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The pictures above are said to be spy photos of the new 600 - 650
horsepower 2008 - 2009 Chevrolet Corvette, possibly called the Blue
Devil, or Z07, or the new Stingray, or Corvette SS. The 6.2-liter V8 will
be built at GM's Performance Center in Wixom, Michigan, with annual
production numbers expected to be in the 1500 to 2000 range. Production on
the Supercharged Corvette, also known as the Blue Devil, will start in the
first quarter of 2008 (as a 2009 model). As for its exact name – well,
we’re hearing everything from Corvette SS, to Z07, from Blue Devil to
resurrecting the Stingray name!
If the thought of the new 500-hp Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang hedging in on
the 505-hp Corvette Z06's territory raises your blood pressure, don't
despair: Corvette chief engineer Tom Wallace has a 650-hp trick up his
sleeve. A new super Corvette will build on the Z06's 7.0-liter LS7 V-8
that was developed in sync with the Corvette C6.R Le Mans racer. For this
limited-production Corvette, which might be called the Z07, Chevy will
increase the LS7's displacement and bolt on a supercharger to bump output
by 145 hp. The Z07, due in 2008, will be further differentiated from the
Z06 by the use of more carbon-fiber body panels and a huge hood vent aimed
at killing front-end lift. In true Corvette style, Chevy will undercut
competitors by pricing the Z07 at about $100,000. This Corvette has been
known within GM as the Blue Devil, after the mascot of GM CEO Rick
Wagoner's alma mater, Duke, and also as the Sting Ray, but we think
they'll go with Z07, or maybe Z06.R
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