There are rare occasions where less really is more. After our stint in the C7 Z06 last year, we concluded that while the supercharged ‘Vette offered incredible performance for the money, a Z51 Stingray offered nearly as many thrills on the street and while not quite as quick on the track, its 460 horsepower LT1 felt more manageable, put less weight over the front end, and had less trouble dispatching heat under the hood.
Today we’re taking a look at a 2012 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Convertible which has been warmed over by the horsepower fanatics at Lingenfelter. The drop top now sports over 600 horsepower by way of a HeartBeat supercharger system, which includes ECU modifications, an Eaton “TVS” 2300 rotating group, an internal intercooler system and bypass valve, twin dual-pass charge-air-coolers, a coolant circulation pump and a heat exchanger. To make sure the Corvette’s bark is as loud as its bite, it’s also been fitted with a Lingenfelter Performance exhaust system.
This is a car for the one percent of the one percent of the one percent. Essentially a topless Bugatti Veyron Super Sport, the Vitesse boasts the same 8.0-liter, 1200-horsepower, 16-cylinder, quad-turbocharged engine as the Super Sport. That car can hit 267 miles per hour (over a very long section of road). We expect the top-speed to fall somewhat with the removal of the roof (we can’t imagine traveling almost one-third the speed of sound without a roof is safe), though.