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1956 Corvette SR-2 factory racer profiled

The Chevrolet Corvette has earned its place as America's sports car, capable of taking on the best the world can throw at it. Much of that winning reputation was earned with victories on the track. Now, there was a chance to own an early piece of the nameplate's motorsport history in the form of a 1956 Corvette SR-2 racer, but some deep pockets were necessary to get it, with an estimate of $6.885 million. The story behind the SR-2 is fascinating. In 1956, famous General Motors designer Harley Earl's son was racing in a Ferrari. Obviously, that wasn't going to work given his father's position within the automaker, and Harley and Corvette engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov got to work on a faster racecar. Three were made. This one was reportedly the first, and for 1957 it also received a fuel-injected V8 making a claimed 331 horsepower and four-speed manual gearbox, according to "Corvette Mike," the owner and seller. The SR-2 went on display in Scottsdale, AZ appropriately timed to coincide with the big Barrett-Jackson auction there that wrapped up this weekend. The car wasn't part of that event; instead marque specialist Mike Vietro sold the racer as a private treaty sale. Company spokesperson Troy Worrell told Autoblog both the bids and identities of the bidders will remain undisclosed. The video above goes into even deeper detail about this rare, finned Vette or check out the car's full description for even more info.

GM applies for LT5, LTX trademarks... are new small block variants coming?

Recently discovered General Motors trademark applications for LT4, LT5, LT88 and LTX have observers wondering what kind of high-performance offerings could be on their way. A new LT4 would mark a return of the engine designation first used on the Corvette Grand Sport, SLP Pontiac Firehawk and SLP Chevrolet Camaro SS from 1996 and 1997. Supposition at Corvette Forum - which provided advance intel on the C7 like these leaked images - believes a new LT4 could go into the high-performance trim of the next-gen, 2015 Camaro that would be more powerful than the 580-horsepower Camaro ZL1.
Seeing an LT5 again would also be déjà vu - in its former life it was a 5.7-liter V8 for the C4 Corvette ZR-1 from 1990-1994 designed by Lotus, producing from 370 hp to 405 hp. A mix of rumor and hope is that the new LT5 will be a supercharged evolution of the 6.2-liter LT1 (pictured) placed in the new C7 Corvette, and that it will go into the C7 version of the ZR1 pumping out something like 700 hp.
The LTX trademark is, as with that last letter, a complete mystery. If the "X" isn't a generic way to denote the whole LT family, it's wondered if it LTX could refer to a crate motor offering like the LSX.

Recharge Wrap-up: Toyota FCV Rally Car To Compete, Barra bullish on Chevy Volt

The Toyota FCV will compete in the last stage of the 2014 Japanese Rally Championship. The sport-tuned hydrogen-powered car will tackle the 177-mile Shinshiro Rally on November 1 and 2, emitting no greenhouse gases in the process. The rally course will help prove the safety of the vehicle before it goes on sale in Japan in the next several months. The Toyota FCV, rumored to be called "Mirai" in Japan, will begin sales there before April, according to Toyota, and in the summer in the US and Europe. Read more in the press release below. Carsharing is becoming more popular, and more visible, throughout the world, including the US. According to WardsAuto columnist John McElroy, 18 percent of US drivers have used some sort of carsharing service. Additionally, he says 60 percent of Americans are familiar with Zipcar and Uber. Mercedes' Harald Kroeger says promotions like free parking for carshares in Stuttgart are encouraging growth for Daimler's carsharing service, Car2go. Read more at WardsAuto. Ethanol is being help up by rail transport, according to ethanol producer Green Plains. More and more stations are carrying E15 blend gasoline, but grain producers have complained that crude oil is given higher priority by the rail lines shipping it, which rail companies deny. Union Pacific and BNSF Railway say they are stepping up service to make sure that ethanol can be shipped reliably to customers. Read more at Omaha World-Herald. General Motors "has placed a significant bet [on] the electrification of the automobile," says CEO Mary Barra. In a speech to the Detroit Economic Club this week, she spoke about the Chevrolet Volt, and its importance to GM's future. While Barra admits the Volt's success has been "not everything we wanted," it has provided experience, and shows that EVs have "an important role in the future of GM." The new Volt is more refined, stores more energy, has longer range, uses less fuel and is a big investment for Michigan. She announced that the new Volt's electric drive system will be built in Warren, and that all of its major components will be made in Michigan. "Silicon Valley doesn't have a corner on the market for innovation, creativity and drive," says Barra. "These qualities exist here – in this region – as well." See the speech's highlight video and read more in the transcript below. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.