The 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Collector Edition is a package option to the standard Grand Sport model that was introduced in the 2017 Model Year of the C7 generation of Corvettes. The introduction of the Grand Sport and the Collector Edition model was made at the 2016 Geneva Auto Show by Corvette Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter. When the new Grand Sport was driven on stage it had the Collector Edition Package.[1] The announcement indicated that 1,000 of these numbered Collector Edition packages would be made with 850 destined for the US market, in reality only 935 were produced.[2]
The Collector Edition was based on the 2017 Grand Sport and required a 3LT trim package. It could be ordered as a coupe or convertible with an 8-speed automatic or a 7-speed manual transmission. It was identified by the $4,995 Z25 option code which added the following components that make up the Collector Edition;
Watkins Glen Gray (G7Q) exterior color with Tension Blue Hash Marks (20A) and Satin Black Grand Sport Center Stripe Package (DUR)
Two-tone Tension Blue leather seating surfaces with sueded microfiber inserts (246)
Blue custom leather stitch (37S)
Collectors Edition Sill plates (BE8)
Premium carpeted floor mats with Grand Sport logo, LPO, interior brushed aluminum hash marks and seat and steering wheel emblems (VYW)
Carbon Flash Badge Package (EYT)
Grand Sport black aluminum CUP-style wheels, 19" front/20" rear (Q8X)
Carbon fiber instrument panel trim (FAY)
Numbered plaque (CFY)
Some other options, including the Z07 performance package, ground effects and others could be added to the cars factory configuration.
Base model MSRP ($USD) pricing is listed below. As mentioned, other options could be added which would drive the MSRP up. MSRP's ranged from the base numbers up to the most expensive one listed at $105,825,[3] which happened to be car #001.
2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Collector Edition Dash Plaque
Collector Editions were only available in the Watkins Glen Gray exterior color with the Tension Blue heritage fender stripes,
satin black center stripe and the Tension Blue interior accent colors so they are pretty easy to identify. That said, most of the options that make up the Collector Edition are available for purchase, so it could be possible to come up with a car that looks very similar to a Collector Edition.
No one predicts that these cars will have any significant value over any other 2017 Grand Sport, but if you want to be certain that you are looking at a true Collector Edition you should look at the VIN. All Collector Edition cars will have a VIN that ends in 530XXXX, where XXXX equals the sequence number of the series. The VIN sequence number should match the number on the dash plaque above the shifter. Most owners will also have paperwork like the factory window sticker and build sheet as well, which would all match. The Grand Sport Collector Edition Registry can be used as a reference as well as the National Corvette Museum Archives.
The Collector Edition was only available during the 2017 Model Year. Actual production went from September 2016 through May 2017. The first production car was invoiced on September 23, 2016 and the final car produced (#940) was invoiced on May 25, 2017.[3] Only six were made in September 2016, the next cars that were produced had invoice dates in November, none in October. On average, 9.3 Collector Editions were built per production day with a peak of 26 being built in one day (November 22, 2016).[3]
Final released production numbers for the Collector Edition are below.[2] A more detailed view of production, options per vehicle, etc are available within the Grand Sport Collector Edition Registry.
The car that was shown at the 2016 Geneva Auto Show looked like a production Grand Sport Collector Edition but in fact it was not. This particular car was used at many public showings of the car, including at the Barrett-Jackson Auction of the first production car, but it is not the first production car. At the Barrett-Jackson the car was subject to a lot of photos being taken, including one of the VIN of the car that clearly shows this is not even a 2017 vehicle.[4] The VIN decodes as a 2015 2LT Stingray experimental vehicle so it can't be legal sold to the public. So for the purposes of this article it is being called a prototype vehicle and there are two differences that have been noted between it and the real production vehicles:[5]
The dash badge shows the sequence number as 0001/1000. The production vehicles only show the sequence number
The production sill plates that say Grand Sport is not really colored the way it shows in that vehicle, there is no blue in the production version (pictures of the two versions can be seen here)
The first production Collector Edition was sold at a Barrett-Jackson Auction for $170,000.[4] This was a charity auction benefiting the Karmanos Cancer Institute. The winning bidder was David Flynn from Columbiana Ohio who also owns the first retail Cadillac ATS. This was the most expensive optioned vehicle produced with an $105,825 MSRP. It is a convertible Automatic coupe with the Z07 performance package (among other things).
The final production vehicle is #935, a 7-speed manual coupe. It was museum delivered and had an MSRP of $94,265 and is rumored to have been sold to a GM employee.
The Collector Edition cars have a sequential VIN as mentioned above. The last car produced was #940 but the production figures show that 935 cars were built. The reason there is a difference in these numbers is that five cars were never built. Cars that would have been numbered 246-250 were in fact put into the system as ordered, but were not built. Through some research done by Ken Pauley who has published and maintained the Grand Sport Collector Edition Registry it was discovered that these cars were put into the system, but the factory did not build them due to some "production issues". The orders were subsequently completed to fulfill delivery but they were different numbered cars (evidence of later numbered cars with the exact build configuration and delivery destinations was found). This information was verified by Pauley through sources at GM.
There were a total of 14 cars known to have had the $990 R8C Museum Delivery option. This option allowed the owner to pick up the car at the National Corvette Museum. The cars that had this option are identified in the Grand Sport Collector Edition Registry as numbers 003, 006, 029, 036, 043, 047, 052, 083, 229, 230, 232, 456, 623 and 940.
This car was originally a GM owned vehicle. It is unknown at this time as to what this particular vehicle was used for, but once that was completed it was donated to the National Corvette Museum which subsequently raffled the car off as one of their regularly held raffles. The raffle was held on April 28, 2017 and was won by Duane Evans.[6] Raffle tickets were $200 each.
This was the first Collector Edition given away by the National Corvette Museum. Tickets were $250 each and the raffle was held on January 12, 2017. The winner was Ken Pauley.[6]
Every year, race car driver Jeff Gordon raffles a Corvette owned by him to benefit his Childhood Cancer Research Foundation. In 2017, the car was a Grand Sport Collector Edition, car #588. The winner was drawn in August 2017, won by Joe Smith from Absecon, New Jersey.[7]
The Grand Sport Collector Edition Registry[8] shows twelve cars that are/were GM owned vehicles. Two are Canadian and the rest had destinations in the United States. One is confirmed to have already transferred to public ownership, that was car #003 which was raffled off by the National Corvette Museum. The GM owned cars are numbers; 002, 004, 005, 007, 024, 465, 691, 699, 768, 785 and 888.
At this point, only one vehicle is known to be owned and used on a commercial track. Car #861 is currently in use at the Ron Fellow's Spring Mountain track.
444 - Archie Hamilton: hamilton is a British race car driver and had published YouTube videos of his car, including modifications that were made to it. He also published a video on July 16, 2017 stating that he sold the car to business man and muscle car enthusiast Mo Imtiaz, who also owns a 2016 Custom S550 Mustang, a custom 1967 Mustang Fastback, a custom 2012 Camaro SS.
588 - Jeff Gordon: Car was titled as his vehicle and given away in an August 2017 raffle to Joe Smith from Absecon, New Jersey[7]
666 - Grand Sport Collector Edition with factory yellow calipersFactory Yellow Calipers: There were three cars that came from the factory with yellow painted calipers, all three were coupes. One has been nicknamed the beast due to its uniqueness and sequence number, #666. As of this writing, all three are still for sale at the originating dealers. The cars are #253, 666 and 675.
There were only 6 Convertible / Manual Transmission cars with the Z07 package
There were only 5 cars that had the Carbon Fiber Dual Roof Pacakge (C2M)
The most expensive factory optioned coupe is #393 with a MSRP of $102,370 (still at the dealer website as of this writing)[9]
The most expensive factory optioned convertible is #001 as mentioned above.
