QUICK SHIFTS: New R8C Banner, Carbon Fiber Install, the Green Mamba, Electric Hummer Teaser, and a 10 Year Anniversary for RPO PBC

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QUICK SHIFTS: New R8C Banner, Carbon Fiber Install, the Green Mamba, Electric Hummer Teaser, and a 10 Year Anniversary for RPO PBC


Welcome to another fun-filled edition of Quick Shifts! Quick Shifts is a content feature here at CorvetteBlogger featuring links to Corvette and automotive-related stories of interest. Our man Alex is up in the mountains for the weekend with his family, and as I am a Midyear owner, you’ll be getting another Four-Speed edition today as all gears past 4th are overrated anyway!

The content that we have hand-selected for you this week includes a new backdrop for R8C Museum Deliveries, installing carbon fiber front grille bezels, the origin of the Green Mamba, GMC teases the electric Hummer and a throwback to the introduction of the Corvette Engine Build Program which launched 10 years ago.

FIRST GEAR:

With C8 Corvette deliveries now back to full-strength, the National Corvette Museum is featuring a new “Living the Dream” banner just outside the main hallway that serves as the backdrop for the first official photos of a new owner with his or her Corvette. We really like the full black banner which helps to show off the new Corvettes parked in front. Demonstrating the new delivery banner is our friends Ken and Kristen Lingenfelter, who picked up their 2020 Accelerate Yellow Corvette from the Corvette Museum just last week:

National Corvette Museum

Photo Credit: National Corvette Museum


SECOND GEAR:

With the high cost of factory carbon fiber accessories and the apparent low availability from GM to order directly, many new C8 Corvette owners are turning to the aftermarket to get their Carbon Fiber bits and pieces for their new rides. One such company making a push is Sigala Designs which we featured previously as offering a 32-piece kit that provides a much more Italian vibe to the American sports car. But they are also making other C8 stand-alone accessories like the C8 Front Grille Bezels. GM sells them for $2,095 for the pair, but Sigala is offering them for under $1,000 and you don’t have to remove the whole front fascia to install them. Check out this video from Wendy Sigala showing the simple installation:

Sigala Designs C8 Corvette Front Bezel Installs


THIRD GEAR:

The last few weeks, we’ve covered a number of interesting C3 Corvettes that are built to perform. While all were created to their owner’s specifications, we have noted one consistent trend: They all have cool nicknames! We just wrote about Garrett Randall’s “Rambo,” a 1970 Corvette LT1 that was turned into a pro-tour restomod. And before that, it was “The Crusher”. another 1970 Corvette restomod that was built up by All Speed Customs in Michigan. Today, we are featuring the origin story from Motorious behind another great C3 Corvette built for performance, The Green Mamba!


FOURTH GEAR:

As GM moves forward with its electrification plans, we are waiting to see to hotly anticipated new GMC Hummer which was teased again this week. Previously, only the redesign of the iconic front grille has been shown but in this latest video teaser, General Motors is showing the side profiles of two different models of the Hummer, the SUV and the Pickup Truck. Part of the GM’s $20 billion investment into EVs, the Hummer expected to ride on the new “Ultium” electric vehicle platform which debuted back in March. The Hummer is expected to have 1,000 hp and a 3-second 0-60 mph time! The models are expected to be launched in the 4th Quarter 2020 and will go into production in late 2021.

GMC HummerE


Reverse:

For this week’s reverse gear, we set the flux capacitor and time circuits to a journey back to July 2010 and the exciting announcement that General Motors was starting a new program called the “Corvette Engine Build Experience.” The program allowed owners to visit the Performance Build Center in Wixom, MI and spend the day with a master engine builder to assemble their own LS7 and LS9 V8 engines for the Z06 and ZR1. The program was very popular both with owners and with GM, as it brought in another $5,000 per build.

Corvette Engine Build Experience


So that’s a wrap for this week, Corvette Nation. Now get out there and drive and we’ll see you back here next Saturday for another exciting edition of Quick Shifts!


Previous Quick Shifts:

Unwrapping Rapid Blue, Miata ‘Midyear’ Tributes, Top Corvette Engines, Hooning the Electric Mustang, Classic C5 Review
Angelyne, Corvette Racing, 5 Rarest Corvettes, Bronco Revealed, AMG GT, Porsche 911 Rivals, and More!
Car and Driver’s GOAT, Cruising Ohio, Syracuse Show, New Dodge’s Previewed, C8 Review, and More!

 



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