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"     1996 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport       MANUFACTURER Chevrolet Motor Division 30007 Van Dyke Warren, Mich. 48090      PRICE      List price     $37,225       Price as tested     $45,390       Price as tested includes std equip. (dual airbags, ABS, air cond, cruise control, central locking; pwr windows and mirrors), Grand Sport pkg (Admiral blue paint w/white stripe, 17-in. wheels, P275/40ZR-17 front tires, P315/35ZR-17 rear tires, black floormats, pwr pass seat) $3250, LT4 330-bhp engine ($1450), Preferred Equip. Group 1 (auto. air cond, Delco/Bose AM/FM stereo/cassette, pwr driver seat) $1333, Z51 handling package ($350), luxury tax ($1217), dest charge ($565).      TEST CONDITIONS      Temperature     75\u00B0 F       Wind     calm       Humidity     na       Elevation     990 ft      ENGINE      Type     cast-iron block, aluminum head, V-8       Valvetrain     ohv 2 valve/cyl       Displacement     350 cu in./5733 cc       Bore x stroke     4.00 x 3.48 in./101.6 x 88.4 mm       Compression ratio     10.8:1       Horsepower (SAE)     330 bh; @ 5800 rpm       Bhp/liter     57.6       Torque     340 lb-ft @ 4500 rpm       Maximum engine speed     6300 rpm       Fuel injection     elect. sequential port       Fuel     prem unleaded, 91 pump oct      CHASSIS &amp;amp;amp; BODY      Layout     front engine/rear drive       Body/frame     fiberglass/steel uniframe       Brakes       Front     13.0-in. vented discs       Rear     12.0-in. vented discs       Assist type     vacuum; ABS       Total swept area     404 sq in.       Swept area/ton     229 sq in.       Wheels     cast alloy; 17 x 9-1/2 f, 17 x 11 r       Tires     Goodyear Eagle GS-C; P275/40ZR-17 f, P315/35ZR-17 r       Steering     rack &amp;amp;amp; pinion, power assist       Overall ratio     15.7:1       Turns, lock to lock     2.3       Turning circle     40.0 ft       Suspension       Front     upper &amp;amp;amp; lower A-arms, transverse composite monoleaf spring, tube shocks, anti-roll bar       Rear     5-link, transverse composite monoleaf spring, tube shocks, anti-roll bar      DRIVETRAIN      Transmission     6-sp manual       Gear     Ratio     Overall ratio     (Rpm) Mph       1st     2.64:1     9.11:1     (6300) 50       2nd     1.78:1     6.14:1     (6300) 75       3rd     1.30:1     4.48:1     (6300) 102       4th     1.00:1     3.45:1     (6300) 132       5th     0.74:1     2.55:1     est (5910) 165       6th     0.49:1     1.69:1     est (4400) 165       Final drive ratio     3.45:1       Engine rpm @ 60 mph in 6th     1600      GENERAL DATA      Curb weight     est 3350 lb       Test weight     est 3530 lb       Weight dist (with driver), f/r, %     est 50/50       Wheelbase     96.2 in.       Track, f/r     57.7 in./59.1 in.       Length     178.5 in.       Width     70.7 in.       Height     46.3 in.       Ground clearance     4.2 in.       Trunk space     11.6 cu ft      MAINTENANCE      Oil/filter change     7500 mi/7500 mi       Tuneup     100,000 mi       Basic warranty     36 mo/36,000 mi      ACCOMMODATIONS      Seating capacity     2       Head room     36.0 in.       Seat width     2 x 19.0 in.       Leg room     42.5 in.       Seatback adjustment     36 deg       Seat travel     6.5 in.      INTERIOR NOISE      Idle in neutral     56 dBA       Maximum in 1st gear     83dBA       Constant 50 mph     71 dBA       70 mph     76 dBA      INSTRUMENTATION      999-mph speedometer, 8000-rpm tach, fuel level, oil press., oil temp, coolant temp, volts      ACCELERATION      Time to speed     Seconds       0-30 mph     2.2       0-40 mph     3.0       0-50 mph     4.0       0-60 mph     5.2       0-70 mph     6.6       0-80 mph     8.3       0-90 mph     10.2       0-100 mph     12.4       Time to distance       0-100 ft     3.1       0-500 ft     7.6       0-1320 ft (1/4 mi):     13.7 @ 105.1 mph      FUEL ECONOMY      Normal driving     15.9 mpg       EPA city/highway     17/25 mpg       Cruise range     300 miles       Fuel capacity     20.0 gal.      BRAKING      Minimum stopping distance       From 60 mph     121 ft       From 80 mph     218 ft       Control     excellent       Pedal effort for 0.5g stop     15 lb       Fade, effort after six 0.5g stops from 60 mph     17 lb       Brake feel     excellent       Overall brake rating     excellent      HANDLING      Lateral accel (200-ft skidpad)     0.88g       Balance     mild understeer       Speed thru 700-ft slalom     62.6 mph       Balance     mild understeer       Lateral seat support     excellent       Subjective ratings consist of excellent, very good, good, average, poor; na means information is not available.       To an SCCAA Production competitor in the early Sixties, there was no sight more intimidating than a rearview mirrorful of a hulking, blue-and-white Grand Sport Corvette. Make that a Grand Sport slithering sideways at Nassau or Bridgehampton, matching your cornering speed for a moment, then rocketing past as its rear Goodyear bias-plies bite hard enough to vault the front suspension to full droop -- assisted no doubt by nearly 500 lb.-ft. of torque from its thumping, thundering 377-cu.-in. V-8. And make that a Grand Sport guided by the competition-calloused hands and race-hardened nervous systems of such legends as Augie Pabst, A.J. Foyt, Roger Penske or Jim Hall, just to put the finishing brush strokes on a competitor&amp;#039;s total picture of terror.   Read all about the glory and bravado of the big-bore Grand Sport race cars in this month&amp;#039;s Salon. But for the here and now, behold the 1996 , the first production Corvette to bear this revered designation. The 1996 car matches the originals more in spirit than specification -- no 2000-lb. curb weight, lightweight 3-layer fiberglass bodywork, plexiglass windows, external oil radiators or slots in the rear-quarter panels to keep the differential cool -- but the look is right.   It begins with a lustrous coating of Admiral Blue paint set off with a broad white stripe up the center of the car (a stripe that has caused much concern; it seems the subtle curves of the hood made its perfectly straight application difficult). And while the ZR-1 is no longer in production, its wheel/tire sizes live on with the Grand Sport coupe -- 275/40ZR-17s on 9-1/2-in.-wide alloys in front and 315/35ZR-17s on 11-inchers in back (though convertible Grand Sports get narrower rims and rubber). The massive rears, looking for all the world like treaded 55-gallon oil drums from behind the car, fill out the wheel wells...and then some, necessitating small flares on the upper arches of the wheel openings. While esthetically questionable, at least they&amp;#039;re historically accurate, as the Grand Sport race cars wore cobbled-up flares to cover wider tires as they evolved. Completing the look are chrome hood and rear-deck Corvette emblems, two red hash marks on the left front fender (an ode to how Dick Guldstrand&amp;#039;s car appeared at Sebring in 1966), and black brake calipers with embossed silver CORVETTE lettering.   Lofty horsepower numbers were a large part of the Grand Sport mystique then and, I&amp;#039;m happy to report, now. Standard in the 1996 car and optional in other new Corvettes is the LT4, a 330-bhp version of the 350-cu.-in. LT1 V-8. Ask a Chevrolet engineer how 30 additional bhp and 5 extra lb.-ft. of torque were squeezed from the venerable pushrod small-block, and he&amp;#039;d respond, &amp;quot;Better-breathing aluminum heads, more aggressive camshaft timing, increased compression (from 10.4:1 to 10.8) and larger-diameter valves.&amp;quot; And those same valves are lighter (hollow stems) and kept away from the pistons by stronger springs, raising the LT4&amp;#039;s redline to 6300 rpm.   The changes are felt underfoot (throttle foot, that is) as the LT4 pulls strongly to redline, a far cry from the mid-Eighties&amp;#039; L98 Vettes that were left gasping for an upshift at 4200 rpm. Though the LT4&amp;#039;s horsepower and torque peaks are bumped up the rev scale slightly (to 5800 and 4500 rpm, respectively, increases of 800 and 500 rpm), the LT1 had so much grunt down low that the shift only extends and smooths out the powerband. Our test equipment&amp;#039;s readout reflects the extra power; 0-60 and quarter-mile times are shaved measurably to 5.2 seconds and 13.7 sec. at 105.1 mph, aided off the line, no doubt, by those huge Goodyears. Quick blasts down the drag strip are repeated easily with zero wheel hop and no indecision in the extremely well-defined gates of the ZF 6-speed. And the sounds issuing from the Grand Sport&amp;#039;s slender rectangular exhaust tips are vintage V-8 mellow burble, tamed just enough to be shopping-center civil.   Away from the track, the view through one&amp;#039;s driving glasses is less rose-colored. Actually, the exact shade is what Chevy calls Torch Red, a rather obnoxious hue found covering our test car&amp;#039;s door panels, perforated leather sports seats, and under-dash knee bolsters. Our choice would be basic black. And then there&amp;#039;s the hodgepodge digital/analog instrument panel and Neo-Gothic dash styling that we&amp;#039;ve criticized for years, but (grit teeth here) have come to accept. And those high-hurdle doorsills. Did I mention the traction-control system that bucks annoyingly against your throttle foot whenever the system intervenes? You&amp;#039;d think you&amp;#039;d know it&amp;#039;s working through the simple fact that you haven&amp;#039;t slid off the road! At least it can be defeated with a push of a dash-mounted button.   Dwelling on the negatives unfairly detracts from what an excellent sports car the Corvette has evolved into. With improved fiberglass-to-steel bonding techniques and strategically placed reinforcements adding stiffness with each successive year, the Corvette&amp;#039;s structure now takes full advantage of its delicate-looking forged aluminum suspension pieces and ultrawide tires. Though it has always felt more truckish and ponderous than other sports cars at low to medium speeds, the Vette seems to thrive on velocity, feeling lighter, more secure and more composed as the scenery starts to blur. Steering and shift action are reassuringly firm, and the small, thick-section wheel and body-hugging Lear-designed sports seats are proper tools for the task of hard driving. Once you get used to the quickness of turn-in and get a good sense of exactly where the front tires are (a low seating position, a relatively high cowl and the Vette&amp;#039;s long beak stand in the way of instant familiarity), you feel as if there&amp;#039;s no turn you can&amp;#039;t conquer.   Enter a bend too hot? The Grand Sport&amp;#039;s vented disc brakes, carried over from the normal coupe, scrub off speed in world-class fashion, tainted slightly by a brake pedal that feels a touch rubbery in its first half-inch of travel. And even foolish inputs to throttle and steering in mid-corner are unlikely to result in anything other than predictable understeer, given the rear grip bias afforded by those 315-mm-section Goodyears. Mind you, our skidpad testing revealed plenty of overall stick (0.88g), but when push comes to shove, it&amp;#039;s the front tires that wave the white flag first. And the taut Z51 suspension (firmer shocks, springs and bushings) helps achieve a highly respectable 62.6-mph weave through our 700-ft. slalom, while giving back ride quality that stops well short of punishing.   In a nutshell, that&amp;#039;s the Grand Sport Corvette, of which roughly 1000 will be produced. A tantalizing link with the past, and soon to be part of the past when the next-generation Corvette -- with all-new styling, structure, interior, and rear-mounted transaxle -- materializes in 1997. For now, it&amp;#039;s the quickest, most exciting 1996 Corvette you can buy -- a slice, if only by association, of the Grand Sport racing tradition, even if not officially endorsed by Roger, Augie or A.J. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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