DETROIT — General Motors Racing will implement a customer car program this year to deliver a race-ready version of its successful Chevrolet Corvette C5-R to buyers with a passion for performance.
GM has agreed with its partners, Pratt and Miller (chassis) and Katech (engines), to sell as many as five vehicles in 2001. GM Racing has received several inquiries from private race teams seeking the powerful C5-R and has accepted deposits on two vehicles.
To date in 2001, the C5-R has dominated its competition in the races it has entered. It scored an overall win at the 24 Hours of Daytona, a double podium finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring, A 1-2 GTS class finish at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and class wins at American Le Mans Series races at Texas Motor Speedway, Sears Point and Portland. The C5-R's impressive on-track performance has made it the current manufacturer's point leader in the ALMS GTS class and has propelled Corvette Racing C5-R drivers Ron Fellows and Johnny O'Connell into the lead in the GTS driver standings.
"It's a natural next step for the Corvette Racing program," said Corvette Brand Manager Rick Baldick. "Corvette is an elite global brand, and our successes on the track have bought a heightened awareness of Corvette's phenomenal performance capabilities worldwide.
"The Corvette C5-R's success has generated substantial customer interest in purchasing these racecars," Baldick said. "Corvette has long been the leader in the U.S. High Sports market segment. Being able to offer customer racecars adds to the brand's cachet on a global basis. It will help us communicate our world-class engineering message to sports-car enthusiasts everywhere."