It's virtually impossible to question the engineering supremacy of the modern C6 Corvette in the pantheon of 'Vette history, but many pine for the dashing style of the '63-'67 C2 Corvette. Enter the n2a Stinger.
N2A has been responsible for some rather questionable styling exercises in the past, but the n2a Stinger attempts to blend modern and vintage in perfect balance. The Stinger is built atop the 200/2010 Corvette C6 chassis but tosses every piece of body work in the hamper. Instead, Fred Kantor and his crew have designed an all carbon fiber throwback body emulating the C2 Corvettes from 1963 through 1967. The interior will be all leather wrapped and uniquely customized for each customer and in fact the first three examples will be based on the rip-snorting Corvette ZR1 with 638 HP.
n2a sent along these sketches and images of their freshly cut styling buck along with the announcement they'll be taking orders on the unique automobile. If this car manages to live up to the sketches we can imagine a ready crowd of coachbuilt Vette buyers frothing at the mouth for their own copy. Complete press release below:
SANTA ANA, California, March 17, 2009 – n2a Motors announced today that it is
accepting deposits on the Stinger, the latest model in their line of critically-acclaimed
coachbuilt automobiles. Slated for January 2010 delivery, the Stinger is inspired by the
2nd
generation 1963, '65, and '67 Corvette Sting Rays and is built atop the 2009/2010 C6
Corvette chassis.
The '63-67 Corvettes are among the most revered, iconic, and beautiful cars in
automotive history. The Stinger pays homage to the historic 2nd
generation Corvette with
a sleek, carbon-composite body featuring the front end and hood scoop from the 1967
Corvette, a mid-section reminiscent of a '65 Corvette, and the famous split-window rear
end of the '63 Corvette, and has a level of performance and safety that engineers of the
era could never have dreamed possible. Utilizing a new Corvette donor car, the Stinger
achieves 0-60 in 4.3 seconds with a 430 hp/424 lb.-ft. torque LS3 V8 engine rated at 16
MPG city and 26 MPG highway. Since the chassis and safety equipment remain
unmodified, GM's 100,000 mile powertrain warranty remains completely intact and the
Stinger can be serviced at any GM dealership.n2a Motors starts by removing the donor Corvette's body panels and installing the new
carbon-composite Stinger body, a process that takes over 800 hours for n2a's
coachbuilding craftsmen to complete. The interior is entirely new with re-contoured
leather seats, leather dash, wool carpeting, and leather-wrapped interior panels. Wheels
and cat-back exhaust are removed and replaced with n2a's custom-made components.
The n2a moniker stands for "no two alike," referring to n2a Motors' policy of building
unique vehicles for each customer. No two vehicles will be built with identical color
combinations, ensuring that each customer receives a unique car customized to his or her
tastes.
n2a Motors has reserved serial numbers 001,002, and 003 for ZR1-based Stingers.
Featuring the 638-hp LS9 engine, the ZR1 is the fastest and most powerful Corvette ever
produced. Stingers built on the ZR1 platform rocket from 0-60 in 3.4 seconds with a top
speed of 205+ mph. Serial numbers 004-010 are reserved for Z06-based Stingers, which
are 505 hp with a 0-60 time of just 3.7 seconds. n2a Motors is accepting deposits to
reserve a serial number and a place in the production order. Production is expected to
commence October 1st
.The Stinger is n2a's third model, following the successful 789 and Anteros models that
debuted in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Both are built on the C6 Corvette platform and
utilize carbon-composite bodies, a carry-over from n2a's background in stealth
technology prototyping for military contractors.