1996 Grand Sport Corvettes
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1996 Grand Sport Corvette
11" x 17" Color Giclee Print
(As seem in the November 2010 issue of VETTE Magazine)

Giclee prints (pronounced "gee-clay") are high-quality prints made on heavy Somerset watercolor paper with museum-quality inks. The prints look as if they are original works of art produced on watercolor paper and are available on the four sizes listed below.

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1982 Collector Edition Corvette 11 x 17 Color Laser Print	1978 - 2011 Special Edition Corvettes Montage 11x17 Color Laser Print
$24.95 + $4.95 S&H	$24.95 + $4.95 S&H
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 100 1996 Grand Sport Corvette 11x17 Parchment Paper Print To read the story, CLICK HERE.	Illustrated Corvette Series II - No. 100 1996 Grand Sport Corvette 11x17 Parchment Paper Print
$24.95 + $4.95 S&H	$19.95 + $4.95 S&H
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 161 Special Edition Corvettes Pt. 1 1978 to 1996 Color Laser Print	Illustrated Corvette Series No. 162 Special Edition Corvettes Pt. 2 1978 to 1996 Color Laser Print
$24.95 + $4.95 S&H	$24.95 + $4.95 S&H

Here's the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 100 - 1996 Grand Sport Corvette
"Finally, A Production Grand Sport"

The new C5 Corvette was behind schedule, but that didn't stop Dave Hill and his crew from dishing up the stunning '96 Grand Sport option. The 1963 Grand Sport was arguably the ultimate "could have been great" Corvette. And while the '96 Grand Sport option was a long way from the 2,000-pound 1963 road racer, it was "official" and available to the public.

There were three hot-ticket options for the '96 Corvette. As an interim step for the C5 model, there was the new LT4 engine that was available on all manual transmission Corvettes. This 330-horsepower option put the '96 Corvette in the 13.5-second quarter-mile range. Then there was the Collector's Edition with its Sebring Silver paint and ZR-1-style 17-inch wheels. And for the historic racing crowd, there was the Grand Sport option.

In 1963, then Chief Engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov, built five, 2,000-pound Corvette replica race cars to battle Carroll Shelby's 298 Cobras. When the GM brass found out about Duntov's back door racing program, the axe fell and the five Grand Sports were thankfully sold and not put into the crusher.

In the late '80s Corvette racer and engineer Dick Guldstrand built modified Corvettes that he called "Grand Sport 80," followed by his stunning "GS90 Corvette" in the mid-'90s. But for some odd reason, Chevrolet stayed away from using the Grand Sport tag until 1996.

The Grand Sport option was available on the coupe for $$3,250 and on the roadster for $2,880. Included with the Grand Sport option was the $1,450 optional LT4 engine with 330-horsepower. The most noticeable features were the Admiral Blue paint and bold white stripe that ran over the hood, top, and tail, and the blacked-out ZR-1 5-spoke wheels that wore Goodyear P255/45ZR17 tires in the front and P315/35ZR17 tires in the rear. Rather than use the ZR-1's wide rear body parts, the rear tires were covered with fender flares designed for Japanese export Corvettes. The roadsters all had smaller tires and no rear fender flares. The interior could be either all black, or red and black with unbraided "Grand Sport" trim. Other GS details included black brake calibers with raised Corvette lettering and special serial number sequences, similar to the ZR-1. Red hash marks were added to the driver's side front fender as a salute to the racing '63 Grand Sports.

The new LT4 engine also saluted the Grand Sport with a bright red throttle body with "Grand Sport" lettering. All of the other Corvette performance options were available with the Grand Sport.

A loaded Grand Sport coupe cost nearly $45,000 and a roadster went for over $53,000. To insure exclusivity, only 1,000 Grand Sports were built - 810 coupes and 190 roadsters. The Grand Sport option was part of the 3-part swan song for the C4 Corvette. Duntov would have been very happy. - K. Scott Teeters