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"   DETROIT \u2014 Here&amp;#039;s our latest look at what the Corvette folks have been working up for the ultra-fast coupe class, the 2009 Corvette SS. At least SS is the name most used in referring to this 600-plus-hp, supercharged beauty. You might think it looks like today&amp;#039;s Corvette, except for the tape over the fenders and the black covering on the hood. But you&amp;#039;d be wrong.  Let&amp;#039;s go through the subtle\u2014but very important\u2014changes needed to make this a 200-mph car for the track. We think the hood covering hides a new bulge there\u2014a necessary tweak to make room for that supercharger nestled near the vee at the top of the 6.2-liter V8 engine.  There&amp;#039;s also a solid possibility that the new hood on the new &amp;#039;Vette is made of carbon fiber instead of the traditional Corvette fiberglass. If so, that&amp;#039;s a major move toward weight savings. Based on the black top we&amp;#039;ve seen on our spy shots of this puppy in blue and then again in red\u2014though it&amp;#039;s new to the yellow, which we&amp;#039;ve also already seen\u2014we feel even more strongly that the prototypes are already carrying carbon-fiber black roof panels. You might check out the stingy aero lip atop the deck in the rear. That&amp;#039;s new to the Corvette line, and a necessary accessory when traveling at high speed: At speed, the lip catches the air stream and forces the stream upward, creating a down pressure on the rear wheels (always good to have ultimate traction when moving at this car&amp;#039;s hyperspeeds).  That black lower rear fascia arrangement surrounding the exhaust tips also looks new to us. The rear view also shows new, stingy &amp;quot;mud flaps&amp;quot; that extend the fenders to cover the width of the Michelin tires. We told you before that Michelin and Goodyear were bidding for the tire contract for this vehicle, and so far it&amp;#039;s looking good for Michelin to take Goodyears off the Corvette for the first time ever. The Michelin sidewall details include &amp;quot;light load&amp;quot; and &amp;quot;outside&amp;quot; designations, with separate designs for each wheel. Rear wheels probably have an aspect ratio of 35 on 20-in. rims. Another detail near the fender is hidden beneath the black tape\u2014probably two separate slots for air evacuation. Finally, we see the design of the wheels themselves once again. Behind the dual five-spoke design on the outside of the rims, there are 10 additional spokes set inboard. As with the carbon-fiber body parts, the wheel design offers ultra-light, unsprung weight to aid handling and ride and to cut down on the vehicle&amp;#039;s overall weight. Boy, is this beauty gonna need it. \u2014Jim Dunne EARLIER: Super &amp;#039;Vette Will Come in Blue, Yellow and Red (6 Shots!)EARLIER: Breaking Down the Little Red (Supercharged) Corvette (8 Shots!)EARLIER: Spying the Blue Devil Corvette (First 3 Shots!)SPY REPORTS: More of Jim Dunne&amp;#039;s Images Direct from the Test Track  Spy you once? We gawk. Spy you twice? We analyze. Thrice? Find all your colors? But the fourth time? Yeah, there&amp;#039;s a carbon-fiber top on there (we think). Why does Chevy keep covering up the hood? Because there&amp;#039;s a supercharger under there! What&amp;#039;s hiding under that tape? Our guess is air evacuation slots. The new aero lip on the super &amp;#039;Vette creates super traction for 200-mph-plus speeds. Full mud flaps cover the full length of Michelin\u2014yes, Michelin\u2014tires. "^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/a5511/4221132/>