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C6 Corvette Spied!These spy photos, taken by photographer Jim Dunne near Brighton, Michigan, captured four prototype Corvettes being put through their paces. It is clear that the styling for the 2005 Vette isn't far from the C5 version, with a few differences: a longer rear window, new door handles, and fixed headlights will help the C6 make an evolutionary step forward. Different gills and taillamps and an updated nose are presumed, but cannot be confirmed due to the body-color camouflage. The next-generation Vette will be a bit shorter than the current C5 but will have a longer wheelbase, and powerplant rumors have the base model producing somewhere in the ballpark of the current Z06's 405 horsepower. Stay tuned folks, this is starting to get interesting...
Gallina Breaks 7-Second Barrier In Super StockJohn Gallina, the 66-year-old racer who campaigns a twin-turbo 1987 GN in the NHRA's SS/DX class, became the first person to hit the 7-second zone in the history of NHRA Super Stock. He bagged the record at the Mission Raceway Lucas Oil Drag Racing Series race this past May with a 7.98 ET at 167 miles an hour. The 3,050-pound GN runs a Duttweiler-built Stage II block, a de-stroked crank, and only 207 cubic inches. Exotic Indy cylinder heads are fed by dual 61mm dual ball-bearing Innovative turbos, which generate an astounding 45 pounds of boost. A custom air-to-water Spearco/Turbonetics intercooler drops the white-hot turbo outlet temps down to a mere 70 degrees in the Kinsler-injected manifold. "I left at 6800 rpm and 38 pounds of boost," John reported. "I'm using a new Pro Stock 17x32.5 tire that gave me a 1.17 60-foot time, and the run felt really stable. The clamp on the intercooler broke when I was 6.5 seconds into the run--the boost fell from 45 to 25 in a tenth of a second, which explains my low mph." With a full pass and a few more tweaks, John hopes to run 7.70s at around 180 miles an hour.
Out Of ContextIn "Change Machine", page 15 of the September 2003 issue, several comments were made by the car owner and the author regarding the tech procedure at River City Raceway (now San Antonio Raceway). After speaking with Track Manager Russell Prater and discussing SAR's safety policies, GMHTP would like to apologize for any negative comments made that may have affected SAR. We quoted the car owner voicing his opinion only, and the author's mention of "a determinedly apathetic tech crew" was creative wordplay that was not aimed at San Antonio Raceway, although it looked like it could have been.