Corvette Stingray (National Corvette Museum)

The boys and I occasionally drop by the Corvette Cafe for lunch, and I made a point to stop by yesterday after hearing a new C7 was on display. It was perfect timing for our two-year-old who just decided to start loving Corvettes. For the past few days he's been spotting them on the road, yelling for them to come back when they drive by the house, and sleeping with his brother's yellow C6 toy.

This makes me happy because I've been [not-so-subtly] trying to steer him in this direction since he was born...

14 days old.

Little Red Car
Unfortunately, not my Little Red Car.

13 months.

Apparently it worked, but I didn't realize how bad he has it until we pulled up to the museum. It was the first day of the NCM Bash and there were hundreds of Corvettes on site. The line at the cafe was too long for us to get lunch and we didn't see the Stingray, but who cares? Mini Me didn't. There was no way to dampen his enthusiasm...

Has anyone ever said "Corvette" more times in two minutes? I don't reckon he could handle a real tour of the museum yet! I do think he's acting just like plenty of adults feel when they visit this place.

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Anyway, I went back today (solo) to see the Stingray. Glad I did... she's beautiful!

National Corvette Museum.
The rainy day did not keep people away.

A Laguna Blue coupe and Night Race Blue convertible were on exhibit along with some neat component displays. In between the two cars was a bare aluminum chassis that seems incredibly light. The carbon fiber hood & roof pieces feel more like superbike fairings than car parts, especially when compared to their predecessors.

I think they used to call that a Targa Top, which was a step up from a T-top.
But I could be wrong.
Call it whatever... I love that look.

I could have stood here and stared at them all day if they'd let me. My favorite angle is that three-quarter view of controversial rear end. I suspect a lot of people who have criticized the design will like it better when they see it in person. Visually, the coupe is my favorite (the quarter windows and tail lights are fine by me) and this Laguna Blue seems just about perfect. I thought the convertible was black, so I look forward to seeing that Night Race Blue in the sunlight.

I didn't get any good pictures so check the NCM Facebook page for some great shots of these two beauties, and check out the video below that shows the cars leaving the museum. When you see the brake lights in action, the rear end design seems to make more sense -- the shape of the lights, the third brake light, the logo, and the overall angular theme just seem to work.

And, man, do they sound good! If you're in a hurry, skip to the second half of the video to hear the convertible and see a red coupe with black wheels on the truck.

UPDATE (5/2/13):  The 2013 Indy 500 Pace Car was announced:

I love this car.
I love this place.
I see my seats.

Wow. Pace car done right -- minimal graphics, well placed. For more info and pics, here's the press release.

I think it looks better than the current IndyCars do, so how about they just race the pace cars?  Corvette 500 sounds good to me! See you again in a few weeks, beautiful...




UPDATE (5/26/13):  She didn't see much action because there weren't many cautions in this, the fastest Indy 500 ever run. But she did look great out there...