Harbaugh Pace Car Announcement Says Chevy C7 Corvette to Make 455 hp

In yesterday’s official announcement from GM that named 49ers Coach Jim Harbaugh as the official driver of the 2014 Corvette Stingray Pace Car for the Indy 500, there was a paragraph that described the known performance specs for the new C7 sports car. According to the release, the 6.2L LT1 V8 makes 455 horsepower, not the 450 estimated hp that we’ve been told since the engine’s unveiling last fall.

The Corvette Forum has a thread about this, which unfortuately the conversation devolves into something else as it always does in the C7 section. But here is was we know:

The official press release that was emailed to media outlets under the Team Chevy banner had this paragraph (the bold emphasis is mine):

Harbaugh’s stint behind the wheel of the Laguna Blue Pace Car marks a record 12th time the Corvette has served in the role, starting in 1978. The 2014 Corvette Stingray coupe goes on sale this fall, with a convertible model coming a few months later. It is powered by an all-new 6.2L LT1 engine, which features advanced technologies including direct fuel injection, continuously variable valve timing and Active Fuel Management, also known as cylinder deactivation, , to help produce 455 horsepower more efficiently.

That same paragraph was also on the official release posted on GM’s official media site, complete with the double commas you see right before horsepower rating. Now, one day later, the official release on the media site has been “fixed” with the double comma removed and the horsepower rating changed back to 450.

Harbaugh’s stint behind the wheel of the Laguna Blue Pace Car marks a record 12th time the Corvette has served in the role, starting in 1978. The 2014 Corvette Stingray coupe goes on sale this fall, with a convertible model coming a few months later. It is powered by an all-new 6.2L LT1 engine, which features advanced technologies including direct fuel injection, continuously variable valve timing and Active Fuel Management, also known as cylinder deactivation, to help produce 450 horsepower more efficiently.

So was this an inadvertent leak or a typo?

In this video from the New York Auto Show, the spokeswoman giving the specs of the Corvette says that the 450 hp is the minimum and you know that “Chevrolet is going to give you a little bit more before it hits the assembly line.”

We also know from the most recent Autoline After Hours video featuring Smallblock engine Chief Engineer Jordan Lee saying that the third party SAE testing has been completed which means that people inside know what that official number is.

Finally, the contact on the issued press release is not a Chevy Communications person. It comes from the staff at the Indianapolis 500. So the question was were they told what the real horsepower was and let it slip in the press release or is this just a typo?

Feel free to comment and tell us what you think. We are living in fun times folks. Fun times indeed!

Source:
Corvette Forum

Related:
Report: Autoweek Spies the 2014 Corvette Stingray Indy 500 Pace Car
GM Trademarks LT5 and LTX Engine Names
[VIDEO] Corvette Convertible Price Revealed on ABC’s ‘LIVE with Kelly and Michael’?