Harlan Charles Says Chevy Didn’t Have Plans to Build a C7 Grand Sport

With the launch of the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport, it’s the fourth time Chevrolet has made this specific model. The original five were built in 1963, then in 1996, Chevy made a tribute run of 1,000 C4s, 2010 saw the Z06-infused C6 Grand Sport, and now we get maybe the best Grand Sport ever with the C7. But did you know the new version almost didn’t happen?

Last week at the Corvettes at Carlisle event in Pennsylvania, Corvette Product Manager Harlan Charles was on site with the Grand Sport to talk about its history and do a walk-around. In his opening statements, he said something interesting (at about 2:10).

“At first there wasn’t really a plan to do a Grand Sport, but it was about five seconds after after the Stingray was introduced you guys started asking me, ‘you guys going to do a Grand Sport?'” he said with a big ol’ smile on his face. “It really is a sweet spot for performance.”

So, apparently, the manufacturers do indeed listen to the people, which is always great to know. Check out the rest of the video for more insight into the vehicle from one of the biggest Corvette people on the planet.

via [Corvette Blogger]