America’s Definitive Sports Car Just Reconnected with Its Gloried Past in More Ways than One

Chevy revives one of the Corvette’s most iconic variants with an almost equally iconic engine.

Blue sports car with white racing stripe and red interior seats viewed from above on asphalt.

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By Chris Chin

Published March 31, 2026

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Updated March 31, 2026

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It’s no secret that the Chevrolet Corvette is rife with heritage. To remind the world of the sports car’s storied past, the Golden Bowtie just revealed its latest rehash of one of the most beloved variants of all time.

Say hello to the new, first-ever, mid-engine Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X. For those unfamiliar, the Grand Sport is an even more upscale and high-performance-oriented version of the already hot-performing Corvette.

But its origins date back as far as the Corvette itself. Thus, it’s an absolute staple to the nameplate and rooted in the ‘Vette’s motorsports legacy.

Two Chevrolet Corvette sports cars, one white and one black, parked on an asphalt surface with mountains and trees in the background. — The latest Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X continue the lineage of one of the model’s most iconic variants.

This time around, however, things are much different. But despite such differences, the Grand Sport and Grand Sport X continue to harness some of the Corvette’s most significant performance heritage.

Realigning with one of the ‘Vette’s greatest hits

Glossy black sports car with blue interior parked on cracked pavement with mountains in the background. — With a new 6.7-liter “LS6” V8, the Corvette Grand Sport models house one of the largest V8s ever fitted to a contemporary model.

The origins of the Grand Sport date back to 1963, or the first model year for the second-gen “C2” model. Born as a secretive project to take on the Europeans in motorsports, by none other than Zora Arkus-Duntov, the proverbial chief engineer and “Father of the Corvette,” Chevy created the Grand Sport specifically as a racecar to compete in the world-famous 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Blue vintage race car with number 65 on the door and gold wheels parked on grass. — The history of the Corvette Grand Sport dates back to 1963.

However, due to unfortunate circumstances, including Chevy’s own ban on factory-sanctioned motorsports efforts at the time, Duntov only got around to creating five original C2-based Grand Sports. Meaning, these five examples are some of the most valuable Corvettes in all the land.

The Grand Sport moniker, however, would remain dormant for over 30 years until the fourth-generation “C4” in the 1990s. Then, Chevy revived the badge to create a limited-edition, more upscale and higher performing variant of the Corvette.

Close-up of a metallic gray car panel with "Grand Sport X" emblem in black lettering. — Since becoming a standalone model in 1995, the Grand Sport has been a fixture of the Corvette range.

And since then, despite going dormant again for the fifth “C5″ gen,” the Grand Sport variant has remained a fixture of the Corvette range.

What makes the latest variant even more notable, however, is that, in addition to making the original Grand Sport, Duntov also always envisioned a mid-engine Corvette. Basically, the model that’s on sale today.

Blue and white Chevrolet Corvette sports car with red stripes on front fender parked on a road. — The ’95 “C4-based” Corvette Grand Sport was the first production model of its kind.

The two concepts coming together today are something that the Father of the Corvette himself likely dreamt of making happen, so it’s serendipitous, to say the least.

The closest thing to a modern “427” Corvette

Red and black Chevrolet Corvette engine cover with emblem under car hood. — The new LS6 is now the closest thing to being a modern “427” V8.

In addition to the exterior and interior aesthetic upgrades, the latest Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X comes with GM’s latest 6.7-liter “LS6” naturally-aspirated V8. But as keen Corvette fans would likely note, that makes for the closest thing to a modern rendition of one of Chevy’s most iconic engines: the big-block “427.”

The figure refers to the signature displacement in imperial cubic-inch units and is the colloquial name for the 427-cubic-inch V8. Which, when converted to metric units, translates to roughly 7.0-liters.

Blue sports car with red racing stripes driving on a desert race track with mountains in the background. — Like previous models, the new Grand Sport and Grand Sport X serve as more upscale, higher-performing Corvettes.

Although the new LS6 is 6.7-liter V8, when converted to imperial measurements, it makes it to be 409 cubic inches. That of course makes it one of the largest modern V8s ever fitted to a contemporary Corvette. The largest would be the original 454 cu in V8 from the third-gen “C3.”

But as most Corvette fans know, these fun facts and figures matter. And its these little details that make the latest Grand Sport even more exciting from a legacy standpoint and honoring the Corvette’s history.

Availability and pricing

Chevrolet hasn’t announced availability and pricing for the Grand Sport and Grand Sport X models just yet. But we anticipate such information will surface in the coming months.

Blue sports car with white racing stripes and red accents parked next to a white sports car on an asphalt lot with mountains in the background.

2027 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport and Grand Sport X

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About the Author: Chris Chin is an associate editor at Gear Patrol, covering cars, trucks and anything else with four wheels. He has over a decade of experience writing news and reviews but considers himself an enthusiast first, with a passion for classics and European cars. His daily driver is a 1987 Mercedes-Benz 560SEL with nearly 250,000 miles (87,000 are his).

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