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)

Yesterday we drove over to GM's Performance Build Center (PBC) in Wixom, Michigan to build an LS9 engine — the most powerful production engine GM's ever built — and the 638 HP beating heart powerplant underneath the hood of the Corvette ZR1 — all while being taught the tricks of engine assembly trade by the man who's built more LS9's than anyone else.

Here's how the magic's made.

Aluminum block, aluminum heads, forged crank, Forged pistons, titanium connecting rods, valves, and valve springs, a bespoke Eaton four-lobe roots-type supercharger displacing 2.3 liters of air per rotation blowing into an air-to-water intercooler, all backed by a twin-plate clutch. It's 638 HP of smack-you-in-the-face and it'll shove the ZR1 to a 0-60MPH time in 3.4 organ-crushing seconds. But first it has to be built

Each Corvette ZR1 engine is hand assembled at GM's Performance Build Center (PBC) in Wixom, Michigan, a purpose-built 100,000 square foot facility with the express intent of building the best motors in the GM universe. It's a mix of the latest thinking in lean manufacturing paired with the old world responsibility inherent in a one-man, one-engine build philosophy. The facility also builds the monstrous huge 7.0 liter LS7 for the Z06 and the hopped-up LS3 for the new Corvette Gran Sport, but when you're offered the opportunity to build an engine of your choice, you pick the LS9.

My guide through this most unique of looks into the guts of GM's baddest engine was Mike Priest, the man who's put more of these engines together than anyone in the world and some say he assembles the fastest ones. Good hands to be in. We start the day off by getting right down to business, cracking the connecting rods. Each piston comes sub-assembled complete with a high-moly top ring, a nodular iron lower, and a 3mm oil ring.We inspect each for nicks and scratches, make sure the wrist pin turns freely, and then systematically mark the bearing cap and con-rod to make sure they match up later. The bolts are then loosened and they're separated by a light tap or a cracking fixture.

The bearing journals are then laid in and everything gets placed in a tote and wheeled to the first station on the rolling engine stand.

The line is arranged into individual stations, each being fed by pre-kitted parts and a pull-type delivery system. The stations each have at least one Atlas Copco electric torque driver which torques fasteners based on a scan of the build sheet. Each data point is recorded and tied to the individual engine, and data can be reclaimed at any time. A naked engine block is sitting on the delivery fixture awaiting assembly, it'll be engine 10ZAN 322731901. In the very first step we install studs which will hold the engine to the rolling engine stand.

Once Mike gives the engine a good once, a water passage hole is plugged, then we move on to installing the first exciting piece, the camshaft. An assembly fixture is placed on the back of the cam and then a handle screwed onto the front, the journals are given a coat of assembly oil the cam slides in easier than any cam you'll ever touch. It's nice having factory tools. Mike then uses the overhead crane to hoist the block over to the stand where we bolt it down. Finally, the cam seal and retainer is installed.

Next we loosen the crank bearing caps and use a custom pry bar to remove them without damage and set them aside.

The bearing journals and main bearing are now snapped into place and liberally coated in assembly oil.

After inspecting the crankshaft, Mike expertly drops it into place with a crane fixture. He offered to let me do it, but the idea of marring such a critical piece wasn't something I was too excited about.

The crankshaft is gently turned to make sure there's no unexpected drag.

Next we assemble the other half of the journals into the bearing caps and oil, installing them as they were delivered in the block.

The caps are torqued down using a multi-spindle driver to simultaneously drive the inner then the outer bearing bolts. Those bearing blocks also get cross-bolted to the walls of the block, which increases the assembly's overall stiffness. As a validation, the torque to turn the crank is checked, to make sure there's no undue drag.

Next we stuff pistons. Assembly oil is applied to the piston bores, the edges of the piston and the connecting rod bearing. An assembly guide is slipped over the end of the connecting rod and a ring compressor slipped over the head of the piston. I' told to run the piston up and down to make sure it slides smoothly in the compressor then place it over its cylinder. When the bottom of the piston is seated in the bore, one strong push to the top of the piston and the entire assembly slides in smooth as silk.

The connecting rod cap is lubed and installed and the process is repeated down the line, then the bolts are all torqued. The engine is rolled to the opposite side and the process repeats.

Next up the engine oil baffle is attached to the studs on the crank bearing outer bolts.

Next, the timing is set. Piston number one, on the driver's side front of the engine, is raised to top dead center. The chain tensioner is then bolted into place.

The crank gear is then pressed into place with a pneumatic ram.

The timing gear for the cam is placed on, two timing marks on both gears are are aligned and the cam gear is removed, the chain is laid over top and then the chain is attached to crank gear as the cam gear is slid into place and bolted down. The pin in the tensioner is then removed.

The dry sump oil pump is then carefully positioned with a fixture to ensure its ports are flush with the bottom of the engine block, then bolted into place.

The back engine cover compete with rear main seal and the front engine cover are then installed

In the next station, the first step is to lay down RTV sealant beads at the front and rear covers.

The pickup and oil filter-equipped oil pan is now dropped into place carefully and torqued down.

A protective cover on the side of the pan is removed and set aside to be sent back to the supplier and the oil cooler is bolted in its place.

After a quick look we drop in one side of the cam followers living in their cam carriers.

Now it's time to for the aluminum heads. Here's a bit of information that'll be useful in garage trivia: The aluminum heads on the LS9 are exactly identical, there is no left side or right side, they are the same part number and on the engine one gets a screw in temperature sensor and the other gets a screw in plug, that's the only difference.

After tapping in guide studs and laying on a crazy seven leaf gasket you just drop them on without fanfare.

Fourteen stainless steel bolts go into each head and get tightened down simultaneously with a multispindle driver.

Next up is the valley cover which seals up the 'V' between the cylinder banks.

The final process in this station is putting together the valve train. First, the pushrods are slid in place. (Aren't those old fashioned?)

A cam rail is placed across the inside of the head and the rockers are put in and the bolts are hand started. A pair of installation guides are then placed over both heads. These indicate the torquing order for the rockers, begin on the green number one and travel around the engine in order driving the bolts in, when you run out of greens, stop, manually turn the crankshaft 180 degrees to realign the pistons and then pick up the tightening order for the yellow numbers.

Once installed, a generous application of oil on the rockers finishes the station.

At this point, the line turns around on the other side and starts back the other direction. Here a set of guards are temporarily put in place to protect the lower intake as rivet-like cup plugs are popped into small holes in the water cavity.

Next, the valve covers are put in place and torqued down followed by the coil packs that aren't delivered preassembled for the sake of assembly access.

The water pump is installed along with a couple of hard vacuum lines and the alternator bracket.

The crankshaft damper is placed on the crank and a pneumatic ram presses it into place.

The next step is where happiness is made.

The supercharger comes largely preassembled and is lifted from a tote by crane and inspecting for the hoses, wiring, and gaskets.

It's gently placed into the valley of the engine. The entire unit is bolted into place and the supercharger gets a good spin to make sure it turns freely.

You can hear it pulling a lot of vacuum against the closed throttle.

Next we take a quick look at the intercooler, which incidentally is the only class-A surface underhood in any GM product, which means it must be protected from damage just like a fender or a hood. The intercooler gets a gasket, debris and paint finish inspection.

It's then dropped onto the supercharger, torqued down, then covered with a cardboard guard.

Next, Mike puts a lot of faith in me as he applies his name plate to this engine which I've had a dangerous amount of involvement in building.

Next up is an all-too-unsexy but entirely necessary step, a complete leakdown test of both the coolant and oil passages. All the ports and still open areas are sealed off with plugs and covers, then a controlled amount of air pressure is applied and the rate which the pressure drops is measured. The less leakage the better, this one passed with flying colors.

Once all the testing equipment is removed, spark plugs are put in place and the exhaust manifolds are installed as well as the manifold studs, the engine mounts are put in place and two temporary engine hoist loops are put on the front and back for transport.

In the final station, coil wires are installed and then the engine number decal is put onto the head.

The engine is then taken off the rolling engine stand and dropped into the flywheel and clutch installation fixture.

The holes in the flywheel are then numbered to make balancing engine easier later downstream,

The flywheel is installed and torqued down.

Next the clutch housing is picked up with an assembly reaction arm.

A mark on the twin clutch pack is then aligned with a mark on the housing to balance the assembled parts.

The clutch is then installed. And with that, the assembly process is complete.

The engine is weighed (530.6 lbs dry) and placed on a palette and an engine audit is completed another employee.

The palette is taken over to the final step in our process which would be running the engine through cold test.

In the cold test process, 2.5 quarts of oil is put into the engine after it's affixed to a test stand.

The stand is rolled into the test cell and hooked up to electric couplings, various sampling sensors, like noise vibration and harshness sensors, pressure sensors, etc. as well as a big electric motor. When the doors are closed, the motor spins up and turns the engine over after building up oil pressure. There are an array of tests done in the 90 second cycle time, but in the end all the lights were green and it passed everything very convincingly.

Since it was a shutdown week, we didn't proceed to the next step, but normally the engine would go to the balancing chamber. In the balancing chamber, the engine is hooked up to an isolation fixture which freely allows multi-axis vibration. It's then hooked up to a special ECM and a natual gas fuel source and fired. That's right, a Corvette ZR1 motors first breaths come from a clean fuel. During the engine's operation, sensors detect vibrations and calculate where to add weights on either the flywheel or the crankshaft damper to bring the engine into balance. The weights are installed and the process is repeated until it passes the test. The final step in the process is a second, intense inspection, from the assumed position of the customer at the Bowling Green Corvette factory. After it's gone over with a fine toothed comb it's off to storage awaiting the truck to Kentucky.

It wasn't really my engine, I did a lot of the installing and bolting down, but I was just a monkey following directions. It was, and is Mike's engine, and I have to pay him my respects on his level of care and attention to detail over even the smallest potential flaws in any part or element of the process. He's like a parent watching over a child. And yet, at the end of the day, it was gratifying to see the engine turning over, pumping air and passing all of its tests. Someday in the recent future, that motor will find its home in a ZR1 and it'll be rocketing some happy new buyer to delirious speeds. Kind of a surreal day if you ask me.

Geiger's keeping mum on exactly how it extracts the extra power and torque (710 HP and 677 Lb-Ft in all), but we bet it involves a really, really, really loud exhaust. The stock ZR1 is capable of reaching 60 MPH in just 3.4 seconds, as Ben found out last month. All this additional oomph must overwhelm the rear tires, lengthening that time or at least the 0-to-62 MPH time (damn Euros) to a positively tardy 3.6 seconds. Yawn.

Of course, ze German tuning firm doesn't stop there, adding an even wilder bodykit to the already over-the-top Chevy flagship.

The press release follows:

Geiger GTS: Extreme sportsman with retro elements

The announcement was clear: "It is very important for Corvette, to offer the strongest, most high performance and best sports car in terms of handling in the USA." With these words the former chairman of General Motors Rick Wagoner set his engineers a clear goal around two years ago, which also included trumping the Dodge Viper SRT10, which was shown at the Detroit Car Show shortly before, in all regards.
The technicians got to work and so the next year the persons responsible were able to proudly unveil the quickest and highest performance series vehicle ever produced by General Motors: the Corvette ZR1.

Under the sheer endlessly long bonnet of the ZR1 lurks a newly developed LS96.2 litre small block V8 with compressor supercharging. Pressurised by the Eaton R2300 compressor with up to 0.72 bar, this primitive engine gets up to 647 HP and a maximum torque of 823Nm.
Further technical highlights of the extreme Corvette are its high performance breaking system with their 394 and 381 mm diameter carbon ceramic discs, as well as the electronically controlled suspension "Magnetic Selective Ride Control" with track level suspension mounting. Bonnet, roof, sill, rear wing and front spoiler are made of super light, but at the same time high strength carbon.

GeigerCars.de from Munich, which has specialised in the import and refinement of US cars for years, has not only brought this extreme sportsman from the United States to Germany, it has also optionally subjected it to diverse tuning measures at the same time – the first example of the Corvette ZR1 "Geiger GTS" will be presented to the world public at the 63rd International Automobile Exhibition at Frankfurt am Main from 17th to 27th September.

The datasheet for the Corvette ZR1 "Geiger GTS" shows 710 HP maximum performance with 6,600 rotations per minute and the car produces gigantic 918 Nm on the crankshaft at only 4,200 revs. Set up in this way the ZR1 storms up to 100km/h in just 3.6 seconds, and at the same time nails the back of the occupants' head to the head rest of the Geiger carbon sport seats. The propulsion only ends at a speed of 342 kilometres per hour.

At these values the hardest work is done by the 10 x 19 and 12 x 20 inch high performance tyres mounted on light metal rims with the dimensions 285/30ZR19 at the front and 345/25ZR20 at the rear tyres.

Of course GeigerCars extensively modified the look of the Corvette, lending it a styling, which is reminiscent of the large Gran Turismos of the 60's and 70's. The front and back were extensively modified; a wide air vent dominates the nose, while a massive diffuser attracts attention at the back. Both the fog and rear lights are based on modern LED semi conductive technology. The three layer mother of pearl varnish of the Corvette ZRI "Geiger GTS" with changing colour play is also a real eye catcher.

Launch control. On face, it's an anti-manly feature. Using it is an admission of incompetence; You're fundamentally admitting the car is it's own master, and you are only a passenger. Fine. It still makes a tire-shredding drag run ride a hell of an awesome thing. Launch control for the 2010 ZR1 is buried in the traction control options. So how do you do it? Press the traction control button twice and you put the car in performance mode, rock the ZR1-only traction knob once and you're sitting pretty in the performance dry programming.

Now is when all the magic happens. You put the car in first gear and mat the accelerator with the right foot, clutch with the left one. Normally this would mean bouncing the engine off its rev limiter and being a total prick to all the internal components, but in the ZR1 the engine bounces off the 5000 RPM mark then settles in right at the 4000RPM mark. With that 6.2 liter supercharged monster serenading you, the next step is to do what you're taught to never ever do with a manual transmission car — dump the clutch with extreme prejudice. It feels wrong, but it delivers results that are oh so right.

For the controls engineer in us, this next part is like magical happy land. To provide launch control, the car starts by measuring wheel spin. By measuring fleeting instances of wheel spin, it determines the surface friction available and the maximum amount of torque the wheels can handle at a given speed, it then sends a torque request to the engine which delivers the maximum power exactly by modulating fuel and spark for every instant of torque demand. It's a beautiful feedback loop which delivers crushing performance.

It's definitely fast, but it's very dependent on the driver too. Dog the clutch release and the car will bog down and only deliver a 4 second 0-60MPH time. Shameful. But if you let if go just right, like we did, you'll see a crushing, blistering, surreal times of only 3.48 seconds (Ben's being somewhat modest here. He had the best time of the day and best of all the auto journalists in attendance — Ed.). Considering the ZR1's quoted time with an experienced pro-driver behind the wheel is 3.4 seconds, this is as close to perfect as you can possibly get.

Of course, you can easily defeat the whole system and still get the "oh-my-god-this-car-is-trying-to-kill-me-but-this-is-awesome" experience, but you won't be beating every single car you line up against.

It's still unknown which drivers will pilot which car, but Johnny O'Connell, Jan Magnussen, Olivier Beretta and Oliver Gavin will be making a comeback in the two new GT2-spec cars.

Scott Atherton, American Le Mans Series President and CEO had this to say of the new entry:

"For several years now, the competition in GT2 has been the closest and most competitive among all our classes. With the news of Corvette Racing's official entry into the category at Mid-Ohio, the class quite possibly becomes the most diverse and competitive ever. It also serves as another example of the continued growth and success of the American Le Mans Series. Corvette never truly left, but it's safe to say that they were missed by the countless participants at our Corvette Corrals and fans worldwide. We would like to be the first to officially say, ‘Welcome back!'"

We can't wait to see the new Vettes directly compete with the likes of Aston Martin, Ferrari, Ford, Dodge and others as it's become a bit mundane seeing them basically racing themselves for the past season. [CorvetteBlogger via PlanetLeMans]

Sure, 705 HP and a 2.9 second zero to sixty time is one thing to brag about, but that's not the brass ring Hennessey is going after with the Z700. They're taking this ZR1 upgraded with even more carbon fiber goodies like super-light carbon fiber wheels, seats, and an aero-kit that develops 300 lbs of downforce at speed and a healthier supercharger and bigger exhaust for a scream around the Nurburgring, aiming at the Corvette ZR1's 7:26 lap time.

It's worth the extra second to read all the way to the bottom of the press release to see the "optional upgrades" which include the "Z750" package, good for 755 HP, and the modest Z1000, which is not a 70's Kawasaki, but a 1000 HP ZR1. We'll be waiting on the edges of our seats to hear more about that tire liquification system.

[Hennessey Performance]

Hennessey's only producing 24 HPE700 Camaros for $109,000, but with 705 HP and 717 lb-ft of tire melting torque on tap, we could let go of some of the kiddies college fund. Don't judge. You're thinking the same thing.

Here's the specs on this Corvette ZR1-powered monster:

# Power: 705 bhp @ 6,400 rpm
# 717 lb-ft Torque @ 4,400 rpm

Performance (Estimated):
# 0 - 60 mph: 3.7 sec.
# 1/4 mile: 11.3 @ 125 mph
# Top Speed: 201 mph
# Skidpad: 0.96 g
# 60 - 0 mph braking: 105 ft.

Out of 24 of these ultra-Camaros, only 13 are currently left which means you had better start making decisions on parting ways with your hard earned $109,000 or else you'll never get to feel the adrenaline rush of 705 ponies running through your long, luscious mulletard hair. What you're looking at here is just the first step in the process of turning the meager-Camaro SS into a supercharged and carbon-fibered UFC fighter. If the Corvette ZR1 is anything to go by, this swapped ride will come with a swift kick in the pants standard. We can't wait.

The year was 2004 and the Corvette Racing Team was in its final and 4th championship winning ALMS season with the venerable GT1 class C5-R race car. After winning multiple ALMS championships as well as at the 24 Hours of Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring and 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team began using the "Take No Prisoners" motto along with a generic skull logo. It makes sense, given they were considered by many to be the pirates of the GT racing world, taking whatever treasured prize they set their eyes upon. Ever since, the skull's grown into a representation of the team's triumphs and mentality. While not new today, Jake has become a visible power statement to anyone involved in the racing world and he's gaining more and more traction every day. We're here to tell his story.

After 2004, the 2005 season was quickly approaching with a new Corvette C6-R race car in the midst of development, the Corvette Racing Team needed to make their aggressive mentality known. Luckily for them, graphic designer Eddie Jabbour of Kick Design was in the stands during the C5-Rs final 24 Hours of Le Mans race and witnessed for himself the skull logo and the unrelenting drive the Corvette Racing Team portrayed. Also in the stands was the crew from BadBoyVettes, a dedicated group of fans that have brought a viral approach to racing. They had an opportunity to sit down with the Corvette Racing Team to discuss how they could help make the unofficial skull logo into something more.

BadBoyVettes and Corvette Racing contacted Kick Design and with the team's mentality in mind, Jabbour sketched on a cocktail napkin what would eventually become one of the greatest automotive marketing logos of our generation, the Corvette crossed flags within a dark skull outline. Thus, Jake was born.

How Jake truly received his name has been kicked around quite a bit, but the one story that comes up frequently is that a former New York City cop, Gary Claudio, named the skull after notorious movie badass, Jake, from the Blues Brothers film. We've also been told that the name was given after being thrown around the Corvette Racing Team's garage for a few weeks, but either way, it's pretty damn fitting.

Jake made his first official appearance, albeit in small form, underneath the XM Radio sponsorship decal on the B-pillar of the new Corvette C6-R racer during the 2005 24 Hours of Le Mans race and also as a spray painted stencil on the ground outside of Corvette Racing's pit stall. From there, Jake really took off, landing himself on team uniforms, driver's helmets and memorabilia with BadBoyVettes at he helm of this genius viral marketing scheme.

The Corvette Racing Team took their "Take No Prisoners" approach and Jake through next four ALMS seasons, battling the Prodrive Aston Martin DBR9s for three of them and leading the pack by themselves in 2008. Jake had become a racing success. In 2007, Corvette Racing was approached by BadBoyVettes to design a new racing livery for the Laguna Seca race, something that would really push Jake to the forefront of racing and give his enthusiastic followers something to celebrate. The livery design featured the now famous Corvette Racing yellow with a splash of black across the rear 3/4s of the C6-R. Jake was then applied in yellow in a sort of brushed appearance on the sides as well as splashed across the hood in black of the number 3 car. The number 4 car was the inverse of this design and both cars really packed a visual punch racing down the Corkscrew with the help of their screaming 7.0-liter V8s.

The Jake livery was even duplicated in Forza Motorsport 2 using the over complicated customization paint shop and made its debut in the in-game auction house on the eve of its Laguna Seca race debut.

Jake also surfaced on numerous European series GT1, GT2 and Z06R Corvettes showing that Corvette Racing's symbol of determination and power could transcend borders and enter into various other international racing series. In 2008, the C6-R took on a whole new look, utilizing what's now referred to as the "Jake Scrape." The team created a single black stripe down the center of the C6-R with visual scrapes following the design of Jake's teeth who himself, hid in the waterfall vent on the hood, while smaller versions adorned the front and rear fascias as well as the familiar B-pillar location.

Realizing the huge success of the Corvette Racing program GM decided to give a nice little nod to the team and to BadBoyVettes in the company's most powerful and, potentially, most iconic Corvette ever. The 2009 Corvette ZR1 features an embossed Jake on the intake snorkel instead of the usual Corvette cross-flag logo of lesser models. Corvette Chief Engineer, Tom Wallace, explained to BadBoyVettes why;

"I saw the crossed flags on the ZR1's supercharger along with the conventionally placed ones on the nose and the intake snorkel and balked at the 3x arrangement."

Prior to this official addition, Jake was transformed into Elwood (get it? Jake and Elwood...), the unofficial mascot of the ZR1 "Blue Devil" vehicle program, and was featured on numerous ZR1 captured test fleet vehicles that we spotted during the Woodward Dream Cruise in 2008. The Elwood decals were made up in blue to represent "Blue Devil" and featured horns and a more demonic grin than the humble Jake.

For the 2009 ALMS season, Corvette Racing released another Jakegasmic livery, this time placing him front and center on the C6-R's hood along with a 2008-inspired "Jake Scrape." This season marks the end to the C6-R GT1 car as Pratt & Miller and Corvette Racing prepare for the new C6-R GT2 racer and to celebrate, GM has released the 2009 Corvette GT1 Championship Edition featuring a 2009 C6-R livery-inspired decal package with Jake sitting proudly upon the raised fiberglass hood as well as stitched into the special edition's headrests.

Hidden deep within the controversial carbon fiber bodied, Jason Castriota-designed, Stile Bertone Mantide hides the inner mechanical workings of a 2009 Corvette ZR1 as well as our friend heroic friend, Jake. While we're sure it's not the last coach built ZR1, it was the first and we're told that Jake is proud to be leading the supercharged 638-horsepower LS9 sitting low in this Italian-designed brute.

Jake has been fully embraced by the Corvette Racing Team and all that come in contact with him. He's been featured in video games, clothing, memorabilia, scale models, fan-owned Corvettes of all generations and even tattoos. Jake's truly a mascot to be remembered and with Corvette Racing's C6-R GT2's racing debut quickly approaching, we're infinitely curious how he'll be represented next. (References and Images: BadBoyVettes, Corvette Racing, Digital Corvettes)

This killer, albeit short, video clip portrays a Velocity Yellow Corvette ZR1-based Hennessey ZR750 doing what it does best at the Lonestar Motorsports Park. Turning us on, turning some mean corners and making some horrifically monster growling sounds.
[via streetfire]

A few hours after we published our in-depth interview with Stile Bertone’s new design director Jason Castriota, I was standing by Lake Como with him showing me the secrets of his first Bertone design, the Mantide.

The front fenders melt into wings behind the front wheels then draw up into a single taut bunch—reminiscent of a calf muscle—which in turn passes under an archway similar to Castriota’s famous C-pillar for the Ferrari 599 GTB. The confluence of curves and LED’s in the back is, when viewed from a step back, a classic Kamm tail. While retaining the tried-and-true shape of the fastback, the Mantide is boldly futuristic.

But will anyone be able to drive it? There are plans to make two more examples, Castriota says, in white and green, to create an Italian flag with the addition of the first car. Then, in an email to the New York Times, he said: “We would not rule out producing as many as 10.” A price has also been quoted: €1,500,000

That's close to two million US dollars at the current exchange rate—almost two Veyrons worth of cold, hard cash. Not insignificant for a car built on a Corvette ZR1, which retails for 5% of the Mantide’s asking price. Let’s examine what you get for that kind of money, apart from the warm feeling of contributing to a company’s survival which has given us the Miura, the Countach and the Lancia Stratos.

Interior

While Jeremy Clarkson has named the Corvette ZR1 his car of the year for 2008 and our own road test editor Wes Siler called it “the best car ever made,” the fact remains: on the inside, it's all Corvette.

To whit, from our first drive:

In fact, the only thing detracting from the ZR1’s grand touring credentials is the interior. The only options on the $103,300 car are an awful set of chrome wheels and the 3ZR upgraded interior package, which succeeds in moving the interior from cheap and nasty into luxurious bass boat territory with more embroidered ZR1 and Corvette logos than my fragile mind could comprehend. We have a hard time accepting the “value” excuse; for this kind of money we’d no longer like to feel like a Jeff Foxworthy punchline. An automatic transmission is, thankfully, not an option.

Let’s see what the Mantide has to offer:

As you can see, it’s a modern European alcantara-carbon-fiber-leather affair, with the car’s hexagonal theme continuing as cutouts on the racing seats, themselves thin carbon shells. The instrument screen is the one used in the Ferrari FXX, the gearshift is a nice aluminum knob and it’s certainly got a snug racer feel to it. But it’s perhaps not as remarkable as the car’s exterior.

Certainly a major upgrade on the Corvette, though, but then that’s not saying much when you’re considering this is a two million dollar Italian super car.

Exterior

Here in Europe, the current Corvette is not liked much. It’s a big, brash American design, a brute amongst small European cars, but while it’s unarguably alien to these shores, I rather fancy its low, wide, flowing looks. In ZR1 trim, it’s a proper menace, with all the right vents, wings and scoops.

The Mantide gets rid of that all. Aside from the front-engined layout and the fastback silhouette, you would be hard pressed to tell there’s a Corvette underneath. And there is: the Mantide is not like the Italian-American cars from the 60s like the Iso Grifo or the De Tomaso Mangusta which paired an Italian chassis with an American V8. Beneath the red carbon fiber is a Corvette ZR1: LS9 engine, aluminum chassis, the works.

But what carbon fiber! It’s all sharp Bertone creases which turn into subtle arcs as you examine them up close, dihedral Enzo doors, smatterings of hexagons everywhere. The angular rear wheelarches—straight off the M577A armoured personnel carrier which transported the space marines into the doomed reactor core in Aliens—frame black Transformer wheels.

It’s dramatically new, so shockingly new that it’s actively disconcerting to take a few steps back and see its classic berlinetta profile. In person, it creates the sort of time warp the iPhone did when it first went on sale in the summer of 2007. You felt as though you were holding a sliver of 2011 in your hands.

The Mantide? I’d say it’s from 2017. Similar vehicles are on their way to leave the inner Solar System.

But then is it worth the price of 20 ZR1’s? There is, of course, no rational answer to such a question, as even the ZR1 is not an entirely rational purchase, being, as Dan Neil put it in his article The rapture of the hypercar, a big needle to deliver the combustible heroin of petroleum.

If you have space-faring ambitions on the public road, set to the soundtrack of a pushrod V8 with titanium bits, then by all means get in touch with Stile Bertone and put down whatever deposit they ask. The car geeks of the world need you to enable them to carry on the traditions of coachbuilding.

And then I saved the best part for the end. If you open the gigantic hood and peer inside, what you’ll see is exactly what you'll see when you open the hood of the ZR1 — a grinning, black Corvette Racing skull named Jake.

So even though this is not a race car, your Le Mans ass-kicking heritage is right there. And who could ask for more.

Photo Credit: Alex Conley (Corvette ZR1), Natalie Polgar and the author (Stile Bertone Mantide)

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]

Damiano, from The Italian Junkyard, was kind enough to share with us his live coverage of the Stile Bertone Mantide reveal at the Balloco Fiat Proving Ground in Italy. As you can see in the images below, what you're looking at is the real, fully-running Mantide including it's full alcantara-covered, spartan, race-like interior and a cleverly disguised 638-horsepower, supercharged LS9 V8 from the donor Corvette ZR1. Like us, Damiano is absolutely in love with the Mantide, proving even more so, that you need to see this car in person to fully appreciate its complexities and design prowess. Maybe these shots will help change your mind too...or maybe not. Just remember Mr. Castriota's watching.

If you haven't already done so; check out our live Shanghai Auto Show coverage of the Mantide and our interview with the car's designer, Jason Castriota. [via TheItalianJunkyard]

Our friends at American LeMans Fans have managed to grab a couple of shots of the new car showing us, for the first time, some of the changes in store for the new car. The most noticeable change to the new C6.R is the loss of the widebody skin, replaced by a thinner Corvette ZR1-inspired body with widened fender flares that gives an overall look that's closer to the stock proportions of the C6 Corvette. Less noticeable changes include a new, smaller rear spoiler that sits above the ZR1 decklid spoiler as well as a rhombus-shaped side exhaust port as opposed to the GT1 car's circular outlet.

Go to AmericanLeMansFans to see the images.

It's likely that more detailed photos and info will pop up sooner than later and we'll be sure to bring you the latest and greatest. Look for Corvette Racing's new ZR1-inspired GT2 car to make its racing debut in August at the Mid-Ohio ALMS race.

[BBV via americanlemansfans]