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It’s putting down about 450 horsepower at the wheels.
When someone mentions an electric Lotus, the first thing that comes to mind is the Tesla Roadster, the California-based automaker’s first vehicle. That car started life as an Elise before being heavily massaged and adapted by Tesla’s engineers. In a similar spirit, the people at Onpoint Dyno are close to finishing Blue Lightning, a track-ready all-electric Lotus Evora.
Blue Lightning uses a Tesla drive unit and a Chevrolet Volt battery pack, both mounted in the middle in place of the Evora’s 3.5-liter Toyota V6. It’s putting down about 450 horsepower at the wheels. The car was built for time attack sessions, so power is fed through custom forged wheels and super sticky Pirelli PZero Trofeo R tires, the same ones found on the last Chevrolet Camaro Z/28. There is a custom digital instrument cluster in place of the Lotus gauges. There’s also a regen paddle on the left side of the steering wheel. With a full charge, Blue Lighting should go about 120 miles.
While the car runs under its own power, it’s only about 90 percent complete. It has no power steering, no firewall in between the seats and the motor and battery pack, no A/C, and a large hole where the shift lever used to be. Other final touches include fine-tuning the brakes and suspension. There is also a custom rear bumper coming that should make it look more like the new Lotus Evora 400. Onpoint Dyno expects the car to hit the track in the next month or so.
Looking for your own Chevrolet power? Visit Ron Westphal Chevrolet in beautiful Aurora, IL or call our Customer Care Team now at 630-898-9630. Of course, you can always visit us or chat with us online!
The Indianapolis 500, a race where drivers determine who will drink a bottle of milk immediately after winning, has a shiny new pace car for its 101st iteration.
General Motors continues its ridiculous 21-year domination of providing Indy 500 pace cars with the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport. The Grand Sport is, essentially, a Z06 without the supercharged V8. While it carries much of the ancillary equipment as the most powerful Corvette, it relies on the base model’s LT1 V8.
A Corvette Grand Sport will lead the 101st running of America’s favorite milk-chugging contest.
Still, 460 horsepower is nothing to sneeze at. We had a Corvette Grand Sport at the track last year, and we called it the best of both worlds, offering excellent performance at a price that isn’t outright offensive. It won’t out-race the cars participating in the Indy 500, but nobody would expect the pace car to do that.
This is the 14th Corvette to pick up pace car duties at Indy, and it’s the 28th Chevrolet to do so. General Motors has a rich history of Indy 500 pace cars, including an Oldsmobile Bravada in 2001, a Pontiac Fiero in 1984 and a Cadillac Allante in 1992.
Overall, GM has supplied 52 different pace cars, not all of which are as middling as the ones I just mentioned. The driver of this year’s pace car has not yet been announced, but since the race takes place over Memorial Day weekend, it won’t be too long before we find out.
Chevrolet is on a tear in the IndyCar series. It’s already won five manufacturer championships in a row, with the 2016 season seeing a Chevrolet take the checkered flag in 14 of 16 races.
Looking for your own milk chugging inspiration? Visit our dealership in Aurora, IL or visit us online anytime!
Is there going to be a new corvette? Read this: http://westphalchevyblog.com/index.php/2017/05/04/is-gms-bowling-green-plant-retooling-for-a-new-chevrolet-corvette-motor-trend
Chevy’s marketing VP describes why General Motors is sticking with the Real People not Actors campaign.
Love them or hate them, Chevy’s “Real People, Not Actors” ads are not going anywhere — because the marketer is convinced they are working. And it’s hard to ignore the evidence. One of the spots, for the Chevy Malibu, recently won the first-ever Automotive Tech Ad of the Year award from Nielsen. Meanwhile, Chevy parent General Motors last week reported that its first quarter profit surged 34% thanks to strength in the North American market.
The more than two-year-old campaign by Commonwealth/McCann enters its next phase this week with a new ad (above) for the 2018 Equinox, which recently began arriving at dealerships. The brand has stuck with actor Potsch Boyd, who plays the moderator in the focus-group style ads.
Ad Age recently caught up with Chevrolet U.S. Marketing VP Paul Edwards and Commonwealth/McCann Chief Creative Officer Gary Pascoe to talk about the campaign, including how Chevy plans to keep it fresh; how the brand finds those “real” people; and the strategy behind an Hispanic version that uses the same approach but a different moderator, Sergio Bruna.
For more on Chevrolet advertising, click source.
For more on how to get a brand new Chevrolet, visit Ron Westphal Chevrolet in Aurora, IL.
Is Chevy looking to match Dodges nine second Dodge Demon or just build its performance catalog?
There has been a lot of buzz about how lightning fast the new Dodge Challenger SRT Demon is and for good reason. The Demon is capable of blasting through the quarter mile in just 9.65 seconds can hit 0 to 60 mph in just 2.1-2.3 seconds. However, that does not mean other manufacturers aren’t working hard to make fast drag cars.
Are you looking for your own fast car? Visit our showroom or online today!
Currently Camaro SS Drag Race Development Program, a branch of Chevrolet Performance, is working on taking the Camaro SS to the next level. Stock, the Camaro SS is equipped with a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V-8 that produces a healthy 455 horsepower. However, that isn’t enough power and technology to get a 10 second car.
In order to start locking down quarter mile times within the 10 second range, Camaro SS Drag Race Development Program needed to modify the popular muscle car. Although the new 8L90 automatic transmission has proven to be faster than even the best drag racers, you still need a heaping dose of power to get the needed times. Last year the program took the prop-shaft and half-shaft from the 6th generation ZL1 and added 250mm ring gear from the 5th generation ZL1 in hopes of improving the times. However, in order to added the needed additional horsepower, the program added Chevy’s header and camshaft package for the LT1 (6.2-liter V-8) engine as well as a new exhaust and cold air intake. This brought power up nearly 100 horsepower to 530 horsepower.
Even though the program has been quiet about drag times, modified LT1 Camaro was able to hit 600 horsepower and achieve a 10.685 quarter mile at 125.73 mph. Chevy plans to continue testing so they can produce more performance parts for Camaro SS drag enthusiasts as well as to build a faster car over all. Do you think they are looking to beat the Dodge Challenger SRT Demon?
Something’s fishy in Kentucky. According to Bowling Green Daily News, the Chevrolet Corvette production facility is suspending tours for a year and a half.
If you would like to tour our Corvettes, or any of our Chevy’s for that matter…feel free. Our gates never close and we are open weekdays from 7 am to 9 pm and 8 – 6 on Saturdays.
Larry Foyt says the team is still struggling to find the optimum setups for the Chevrolet aerokit following its late switch from Honda during the offseason.
Looking for your own race-car? We’ve got Corvettes, Camaros and more in stock and ready for immediate delivery. Visit our Chevy dealership in Aurora, IL or call us now at 630-898-9630.
It’s putting down about 450 horsepower at the wheels.
A Corvette Grand Sport will lead the 101st running of America’s favorite milk-chugging contest.
Chevy’s marketing VP describes why General Motors is sticking with the Real People not Actors campaign.
Is Chevy looking to match Dodges nine second Dodge Demon or just build its performance catalog?
The in-car data business is booming, and Chevrolet is stepping up to help meet demand with a new, prepaid $20 monthly unlimited data plan – the first.
Want a 2018 Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid? Check out our inventory online at www.WestphalChevy.com. or visit us in person!Something’s fishy in Kentucky. According to Bowling Green Daily News, the Chevrolet Corvette production facility is suspending tours for a year and a half.
