Chevrolet’s Newest Corvettes Make It another Year to Remember In Daytona
Since the checkered flag waved at the first 24 Hours of Daytona race in 1966, the event has stood as the pinnacle of North American endurance racing and a proving ground for some the auto industry’s best drivers and performance vehicles alike. This year, Chevrolet finds itself the subject of much attention after a very impressive showing at the Rolex-sponsored event, in which two of its prototype C7.R Corvettes took top honors in the GTLM class, and battled each other to finish just behind the Honda-powered winner in the overall tally.
Much attention had also been given to the debut of Ford’s new GT design, which was ultimately plagued by braking and transmission issues that forced them into the garage for extended periods of the race, eventually winding up in ninth place in the GTLM class and seventh overall. As things began to heat up, however, much of the disappointment was offset by the tension of the race between Chevy’s striking new Corvette prototypes and close challengers like Porsche’s fearsome 911 RSR.
As this year’s race unfolded, it was clear that another memorable run of the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona was well under way, with appearances and performances by notable vehicles like Lamborghini’s powerful Huracán and the truly unique DeltaWing, not to mention plenty of all-star driving talent corralled by a host of respected leading teams like Chip Ganassi Racing.
First debuted at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, Chevrolet’s performance and endurance oriented C7.R Corvette has done some pretty impressive work in its few seasons on the endurance track. This year’s solid showing follows an amazing season last year as well, in which C7.R drivers took four of the top five spots in the 24 Hours of Daytona, as well as a win at the following race of the North American Endurance Cup, the Mobil 12 Hours of Sebring. With so much mettle already proven on the endurance track, you can bet that we’re already more than excited to see how things go at Sebring next month.
Of course, the outstanding C7.R is only one of a handful of iterations of Chevrolet’s seventh-generation Corvette, the company’s freshest redesign of the performance classic that always stands at the ready to bring a little bit of the excitement of the race to any driver looking for something truly exceptional. Setting standards for both design and capability in the automotive world for over 50 years, we couldn’t be happier to see the timeless Chevy Corvette still making waves and challenging the competition to keep the momentum of progress rolling on.
When it comes to bringing out the best, a little bit of healthy competition continues to be one of Chevy’s favorite inspirations for continued improvement, and there’s certainly plenty more to come from Chevrolet endurance racing this year. As the flags come down, you can bet that we’ll be at the ready here at Apple Chevy to not only bring you all of the news about what Chevrolet and the C7 Corvette have still got in store for the competition, but to make it easier than ever to take a closer look at everything that the enduring Corvette has in store for the truly discerning driver, too. Come see for yourself and check out our Corvette inventory today!
