If you’ve been itching to replace that 2002 Chevrolet Camaro Z28 convertible sitting in the garage, I hate to break it to you, but the 2014 model probably isn’t for you.

Unlike its predecessor, which was a potent but fully outfitted sports car, the all-new Z/28 is a stripped-down, street-legal track machine that’s more in the spirit of the original 1967 racing homologation special than the coupes and convertibles that followed it. Chevy’s single-minded goal was to make it the fastest-ever Camaro around a track.

To that end, no drop-top is available; it comes from the factory without a carpeted trunk or air conditioning to cut weight; and the stereo isn’t really one because it has only a single speaker that’s there only because the feds require it to provide a door-open chime.

(Why Chevy included the audio head unit is more of a mystery, [...]

From the start, Tadge Juechter and his team designed the C7 Corvette with a no-compromises convertible in mind. The result of that forethought is a Corvette Z06 convertible that is almost as light as the Z06 coupe and just as powerful. Chevy introduced us to the car last night at a little event away from the bright lights of the New York auto show, and it’s pretty impressive.

Its supercharged 6.2 liter V-8 makes 625 hp and comes mated to either a 7-speed manual or 8-speed automatic. It’ll sprint to 60 in 3.5 seconds. It’s a real Z06 and yes, you can get it with the Z07 performance package.

Source Article from http://classiccarcollectornews.com/corvette-z06-convertible-debuts-in-new-york/

The mangled remains of a powerful Corvette — barely recognizable to its former owner — were pulled from the depths of a sinkhole at a Kentucky museum Wednesday, completing weeks of painstaking work to retrieve eight classic cars that were gobbled up by the gaping hole.

The 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette was buried in dirt and rocks, deep beneath the surface of the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. The mood was somber as the crumpled car, which boasted 700 horsepower thanks to performance enhancements, was pulled to the surface.

“It looks like a piece of tin foil,” said Kevin Helmintoller, of Land O’ Lakes, Fla., who donated the car to the museum last December. “I’m still glad I’m here, because I would have never believed it was this bad. I’m not positive I would have recognized it.”

Watch: Moment sinkhole swallows 8 Corvettes

At [...]

Bowling Green, KY (CNN) – All those cars that were swallowed up by the huge sinkhole that opened up inside the National Corvette Museum won’t be lost.

Eight cars in all went down when the sinkhole opened up last month. Museum officials have brought in heavy equipment to start removing the vehicles Monday. They hope to have three of the cars out by Wednesday, starting with those that are the easiest to get to.

Once all of the vehicles are out, they’ll repair the hole and then work on restoring the cars.

Source Article from http://classiccarcollectornews.com/national-corvette-museum-begins-pulling-cars-from-sinkhole/