Chevrolet begins shipping all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray

BOWLING GREEN, Ky.—The first shipments of the all-new 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Coupe have left Kentucky.

General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly has produced approximately 1,000 Stingrays thus far for customer deliveries, according to the automaker.

To expedite delivery, vehicles may be shipped out of build sequence, which GM said is a normal part of any new vehicle launch.

The Bowling Green facility underwent a $131-million overhaul to support production of the new Stingray, including approximately $52-million for a new body shop to manufacture the car’s all-new aluminum frame in-house for the first time.

The lightweight aluminum frame is the foundation for the most powerful standard Corvette ever, with an SAE-certified 455-horsepower and 460 lb.-ft. of torque.

An available performance exhaust system bumps power numbers to 460-horsepower and 465 lb.-ft.

GM claims the Stingray is also the most capable standard Corvette ever, with Z51-equipped models able to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.8 seconds, run the quarter-mile in 12 seconds at 119 mph, achieve 1.03g in cornering grip and stop from 100 km/h in 107 feet.

The Stingray also delivers the best fuel economy of any sports car on the market—an EPA-estimated 17 mpg in the city and 29 mpg on the highway.

The Corvette has been built exclusively at the Bowling Green plant since June 1981.