[VIDEO] 2013 Corvette Friday Walk-Around Seminar at the 2012 NCM Bash

On Friday Afternoon at the National Corvette Museum’s 2012 Bash, Team Corvette members and enthusiasts gathered outside for an up-close look at the new 2013 427 Convertible Edition Corvettes and the new 60th Anniversary package. Leading the presentation was Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter and Product Manager Harlan Charles.

I realize that some of this info has already been covered, but our goal is to give you the opportunity to hear it straight from Team Corvette members as it was presented live at the Bash.

Tadge opened the walkaround by providing this automotive trivia tidbit: Corvette is longest running nameplate in automotive history. With the 60th Anniversary, Corvette continues to show why it’s America’s favorite sports car.

Tadge discussed the 60th Anniversary Package and talked about some of the previous anniversary models and why they decided to go with the White for this year’s anniversary package.

Continuing on with the 427 Convertible, Tadge says they’ve done something that former Corvette chief engineer Dave Hill could have never envisioned and that is putting the 7.0 liter 427 engine into a convertible body. The new model is built on the Grand Sport convertible frame but features the Z06s running gear. Juechter says the 427 Convertible is a bit more laid back than its Z06 counterpart which is intended to be a track weapon. The 427 Convertible is more of a grand touring car with the spirit and capability of the Z06.

Jeuchter says when they were testing the new Corvette model on the back roads, members of the development team were telling him that with its performance capabilities and open roof experience, the 427 Convertible is the best Corvette they have ever built. That says a lot about the new 2013 427 Convertible Corvette!

Harlan then took the mic and continued with an in-depth look at the changes for 2013 and discussed all the ways the 427 Convertible and the 60th Anniversary packages can be ordered. He also told us where pricing was coming in for the 427 Convertible with the MSRP starting at $75,925. The fully loaded car with the 60th Anniversary package would be just over $90,000.

Perhaps the most interesting tidbit was some of the engineering that had to go into the making of the new 427 Convertible. The Z06 comes standard with the dry-sump oil system and although its also offered on the Grand Sport Coupe, its never before been put in a convertible model due to the fact that the battery has to be relocated to the rear of the Corvette. So Tadge said that that was the biggest engineer challenge was to move the battery to the back and route the battery cable around the folding top mechanism and through the car.

Finally, at the end of the video, you will see C5/C6 Registry Co-Founder Jake Drennon (whose organization founded the event that has evolved into the Bash) thanked the members of Team Corvette for their work. Because this is an anniversary year, it seemed very appropriate for Jake to call up former Corvette chief engineers Dave Hill and Tom Wallace for a photo op with members of the current team.

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