2027 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport / Grand Sport X First Look: Is This the Sweet Spot?

The Corvette team has been driving with the hammer down for years, and they’re not letting up. Even after giving us the 8,600-rpm Z06, the 1,064-hp ZR1, and the hypercar-slaying, 1,250-hp ZR1X, the brilliant minds and speed freaks behind America’s sports car are still cranking out more new models. ZR1X deliveries have just barely started, and yet here’s not one but two new Corvettes.

The 2027 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X can’t hold a candle to the berserk power of the ZR1 brothers but instead aim to fill out the Corvette sports car lineup with something special at a more attainable price. If history is any indicator, the Grand Sports will be driver’s cars that split the difference between the base Corvette Stingray and the Corvette Z06. And arguably just as important as the cars themselves, the Grand Sports launch Chevy’s new LS6 small-block V-8, a 6.7-liter naturally aspirated monster that makes 535 horsepower.

See All 44 Photos44

A Winning Recipe and a New Formula

Ever since the 2010 C6 Corvette, the Grand Sport has been a sort of secret handshake among the Corvette cognoscenti, a road-oriented rig that arguably balances performance and value better than any other ’Vette. True to that tradition, the 2027 Grand Sport combines the Corvette Stingray's new 6.7-liter V-8 with the Z06's wide body and several of its go-faster parts that are offered as options. That’s been a winning formula in the past, and based on how every other version of the C8 Corvette drives, we have every reason to believe the Grand Sport will be a truly special sports car.

The first-ever Grand Sport X builds on that idea using the same formula (and several of the exact same part numbers) that the 1,250-hp ZR1X uses to lord over the 1,064-hp ZR1. A 186-hp electric motor between the front wheels and a 1.9-kWh lithium-ion battery in the tunnel between the driver and passenger turn the rear-drive Grand Sport into an all-wheel-drive hybrid. Combined with the mid-mounted 535-hp gas-burner, the all-wheel-drive X makes 721 horsepower, a 66-hp jump over the 655-hp Corvette E-Ray it replaces. We’re predicting 0–60-mph times in the low two-second range and quarter-mile runs in the low 10s.

See All 44 Photos44

Chevy’s Small-Block V-8 Grows Bigger

Chevy calls the Corvette’s new V-8 LS6 in a nod to the fact that this is only the sixth-generation small-block. I'll point out that there have been more Catholic church popes than Chevy small-blocks since 1955, so if you worship at the altar of the naturally aspirated V-8, do a burnout and send up some white smoke because there’s a new boss of everything we hold dear.

The LS6 is the modern embodiment of that old adage “There’s no replacement for displacement.” Chevy engineers bumped the Corvette’s heart from 6.2 to 6.7 liters by lengthening the stroke from 92 to 100 millimeters. There's no change in bore or the 4.4-inch bore spacing that’s been a signature of the small-block since the beginning. The longer stroke means the torque has climbed even more than the power. Compared to the Corvette Stingray’s outgoing LT2 V-8, the LS6 makes 40 more horsepower and 50 more lb-ft of torque. It makes more torque than any other naturally aspirated V-8 in production with a 520-lb-ft peak that arrives earlier than before at 4,600 rpm.

See All 44 Photos44

The new engine runs a 13.0:1 compression ratio, up from 11.5:1, and port fuel injection has been added to improve particulate emissions. To cope with the LS6’s higher stresses, the pistons and connecting rods are now forged, which will be a gift to the hot rodders who inevitably push this new small-block even further.

The engine sends out a fierce bark at startup, a deep burble at idle, and a feral snarl as it’s revved. Chevy will offer two exhausts with the LS6. The standard plumbing splits four tips between the left and right sides of the ’Vette, while the optional system bundles all four in the center of the car. Both have active valves to control the engine note and volume, and there's no difference in power output, but Chevy engineers tell us there’s a noticeable difference in how they sound (we’ve only heard car shout through the optional exhaust). The center exhaust is the one you want, apparently.

See All 44 Photos44

What Makes a Grand Sport a Grand Sport

The Grand Sport and Grand Sport X will be offered as both targa-topped “coupes” and folding-hardtop convertibles. MagneRide dampers and an electronically controlled limited-slip differential are standard. Torque routes through the Tremec eight-speed dual-clutch transmission and a new 5.56:1 final drive ratio. That more aggressive gearing will improve acceleration at the expense of fuel economy, and it will also be rolled out to the 2027 Corvette Stingray with the optional Z51 package, which previously ran a 5.13:1 ratio.

The rear-drive Grand Sport will be offered with three different chassis setups. The standard touring setup is the softest, and it's paired with Michelin Pilot Sport All Season tires. The Sport Performance package features a stiffer suspension and Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tires plus the Z06’s J56 brakes, which are processed with a high-temperature ferritic nitro carburizing treatment to improve corrosion resistance. Finally, the Track Performance package follows in the same vein as the Z06’s Z07 upgrade with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 R tires, carbon-ceramic brakes, a carbon-fiber wing and dive planes, a unique chassis tune, and a center-exit exhaust. The standard forged wheels come in four different finishes, and carbon-fiber wheels are optional on cars that have carbon-ceramic brakes.

The Grand Sport X gets carbon-ceramic brakes as standard to counter its ferocious power. As with the Grand Sport, Chevy will offer a touring suspension on all-season tires or a Performance suspension tune with summer tires. However, there is no Track package or carbon-fiber aero kit for the X. When we asked why, executive chief engineer Tony Roma simply told us to stay tuned. All Grand Sports have the requisite hash stripes on their fenders, of course, only at the rear this time.

See All 44 Photos44

Is This the Sweet Spot of Performance and Value?

The Grand Sport goes on sale this summer with the Grand Sport X following this fall. Both versions will be offered in a Launch Edition for the initial model year with a flashy blue-dipped leather interior featuring red stitching and accents.

While Chevy isn’t announcing price just yet, Roma let it slip that the Grand Sport will start under $100,000. It’s basically guaranteed to be a great value compared to pretty much anything else you can buy at that price.

We know almost exactly where the Grand Sport will land in terms of pricing, performance, and positioning. Based on every C8 that’s come before it, we can even imagine how it will drive, which leaves us eager to get behind the wheel. The Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X look like the best way to get a taste of Corvette’s most special models without spending the big bucks required for a Z06, ZR1, or ZR1X.