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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 to squeeze out more production capacity for midsize trucks

General Motors was predicting a strong showing for the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon before they debuted, and demand among dealers for the midsize trucks even exceeded company's expectations. The positive situation has left GM with a problem, though: finding ways to increase capacity for the pickups at the Wentzville Assembly plant in Missiouri. With a third shift already running, GM has continued to look for ways to build just a few more of the trucks at the plant. The company has plans to hire as many as 1,000 more workers for the Saturday and Sunday shifts to construct an additional 2,000 pickups a month, according to unnamed insiders at the factory speaking to Automotive News. The little adjustments even extend to getting rid of an unpaid break to add 18 minute of assembly time over the course of a day, which equals about 3,500 more vehicles a year. All of this effort comes because the trucks are in such high demand. According to GM's figures, the company has delivered a combined 35,720 units of the Colorado and Canyon from January through April 2015, and the Chevy was the fastest-selling truck in the US for the previous three months. In May, it spent an average of just 12 days in showrooms before being snapped up. And even better for the company, 43 percent of these buyers came from other brands. According to Automotive News, the most popular trade-ins have included the Ford F-150, Toyota Tacoma, and Dodge Dakota. Related Video:

Is this '47 Chevrolet a rat rod or a sports car?

These days there are plenty of vehicles that blur the conventional automotive class structures. For instance, was the Honda Crosstour a wagon or an SUV? And what exactly was the Nissan Murano CrossCabriolet? Regardless, those line-blurring cars (or trucks) are out there, and though this one didn't roll off a production line, it's still quite the automotive head-scratcher. Hailing from Missouri, this epic creation is one part mad science experiment, one part 1947 Chevrolet pickup, and one part '95 Mercury Cougar. Add it all up and you get an awesome truck-sports-car hybrid, complete with an outrageous wing and a V8 to boot. And interestingly enough, it's up for sale . RELATED: Check out this Wild-Styled Lamborghini Rat Rod So how does it all come together? According to the listing, the Chevrolet truck cab (which had previously been chopped) was sanded down to bare metal and given a thorough shellacking of clear coat. It was then melded together with the front end of a 1995 Chevrolet S10 pickup truck, and set low to the ground on Bilstein suspension drop spindles. Stance achieved. But instead of fielding an engine from either of those pickups, it pulls its heart from a 2005 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV—a big 5.3-liter V8 heart, that is. It comes backed-up to a GM Turbo 400 automatic transmission. Towards the rear however is where things get really interesting. A Copper Pearl coated tube frame chassis both attaches the rear independent suspension (a la Mercury Cougar) to the racy spoiler, as well as secures the rat rod's rear-mounted radiator, fan, and fuel tank. I'm not quite sure why, but it just looks glorious. RELATED: Reports Say Mid-Engine Corvette Will Arrive in 2018 Inside the vintage cab, the Chevrolet furthers its racing proclivities (it's said to have won burnout and auto-cross events) with a pair of harnessed racing seats, a drift brake, a detachable steering wheel, and a tachometer with oil and temperature gauges, but oddly no speedometer. The shifter is a crescent wrench. And its shift boot? That's a Crown Royal Purple bag. All in all, this grin-worthy Frankenstein creation tallies up bits and pieces from four different vehicles (five if you include the Camaro wheels), which make it truly a mash-up of epic proportions. Internet, what do you think? Related Video: This article by Zach Doell originally appeared on Boldride. Design/Style Chevrolet Mercury Auctions Coupe Special and Limited Editions Classics eBay rat rod