The Supercar Registry Bulletin Board: Corvettes being rebodied into ZO3's

I'm lovin the looks of this thing!!! Dig those redlines!

02-19-2008 - Chevrolet pride themselves on seting performance benchmarks at atractive price points. This in turn enables tuners such as Callaway and Baldwin-Motion to take it to the next level, or sometimes nearly craft a whole new car. Such is the case with the newest name in this business: Ugur Sahin Design out of the Netherlands.

Their ‘Corvette Z03 Concept’ is a carbon fiber supercar that leaves no area of the Corvette’s performance untouched. Beyond the striking carbon fibre body, modifications are made to the engine suspension and interior.

This is the first project to come from Ugur Sahin Design which was founded in the summer of 2007 by Axel van Mourik and Ugur Sahin. They plan to position themselves in the high end market of limited edition vehicles that utilize existing manufacturer’s chassis.

Basis for the Z03 comes from the Z06 which is already an extremely potent package. Axel van Mourik, a working partner in the company, says “This is a chassis that has proven to be an extremely competitive package on public roads and even more so on the professional race circuit with victories in both the American Le Mans Series and the 24 Hours of Le Mans”

In regards to the design influence, the cars designer Ugur Sahin says “As a designer, the most important goal of this project was to be able to determine the correct balance between the past and the present design language of the Corvette brand. After studying the brand identity and the history of Corvette, I was able to create a definitive “feel” which obviously was the fundamental of the project.”

The ambitious pair are aiming to produce 100 examples of the Z03. This is made possible with partners including Flybrid Systems, Modesi Design, Fischer Motorsports, Kirkham Motorsports and former Corvette chief engineer Dave McLellan.

Performance benchmarks include a weight reduction of approximately 100 pounds and three engine packages which range from 500 to 750 bhp. The later of these will utilize a Tial/Garret turbocharger with liquid cooled ceramic bearings. Each customer will be able to choose personalized touches that include custom mixed paint, upgraded interior treatments including gauges, dashboard, custom created Recaro seats and more.

If the early design drawings are any indication, then the Z03 is going to be a gorgeous car. Details on pricing and availability will be made public in March and first production vehicles are set to be delivered to the US market late in 2008.

For more information, please contact Joe Sabatini (Joe@festivalsofspeed.com - 352-385-9450)