Chevy dumped a whole pile of 2027 Corvette news on us this week, and while the introduction of a new V8 may be the big story for most, the upcoming model year also marks the return of one of the best enthusiast-spec Corvette nameplates: Grand Sport.
Traditionally (and it goes all the way back to the C2 generation), Grand Sport has fallen in between the standard Corvette and whatever range-topping lunacy GM’s performance engineers have already cranked out. In this case, that puts the new Grand Sport in between the Stingray and the Corvette’s high-performance triplets: Z06, ZR1, and ZR1X.
And to further complicate matters, the new one comes in two flavors. The standard gasoline Grand Sport is based on the Stingray, while a new, all-wheel-drive Grand Sport X (with 721 horsepower!) takes over for the now-departed Corvette E-Ray—hybrid system and all. We have all the details on the Grand Sport X here, as it’s essentially a completely separate model.
For the standard Grand Sport, the formula is the same as always: port over the base drivetrain and combine it with chassis upgrades offered on the range-topping models. Fortunately for us, Chevy just gave the Stingray a power upgrade with the new LS6 V8, so the Grand Sport launches with that too. The center-exit exhaust, previously reserved for the Z06 and ZR1, is available to boot. It doesn’t get any additional power, so 535 hp and 520 lb-ft of torque are the numbers, but man does it sound good. The outboard-exit setup remains standard.
The standard car’s suspension is also tuned closely to what you’d get from the Z51 package in the standard Stingray, but not exactly.
From there, you have room to build. The result can be anything from a gussied-up Stingray to essentially a Z06 with everything but the latter’s bigger engine. Available carbon ceramic brakes? Check. Aero upgrades? Yep.
The Grand Sport will also get unique looks both inside and out. The signature “hash mark” detail is heavily featured, and Chevy says customers will have a wealth of personalization options for both the interior and exterior.
Chevy plans to detail the Grand Sport’s option packages and pricing a little closer to its on-sale date later this year; we’ll be certain to keep you posted as new info comes along.
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