GoKawiilChevrolet provided flights from Albany, New York, to Las Vegas, Nevada, and accommodation so Ars could check out the new Grand Sport. Ars does not accept paid editorial content.
Chevrolet has developed something of a modern tradition with recent generations of the Corvette: As a new generation approaches, the company rolls out the Grand Sport. It’s intended to be a sort of “sweet spot” version of the ‘Vette, pairing the go-fast bits of the higher-spec machines with the entry-level motor found in the Stingray.
If that pattern holds, the mid-engined, eighth-generation Corvette may be nearing the end—because this is the new Grand Sport. This one, though, is different. It comes with an all-new V8 at its heart, one with substantially more power and torque than the current base Stingray. If that’s not enough, you can also get it with the ZR1X’s electric motor and battery. That model is called the Grand Sport X, and it’s the effective replacement for the first all-wheel-drive hybrid Corvette.
Yes, the E-Ray is dead, three years after Chevrolet raised eyebrows by putting a hybrid system where many said it didn’t belong. But you can’t argue with that system’s all-weather capability. It lives on in the new Grand Sport X, which pairs a 186-horsepower (139 kW) electric motor on the front axle with a new V8 at the rear.
Credit: Tim Stevens Carbon ceramic brakes are an option, as is a front axle hybrid system. Carbon ceramic brakes are an option, as is a front axle hybrid system. Credit: Tim Stevens
New V8
The engine is called the LS6, and it’s a massive upgrade over the LT2 that powers the current base Stingrays. We’ll start with the most important numbers: 535 hp (399 kW) and 520 lb-ft of torque (705 Nm), coming from a 6.7 L V8. That’s 40 hp (30 kW) and 50 lb-ft (68 Nm) more power than the LT2, so much that Chevrolet says it’s the most torquey naturally aspirated production V8 on the planet.