mike Spinelli. The good news, like Spinelli's dented ZR1, is it appears most of the goodies are in perfect condition. Everything that isn't the driver's side rear fender, rear fascia and driver's side rear suspension is still in working order. The car only has 1,227 miles on it and it's got the premo package, so there's a lot there for your salvage-buying dollar. We're just a little weepy over the crackup... give us a second here... phew, okay, we teared up for a moment but we're back.

Anyway, the starting bid is sitting at $75,000 and if you want to "Buy-It-Now" the price is set at $97,500. You have two options here; You can either work with your local stealership and repair the car to its former glory or use its guts as the single greatest kit car or Se7en starting point ever. Hey, whatever you do, it's bound to be be better looking than the Mantide. Paging Doctor Groner, Doctor Matt Groner. [Corvette Blogger]

We've already seen the 2010 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport revealed at the 2010 Corvette seminar at the National Corvette Museum's C5/C6 Bash, but that's not the only thing Corvette's Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter revealed. He also went into detail about the new Launch Control option — meant to optimize performance on a drag strip — that will be standard on all manual transmission 2010 Corvettes. The best part is unlike the Nissan GT-R launch control, this system won't void your warranty if you use it. We like.

Basically, put the 'Vette into competitive mode and the system will, based on the car you have — whether base coupe or ZR1 — when you put the throttle to the floor, it won't redline, instead, it'll hit a predetermined RPM level and then when you dump the clutch, you'll take off. It'll potentially help you get, on the Z06 for instance, a 3.65 second 0-to-60 time — an extra half-a-tenth of a second off the 3.7 second official 0-to-60 time on the Z06 — every single time. We really like.

Speaking of "really like" — it sounds as though, if you check out the second video, that Corvette fan-boys and Corvette engineers both heart Jalopnik as much as we heart the 2009 Corvette ZR1. [via CorvetteBlogger]

The Corvette GT1 Championship Edition is almost entirely a commemorative paint package designed to move some more C6 Vettes and celebrate the success of Corvette Racing. Available in basic coupe, convertible and Z06 trim, the addition of all the graphics, wheels, spoilers and 'Jake' logos only costs $2,350. For a limited-edition run with only 600 set to be produced it's actually quite a bargain — especially considering non-Z06 models get the Z51 performance package thrown in as part of the package deal.

In a bizarre and unprovoked posting on CorvetteForum, someone operating under the name Ken Fichtner, owner and operator of Fichtner Chevrolet in Billings, Montana, has divulged the future product lineup for the Corvette brand, and it includes the return of one of our favorite Corvette designations, the Grand Sport.

Chevrolet will offer the 2010 in 6 models:

1YY07 Corvette Coupe
1YY67 Corvette Convertible
1YY87 Corvette Z06
1YY87 Corvette ZR1
1YG07 Corvette Grand Sport Coupe
1YG67 Corvette Grand Sport Convertible

I haven't any other information on colors, trim, powertrain, packages, or options.

I will keep you updated as information is available.

This spill reveals not only a new model but an expanded 'Vette policy for GM, well, at least under now-shelved former CEO slick Rick Wagoner. We'll see if this new uber-badass Vette survives under the new GM head honcho Fritz Henderson. Should the program survive the Carpocalypse bonesaw, we can hardly wait for a paired-down, hash-marked, track-day all star. (Thanks for the tip Joe!) [Corvette Forum]

The limited edition package is based on the Corvette Coupe 4LT, Convertible 4LT or Z06 3LZ, carrying a $7,840 $2,350 premium (For a $2,350 premium, it's not too shabby of a deal). Non-Z06 models get the Z51 performance package and all of them get the coveted Corvette Racing "Jake" graphic. The full list of features is below:

• C6.R livery inspired graphics feature Corvette Racing ‘Jake', Championships, and driver flags
• ZR1 style body color full width spoiler and chrome wheels
• Custom Leather Wrapped Ebony Interior with exclusive Yellow accent stitching
• GT1 embroidery on the leather seats, instrument panel, and center console armrest
• Special Engine Cover with carbon pattern and yellow Corvette lettering
• Windshield banner – owner installed
• Available in 45U Velocity Yellow (with black headlamps) or 41U Black
• Specific VIN sequence 300001 series for 45U Velocity Yellow representing the #3 C6.R
• Specific VIN sequence 400001 series for 41U Black representing the #4 C6.R
• Limited production to 100 per each color and body style combination and 600 total in Spring ‘09
• Coupe and Convertible versions also include:
Z51 Performance Package, NPP Performance Exhaust

The Corvette GT1 will be unveiled at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 21. If you plan on getting one of the convertibles, make sure it's black or you'll look like this guy.