Automotive Crystal Ball: Chevrolet at Work on 600-HP Corvette

Like the C6, and the Z06, the Blue Devil has spent a fair deal of time on the world's most grueling proving grounds, the

The Super 'Vette might not appear until late 2006, or 2007, as development of the Blue Devil isn't at the top of GM's priorities list.

Nürburgring race circuit. In the hands of Jan Magnussen, one of the men who piloted Team Corvette to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the test mule reportedly lapped the 20.6 km (12.8 mile) circuit in just 7:40 seconds. To compare, the time is equal to that of the Mercedes-McLaren SLR, a second slower than the 800-hp Koenigsegg CCR, and two seconds slower than the definitive time set by the Porsche Carrera GT. Not bad for a Corvette. But the biggest improvement can be seen when the times are pitted against the regular C6, which is capable of lapping the circuit in 7:56 seconds.

Despite its mind-numbing capabilities, the Blue Devil is expected to ring in at just a fraction of what the competition is charging. At an estimated $100,000 US dollars, it just might be the cheapest true supercar on the face of the planet - and a very capable one at that.

But with the good news, there is always bad: the Super 'Vette might not appear until late 2006, or 2007, as development of the Blue Devil isn't at the top of GM's priorities list. Instead, the company is currently focusing on engineering profit-generating pickup trucks and sport utilities, while reworking its car lineup to make it more competitive with the Japanese. In any case, the Blue Devil seems to be more of a 'when' question, rather than 'if'.