Monday, December 2, 2013

Mercedes-Benz SLK-55 AMG set to be launched in India


Iconic German manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz, is continuing its aggressive approach towards the Indian car market as the brand is planning to introduce yet another model. After the launch of C-Class Edition C, the company is reportedly bringing in SLK-55 AMG in India on 2nd December 2013. The differences between the regular model and SLK-55 AMG lie in appearance (both exterior and interior) and some technological features. Notably, engine configuration of both cars remains the same.

Touted as the sportier version of the regular SLK model, the AMG variant shall be powered by the naturally aspirated 5.5-litre V8 engine that develops almost 420 bhp of power alongside maximum torque of 540 Nm. With this massive engine, the car can power itself from 0 kmph to 100 kmph in just 4.6 seconds. However, top speed of SLK-55 AMG will be electronically restricted to around 250 kmph, sources have claimed. In terms of transmission, the engine will be mated to a AMG Speedshift 7G-Tronic Plus automatic gearbox. In order to cater the different moods of the driver, Mercedes-Benz has given three modes on the car, namely Controlled Efficiency, Sports and Manual. Some of the other mechanical tweaks include AMG sport suspension, performance oriented Torque Vectoring Brake and AMG Direct-Steer system.

Talking about exterior changes, Mercedes-Benz SLK-55 AMG gets restructured front and rear bumpers and side skirts. Furthermore, the company has also given a mesh grille and 18-inch AMG alloys with AMG sports exhaust. On the interiors, the car gets Nappa leather, aluminium and carbon fibre inserts.

Going by the European specification model, the SLK-55 AMG is almost 30 per cent more fuel efficient than last generation model. Apart from being fuel efficient, the SLK-55 AMG is quite low on emissions as it produces 195 g/km. According to trade analysts, Mercedes-Benz SLK-55 AMG would be offered in a ex-showroom price range of Rs. 1.3 crore to Rs. 1.4 crore.

The upcoming roadster of Mercedes-Benz shall be provided with a retractable hardtop, lower ground clearance and large air take system. Like other roadster models, SLK-55 AMG gets typical long front end with the seating for the passengers given close to the rear-axle.

Currently, the AMG line-up of cars include E-63, C-63, G-63 and SLS AMG coupe apart from the roadster model of the same. After the launch of SLK-55 AMG, the tally for these vehicles will further stretch to six. Once launched, SLK-55 AMG is expected to compete with cars like Porsche Cayman S, Jaguar F-Type and Audi R8.

AMG is a performance oriented division of Mercedes-Benz that is particularly known for tuning cars in order to derive more power and torque. Apart from mechanical changes, AMG also customises the exteriors and interiors of the car to give them a sporty look. The launch of SLK-55 AMG will be the third addition in performance division of Mercedes-Benz as it also introduced G63 Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) and E63 sedan earlier this year.

Tuesday, June 11, 2013



DETROIT (Bloomberg) -- It's a billion-dollar conundrum for an auto company: how to save money while introducing 18 new or refreshed vehicles in 12 months in the U.S.

If resurgent General Motors Co. is going to achieve CEO Dan Akerson's goal of continuing to increase profit this year and next -- and significantly ramp up margins -- that will have to be done. And the person in charge of doing a lot of it is Grace Lieblein, 52, in her new role as head of GM purchasing.

Lieblein has prepared for the job with top roles in Brazil and Mexico after doing engineering work in factories and introducing new models. Her background goes much farther back.
She grew up in the Los Angeles area, where her father, a Cuban immigrant, worked at a GM plant and cars were always part of her life.

"A car wasn't a commodity," she recalled in an interview. "There was passion around it."
While Lieblein never worked in purchasing before taking over the department, her experiences in other parts of the company give her contacts and insights that can help the group better bridge the needs of product development and manufacturing while saving money.

Her time in Brazil was instructive as she gained knowledge of auto-parts makers while the unit was beginning production of nine new models in 20 months. While there, she integrated purchasing and logistics with product development globally, said Jaime Ardila, president of GM South America.

Unprecedented cooperation
"I have never seen those two areas working more closely together than I did during her tenure," he said in a telephone interview. "That will have prepared her well and I think she will make a significant contribution in integrating those teams in the U.S."

Lieblein, who started the new role late last year, aims to cut material and logistics costs while helping GM introduce new vehicles that should help boost profit and market share this year and next. GM wants to save $1 billion by optimizing material costs and better logistics, Chuck Stevens, chief financial officer for North America, has said.

Heading GM's Brazil operations is one of the few positions within the company were an executive oversees manufacturing facilities in a large market while also dealing with product engineering and development, gaining insight into both ends of supplier involvement, Warren Browne, a former GM executive in Brazil, said May 30 in a telephone interview.

'Global look'
"Brazil is a big, autonomous organization where leaders can perform," Browne said. "It's really the manufacturing and engineering that allows for that overall global look at how suppliers are required to deliver products to a company that's self-sufficient and produces."

Akerson is counting on the new products being introduced, including a redesigned Chevrolet Silverado pickup and Cadillac CTS sedan, to help the company build on its success this year.
GM has reported 13 straight profitable quarters, returned to the Standard & Poor's 500 Index and it has gained 0.2 points of U.S. market share after falling to an 88-year low last year. At the end of last week, the shares closed at the highest level in more than two years.

GM expects 2013 and 2014 to be "good years," Akerson told reporters in January.
Lieblein inherited a challenging situation in Brazil when she arrived after a previous assignment running GM's operations in Mexico. GM's Brazil market share fell in 2011 and the automaker's South American operations lost $122 million before taxes as the company's product lineup grew stale against aggressive competitors.

Building relationships
"Basically everything has changed except one model down there and they're going through a similar process" in the U.S., Guido Vildozo, an industry analyst with IHS Automotive, said last month in a telephone interview. "Her exposure to all of these different challenges down in Sao Paulo and in Brazil are key to helping her build her relationships with suppliers moving forward."

Lieblein has been with GM for more than 30 years, taking her on a career path that began as a student with what was once known as General Motors Institute, now Kettering University, in Flint, Mich., to running a purchasing department with 5,100 employees and 3,000 direct suppliers.

Her early assignments with GM weren't glamorous. She started out beginning an ergonomics program in assembly plants in Lansing.

SUV engineer
She made her mark as the chief engineer on the SUV program that included the GMC Acadia and Buick Enclave, which went on sale in 2007.

That job helped her better understand what customers are looking for in vehicles and prepared her for a sales role in Mexico and Brazil, she said.

"It was an engineering role, but you were the integrating body," she said.
She took over Mexico operations in January 2009 a few months before GM went through its bankruptcy reorganization in the U.S., an experience that taught her to focus on what drives profit. She spent 2 1/2 years in Mexico before heading to Brazil.

"Brazil prepared her very well for her new assignment," Ardila said earlier this year. "This is a very complex environment where she was involved in negotiations all of the time on the labor front, with suppliers, with dealers, with the government."

Daunting assignment
The nine new vehicles in Brazil that she introduced included the Chevrolet Cruze sedan, S-10 pickup and Onix compact car.

"When I got there and I looked at that schedule, I thought, 'Oh, there's no way we're going to be able to do this,'" she said. "But we did."

It wasn't without challenges. The first new model, the Chevrolet Cobalt, was delayed six to eight weeks, she said.

"The whole enterprise wasn't ready to move," she said.
"That's one of things that kept me up at night: being able to launch with quality and on time. After that we really looked at how we were launching the vehicles. We asked for help where we needed it. We've got this great global company and one of the things I made sure was that we were using it."

While Lieblein ran Brazil, GM made a push to supply more of its parts closer to its plants, Vildozo said.
"Localization was a key element to the work that they were doing, trying to bring everything close to home," he said.

"I'm wondering if perhaps this is something that they're going to try to push aggressively" elsewhere.

Higher margins
Lieblein is working with Mary Barra, head of GM's product development, to carry out Akerson's goal of making GM the world's most profitable automaker.

GM's North American profit margins have averaged 7.4 percent during the past three years and the company aims to reach 10 percent by mid-decade.

To do so while increasing spending on new models, the company has announced an effort to cut fixed costs in North America by $1 billion through a slew of back-office efforts and streamlining manufacturing. Stevens, the North America finance chief, has said GM can do better with material costs and logistics.

"We just do not get enough economies of scale and leverage off our global business model," he said March 27.

Purchasing history
This isn't the first time GM has looked to revamping its purchasing operations. When it was still General Motors Corp., the automaker brought Jose Ignacio Lopez de Arriortua from its European operations in 1992 to be its worldwide purchasing chief.

Lopez alienated some suppliers by rewriting contracts and extracting cost savings.
Lopez was set to be promoted in 1993, but instead left for an executive post at Volkswagen AG. VW agreed in 1997 to buy $1 billion of GM parts over seven years and pay $100 million to settle lawsuits related to Lopez's departure from GM. Lopez resigned from VW in late 1996.

This time, GM has started bringing suppliers into program development to "get the best ideas, the best solutions," Stevens said. "We still have a huge opportunity to optimize our supplier footprint."
While those are goals Lieblein is reaching for, in the immediate future, she's working with the company as it starts bringing out the Silverado pickup to dealers this quarter.

Lieblein has had retired GM engineers, with years of experience in bringing out new products, working with suppliers to help navigate and troubleshoot any problems that might arise during the pickup launch.
"There are always challenges in launches," Lieblein said.

"A flawless launch doesn't mean that stuff isn't going to happen. A flawless launch is how the team reacts to that."

Volvo Car Group is now starting production of the first engine variants in the new, high-efficiency four-cylinder engine family. The development and production take place in-house at Volvo Car Group and form a vital part of the company's strategy for independence.

The strategy of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines and driveline electrification is the path that Volvo Cars has chosen for the future. With total control over the development and production of engines and drivelines and by reducing the number of engine variants, the result is increased flexibility.

"This marks a milestone in Volvo Cars' history. With our new engine family we are focusing on two additional vital properties - driving pleasure and fuel efficiency," says Derek Crabb, Vice President Powertrain Engineering.

Modern production plant with efficient assembly

In Volvo Car Group's engine plant in Skövde, preparations for the production start of the new Volvo Engine Architecture (VEA) engines have been under way for about two years. One of the highlights is a brand-new, state-of-the-art addition to the plant for assembly of the new engines. All versions are built on the same line, which runs through the new part of the plant and makes for very efficient production.

"One of the biggest challenges was the remodelling of the line for cylinder block processing. 30 machining cells were replaced or converted at a cost of about half a billion kronor," says Oskar Falk, Vice President Global Engine Production.

Billions invested in a competitive engine family

Development and investment in the new engine family is part of a comprehensive expansion plan at Volvo Cars. About two billion kronor was invested in the Skövde plant. This secures operations there and a large number of jobs for a long time to come. The investment is the most important in the engine plant's history.

Developed at Volvo Cars

The new VEA engines were developed by a Swedish team of engineers. The new, smaller engines are optimised and deliver higher performance than today's six-cylinder units, while offering lower fuel consumption than the current generation of four-cylinder units.

"During the development of VEA, the starting point was our customers and what we wanted to offer them in regard to good fuel economy, low environmental impact and immense driving pleasure at an attractive price. At the same time, however, it's also about the fact that Volvo Cars gets a sound basis for developing future-generation technologies featuring fuel economy of absolute world class," says Derek Crabb.

Launched this autumn

VEA consists of four-cylinder petrol and diesel engines. Together with driveline electrification, VEA replaces the previous eight engine architectures on three different platforms. The new engines will be introduced between 2013 and 2015. Almost 20,000 engines will be produced in 2013, and by the end of the year the production pace will be 2000 units a week. The first variants will be fitted to the Volvo S60, V60, XC60, V70, XC70 and S80 in autumn 2013.


Volvo Car UK Limited
Press Office
Scandinavia House
Norreys Drive
SL6 4FJ
United Kingdom
Phone: 01628 422200
media.volvocars.co.uk

Top 10 most expensive cars in the world

We are bringing you the list of 10 most expensive cars in the world. At the top of the list is of course the legendary Bugatti Veyron, most expensive, most powerful, and fastest production car in the world.

Bugatti Veyron $1,700,000

The Bugatti Veyron 16.4 is the most powerful, most expensive, and fastest street-legal production car in the world, with a proven top speed of over 400 km/h (407 km/h or 253 mph). It reached full production in September 2005. The car is built by Volkswagen AG subsidiary Bugatti Automobiles SAS and is sold under the legendary Bugatti marque. It is named after racing driver Pierre Veyron, who won the 24 hours of Le Mans in 1939 while racing for the original Bugatti firm. The Veyron features a W16 engine—16 cylinders in 4 banks of 4 cylinders.


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According to Volkswagen, the final production Veyron engine produces between 1020 and 1040 metric hp (1006 to 1026 SAE net hp), so the car will be advertised as producing "1001 horsepower" in both the US and European markets. This easily makes it the most powerful production road-car engine in history.

Ferrari Enzo $1,000,000



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The Enzo Ferrari, sometimes referred to as the the Ferrari Enzo and also F60 is a 12-cylinder Ferrari supercar named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was built in 2003 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fiber body, F1-style sequential shift transmission, and carbon-ceramic brake discs. Also used are technologies not allowed in F1 such as active aerodynamics. After a maximum downforce of 1709 pounds (775 kg) is reached at 186 mph (301 km/h) the rear spoiler is actuated by computer to maintain that downforce.

Pagani Zonda C12 F $741,000



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The Zonda C12 F debuted at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It is the most extensive reengineering of the Pagani car yet, though it shares much with its predecessors including the 7.3 L V12. Power is increased to 602 PS (443 kW/594 hp) with a special clubsport model producing 650 PS (478 kW/641 hp). The company promises a 3.2 second sprint to 60 mph (97 km/h, a top speed over 374 km/h (225 mph) and it will be the queen in braking from 300 km/h to 0 (186 mph to 0). The Zonda F clubsport has a power to weight ratio of 521 bhp/ton (384 W/kg) . Compare, for example, the Enzo Ferrari which has a power to weight ratio of 483 bhp/ton (356 W/kg).

Koenigsegg CCX $600,910



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The Koenigsegg CCX is the latest supercar from Koenigsegg. CCX is an abbreviation for Competition Coupe X. The X commemorates the 10th anniversary of the completion and test drive of the first CC vehicle in 1996. The CCX is intended to be more suitable for the U.S. market and thus engineered to comply with US regulations. The CCX is powered by a Koenigsegg designed and assembled, all aluminium, 4700 cm³ DOHC 32-valve V8 based on the Ford Modular engine architecture enhanced with twin Rotrex centrifugal superchargers with response system, 1.2 bar boost pressure and an 8.2:1 compression ratio. The engine produces 806 hp (601 kW) and 678 lbf.ft (920 Nm) on 91 octane (U.S. rating) gasoline, 850 hp (634 kW) on 96 octane (Euro rating) gasoline and 900 hp (671 kW) on biofuel.

Porsche Carrera GT $484,000



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The Porsche Carrera GT is a supercar, manufactured by Porsche of Germany. The Carrera GT is powered by an all-new 5.7 litre V10 engine producing 612 SAE horsepower (450 kW). Porsche claims it will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62.5 mph) in 3.9 seconds and has a maximum speed of 330 km/h (206 mph), although road tests indicated that in actuality the car could accelerate from 0-60 in under 3.5 seconds and to 0-100 in 6.8 seconds and has a top speed of 335-340km/h (209-212.5mph).

Mercedes SLR McLaren $455,500



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The Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren is a sports car and supercar automobile co-developed by DaimlerChrysler and McLaren Cars. It is assembled at the McLaren Technology Centre in Woking, England. Most people presume "SLR" to stand for "Sportlich, Leicht, Rennsport" (German for "Sport; Light; Racing"). The car's base price is £300,000 or $455,500. The SLR has a supercharged 5.5 (5439cc) litre dry sumped 90 degree V8. It produces 466.8 kW at 6500rpm (626 hp) and 780 N·m (575 ft·lbf) torque at 3250 - 5000 rpm.

Maybach 62 $385,250



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The Maybach 57 and 62 were the first automobile models of the Maybach brand since the brand's revival by DaimlerChrysler. They are derived from the Mercedes-Benz Maybach concept car presented at the 1997 Tokyo Motorshow (which was based on the Mercedes-Benz S-Class sedan). DaimlerChrysler attempted to buy the Rolls-Royce/Bentley marque when Vickers offered the company up for sale. When this attempt failed (they were outbid by BMW and Volkswagen respectively) they introduced the Maybach as a direct challenger in 2002. Both models are variants of the same ultra-luxurious automobile. The model numbers reflect the respective lengths of the automobiles in decimetres; the 57 is more likely to be owner-driven while the longer 62 is designed with a chauffeur in mind. The engine is a Mercedes-sourced 5.5-liter twin-turbo V12, generating 550 hp.

Rolls-Royce Phantom $320,000



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The Rolls-Royce Phantom is a luxury saloon automobile made by Rolls-Royce Motor Cars, a BMW subsidiary. It was launched in 2003 and is the first Rolls-Royce model made under the ownership of BMW. It has a 6.8 L, 48-valve, V12 engine that produces 453 hp (338 kW) and 531 ft·lbf (720 N·m) of torque. The engine is derived from BMW's existing V12 powerplant. It is 1.63 m (63 in) tall, 1.99 m (74.8 in) wide, 5.83 m (228 in) long, and weighs 2485 kg (5478 lb). The body of the car is built on an aluminium spaceframe and the Phantom can accelerate to 60 mph (100 km/h) in 5.7 s.

Lamborghini Murcielago $279,900



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The Lamborghini Murciélago is a GT and supercar automobile made by Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. and designed by Luc Donckerwolke. It was introduced in 2002 as the successor to the Diablo. The body style is a two door, two seat coupé. The LP640 version was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in March of 2006. It features a 6.5 L engine, now producing 640 bhp, improving performance substantially. There were also a few minor external changes, primarily to the low air intakes.

Aston Martin Vanquish $255,000



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The Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is a supercar manufactured by Aston Martin since 2001. It rose to fame after being featured as the official James Bond car in Die Another Day, the twentieth James Bond film. In the film, the Vanquish has the usual Bond film embellishments, including active camouflage which rendered the vehicle virtually invisible. The Vanquish is powered by a 5.9 L (5935 cc) 48-valve 60° V12 engine, which produces 343 kW (460 hp) and 542 N·m (400 ft·lbf) of torque. It is controlled by a fly-by-wire throttle and a 6 speed 'paddle shift' or semi-automatic transmission. A special V12 Vanquish S debuted at the 2004 Paris Auto Show with the power upped to 388 kW (520 hp) and 577 N·m (426 ft·lbf).

Monday, April 29, 2013



Manufacturers around the planet have been eliminating their V-8 diesel programs in the face of the global financial crisis. Both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have retired all of their eight-cylinder oil-burners for passenger vehicles, claiming the need to cut costs. But there are seemingly two heady allies championing the comeback of the compression-ignition V-8, two men we often see as direct adversaries: the Volkswagen Group’s all-powerful Ferdinand Piëch and the Fiat Group’s CEO Sergio Marchionne.
Piëch has forever been a huge fan of big diesels, so the chortling engines with frightening amounts of torque, be they V-8 or V-12—there was a V-10 TDI, but only very briefly—have not gone away completely. Only Piëch’s bunch and Ford (thanks to the ongoing post-alliance tech agreements with Land Rover’s vehement diesel customers) currently are building and selling such mills for public—and non-heavy-duty pickup—consumption. It has been reported, in fact, that the 382-hp Porsche Cayenne S diesel has one of the longest waiting lists for customers within the 11-brand VW Group.
Sources on the ground in Italy now are telling us that the Fiat Group is hard at work to take advantage of this void in the marketplace with an all-new V-8 turbo-diesel planned for worldwide use. The main reason for the development of this mill seems to be the bugaboo that frustrates budget types and product planners to no end: overwhelming customer demand. What a pain, right?
The ultimate green light here depends on one variable, however, that has yet to be determined. Namely, will the new 275-hp twin-turbo V-6 diesel debuting in the Maserati Ghibli satisfy enough of the pent-up big-diesel demand? If not, it won’t be long until we see a direct-injected 4.0-liter V-8 turbo-diesel. It’s understood that this monster mill, which is aching to be dropped in a mule as we speak, will produce 360 horsepower and 460 lb-ft of torque.
Not only is this simmering project aimed at fully establishing the Fiat Group as a provider of state-of-the-art, efficient powerplants suitable for luxury cruising, but with the latest developments in Fiat’s Multijet clean-diesel technologies, a huge feather in the company’s cap regarding cleaner and reduced emissions. We’re hearing that the Italians are aiming for a 30-mpg combined number when tested on the EPA cycles.


Nissan announced that the 2014 Versa sedan will start at $12,780, noting that makes the model the lowest-priced car in America for the third straight year. That’s a nice thing to tout in ads but not generally a good sign for the car itself, and brings to mind a fortune cookie we once read: “Confucius says: Good food not cheap; cheap food not good.” On the plus side, the pricing is unchanged from last year even though the 2014 model will receive some (admittedly unexciting) enhancements.
There are four trims available, all offering a 109-hp, 1.6-liter four-cylinder good for up to 40 mpgwhen paired with the continuously variable transmission (CVT). All 2014 Versas receive tweaks to the suspension and steering as well as updated interior finishers. Pricing for each model is as follows:
S: $12,780; offers a five-speed manual transmission (a four-speed automatic costs $1000), air conditioning, six-way manual adjust for driver’s seat, AM/FM/CD with two speakers, 15-inch steel wheels; a tachometer and low-rolling-resistance tires are added for 2014.
S Plus: $14,580; includes the CVT and adds a four-speaker audio system, tilt steering, cruise control, and a rear roof spoiler.
SV: $16,030; features the CVT, power doors and windows, auxiliary input for audio system, remote keyless entry, steering-wheel-mounted cruise controls, a trip computer, and upgraded cloth interior. For 2014, the SV adds a trunk release to the key fob and a 60/40-split rear seat. Also receives improved seat bottom cushions with better foam density for improved seat quality.
SL: $17,680; includes the CVT, satellite-radio capability and iPod input for audio system, Bluetooth, and push-button start. For 2014, SL models now include 16-inch aluminum wheels, a 4.3-inch display for the audio system, and a new headliner.
Despite the comfort of a new-car warranty and the new-car smell, there remains little to recommend the Versa over any other competitor—the Honda Fit, Ford Fiesta, and Chevy Sonic are all good small cars—or even a used car with a year or two of depreciation under its belt. We suppose if all you want is a bargain on a new car, then the Versa is the best choice. But price and value don’t always correlate, and the Versa might be the best example of that axiom.


Fourteen-hundred clams. Big ones. Greenbacks. That’s how many dollars sit between the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray coupe and Stingray convertible’s base prices relative to the outgoing models’ prices of entry. Chevy has finally announced complete pricing for the totally redesigned, seventh-generation Corvette coupe and convertible, and it’s nearly shocking how little of an increase there is between the new and last year’s prices. The Stingray hardtop starts at $51,995 and the droptop’s point of entry is $56,995. 
Based on features alone, the 2014 Vette comes with far more standard content than the 2013 car—stuff that makes its $1400 price increase seem like a screaming deal. There’s a new seven-speed manual transmission with active rev matching, carbon-fiber hood and roof panel (on coupes), an all-aluminum frame (previously limited to the high-performance Corvette Z06 model), LED headlight accents, dual reconfigurable eight-inch driver and center-stack displays, a Bose nine-speaker audio system, and a power tilting and telescoping steering column. Not to mention the all-new 6.2-liter small-block engine, which gets direct injection and active cylinder deactivation—final power figures are forthcoming, but expect around 450 horsepower—20 more than last year’s base Vette engine. Chevy claims that, with the high-performance Z51 package, the 2014 Stingray can sprint from 0–60 mph in fewer than 4 seconds and be capable of 1-g cornering.
As we discovered when a 2014 Corvette dealer order guide leaked onto the internet, there will be no shortage of options for America’s sports car. Of greatest interest to us, of course, is the Z51 Performance package, which rings in at $2800 and adds an electronically controlled limited-slip diff; tighter gear spacing with the manual gearbox; dry-sump engine lubrication; additional cooling for the brakes, differential, and gearbox; bigger brakes; upsized wheels and tires, and aerodynamic tweaks. The Z51 Package unlocks the option for GM’s Magnetic Ride Control and performance traction-management system for another $1795. For the lithe and narrow among us, we’d also spring for the deliciously bolstered $2495 competition seats. And for hearing the small-block V-8′s full song and dance, the $1195 dual-mode exhaust setup is a must.
Those seeking additional vanity can indulge in the $1995 unpainted roof panel (for coupes) with its carbon-fiber weave on full display, as well as $595 red-painted brake calipers, $495 black-painted wheels, and $995 carbon-fiber interior trim package. We’ve already noted how much of an improvement the 2014 Corvette’s interior look and feel is over the last-gen car’s cabin, but Chevy is offering several ways to up the ante. There is the 3LT interior package, which for $8005 wraps the entirety of the interior (dash, doors, seats, instrument panel) in Nappa leather, adds a 10-speaker Bose audio system, color head-up display, navigation, heated and ventilated seats, and power seat lumbar and bolster adjustment. Buyers who spec the 3LT kit also can have the upper portions of the interior wrapped in sueded microfiber for an additional $995.
For those keeping count, a 2014 Corvette coupe with all the options outlined here lists for $73,360; equally equipped, the convertible is $78,360. You don’t need us to tell you that, in the perennial Corvette vs. Porsche 911 blood rivalry, that the Chevy still has the 911 beat on price. Fully loaded, the Vette coupe is still about $10,000 less expensive than a base 911 Carrera. Now comes the fun part of seeing how the Stingray matches up against the 911 on the road—again.

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