Five months after its reveal, the 535hp Grand Sport is in customers’ hands, the 721hp Grand Sport X is entering production, and independent testing has finally given us some hard numbers.
When Chevrolet unveiled the new Corvette Grand Sport in March, the easy headline was the engine. A 6.7-litre naturally aspirated V8 with 535hp sounded like a wonderfully old-fashioned answer to a very modern question. The hybrid Grand Sport X, with 721hp and all-wheel drive, looked even more intriguing.
Five months later, the story has moved on. The ordinary Grand Sport is now being built and driven. The first instrumented tests are in. Dealers are taking Grand Sport X orders, the first customer X cars have been completed at Bowling Green, and Chevrolet has finally switched on the Grand Sport X online configurator.
That matters because the Grand Sport has always been more interesting in the real world than on a specification sheet. It is supposed to be the Corvette that pinches the chassis confidence of the expensive versions without demanding that you live with their price, noise or excess every day. The first drives suggest Chevrolet has remembered the recipe.
2027 Corvette Grand Sport at a glance
| Grand Sport engine | 6.7-litre naturally aspirated LS6 V8 |
| Grand Sport output | 535hp and 520lb ft |
| Grand Sport drive | Rear-wheel drive, 8-speed dual-clutch |
| Grand Sport 0-60mph | 2.75sec official; 2.7sec independently tested on Cup 2R tyres |
| Grand Sport US price | From $86,000 before destination charges and taxes |
| Grand Sport X output | 721hp combined |
| Grand Sport X drive | Hybrid all-wheel drive, 186hp front motor |
| Grand Sport X 0-60mph | 2.4sec claimed |
| Grand Sport X US price | From $109,700 before destination charges and taxes |
| UK / Europe | European availability has not yet been confirmed |
In this guide
- 2027 Corvette Grand Sport at a glance
- What has changed since the March reveal?
- The LS6 6.7-litre V8 is still the star
- What the first drives tell us
- Chassis and Z52 packages: where the Grand Sport earns its badge
- Grand Sport X: 721hp, all-wheel drive and no longer theoretical
- Where the Grand Sport now sits in the Corvette range
- Why Admiral Blue still matters
- Inside: still unmistakably C8, but with more theatre
- Price, availability and the UK question
- Verdict: the sensible Corvette, in the least sensible sense
- 2027 Corvette range at a glance
- Frequently asked questions
What has changed since the March reveal?
The biggest change is simple: the 2027 Corvette Grand Sport is no longer a pre-production promise. Production of the 2027 Corvette range began at Bowling Green in June, and Grand Sports quickly became a meaningful part of the build mix. By July, cars were reaching reviewers and early customers.
Chevrolet has also published proper US pricing. The Grand Sport starts at $86,000 before destination charges and local taxes. Grand Sport X starts at $109,700. Both are available as coupe or convertible, with 1LT, 2LT and 3LT equipment levels.
The first independent acceleration figures have now arrived too. Car and Driver recorded 0 to 60mph in 2.7 seconds and a quarter-mile in 11.0 seconds at 123mph from a Grand Sport wearing the optional Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres. Chevrolet quotes an available 2.75-second 0 to 60mph time and a 10.95-second quarter-mile at 124mph.
There is fresh news on the X as well. Retail ordering opened during the summer, the first customer-ordered Grand Sport X cars were reported complete in August, and Chevrolet’s Build & Price tool went live on 25 August. In other words, the 721hp hybrid has crossed the line from motor-show curiosity to a car buyers can actually configure and order.
The LS6 6.7-litre V8 is still the star
The new LS6 is the start of General Motors’ sixth generation of Small Block V8s, and it is a substantial rethink rather than a bored-out version of the old 6.2. Displacement rises to 6.7 litres, or 409 cubic inches, with a 100mm stroke and a 13.0:1 compression ratio, the highest yet used in a Corvette V8.
Chevrolet quotes 535hp and 520lb ft. The engine uses a 95mm throttle body, a tunnel-ram intake with high-velocity ports, forged pistons and rods, revised exhaust manifolds and a new continuously variable oil pump. Direct and port fuel injection are both used. It remains naturally aspirated, which increasingly feels like an act of cheerful defiance.
There is one important twist that the early announcement made easy to overlook. The LS6 is not exclusive to Grand Sport. It is also the new standard engine for the 2027 Stingray. So the case for spending more on a Grand Sport is not extra engine power. It is the wider body, chassis hardware, gearing, cooling, brakes, tyres and track options wrapped around that engine.
That is actually quite faithful to the best Grand Sports of the past. The name has rarely been about chasing the biggest horsepower number in the brochure. It is about building a more serious driver’s car around the accessible engine.
What the first drives tell us
The early road tests are broadly making the same point: the Grand Sport has more grip than power, and that is a compliment. MotorTrend found the car especially convincing on tight, technical roads, where the extra torque from the LS6 helps it fire out of slower corners without the driver constantly chasing revs.
The new engine also appears to have added character. Reviewers have singled out the deeper, more muscular exhaust note, particularly with the optional quad centre-exit system. The 6.7-litre V8 does not have the exotic shriek of the Z06’s flat-plane-crank LT6, but that is rather the point. It sounds and responds like a big American small-block should.
The instrumented numbers are strong without making the car absurd. A measured 2.7 seconds to 60mph is only a tenth behind the quickest Z06 figures recorded by the same magazine, yet the Grand Sport starts more than $35,000 below the Z06 on Chevrolet’s current US price list.
For road use, that balance may be more valuable than another few hundred horsepower. A car that can deploy most of what it has on a favourite road is often more satisfying than one that spends its life asking you to back off.
Chassis and Z52 packages: where the Grand Sport earns its badge
Standard Grand Sport specification is deliberately usable. Magnetic Ride Control 4.0 is standard, paired with a Touring suspension set-up and Michelin Pilot Sport All Season 4 tyres. Chevrolet has also developed a low-dust, corrosion-resistant braking package for the standard car.
The Z52 Sport Performance Package moves the car towards serious fast-road use. It brings a stiffer suspension tune, Michelin Pilot Sport 4S summer tyres and J56 high-performance iron brakes borrowed from the Z06.
Then there is the Z52 Track Performance Package. This is the version for owners who really do know the marshal at their local circuit by name. It adds J57 carbon-ceramic brakes, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2R tyres, track-focused chassis tuning and the full carbon-fibre aero package with splitter, dive planes, rockers and rear wing. The available quad centre exhaust is also included.
This spread of specifications is important. The Grand Sport can be an all-season road car on one end of the scale or a properly serious track machine on the other, without changing the 535hp engine.
Grand Sport X: 721hp, all-wheel drive and no longer theoretical
Grand Sport X replaces the old E-Ray’s place in the range, but it is more than a badge swap. The rear wheels are still driven by the LS6 and eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox, while a 186hp electric motor drives the front axle. Total system output is 721hp, with the motor contributing 145lb ft at the front wheels.
The battery is tiny by electric-car standards at 1.9kWh because this is a performance hybrid, not a plug-in. Its job is to provide immediate front-axle torque and help the car put power down, not to carry you through the week on electricity.
Chevrolet quotes 0 to 60mph in 2.4 seconds and a 10.4-second quarter-mile at 131mph. Carbon-ceramic brakes and all-season tyres are standard on the X, and the control strategy includes the same sort of energy-management thinking developed for the much more powerful ZR1X.
There are still electric-only party tricks. Stealth Mode can move the car for roughly four to five miles at speeds up to 50mph, while Shuttle Mode is intended for low-speed manoeuvring around a driveway or garage. Nobody buys a 721hp Corvette to save the planet one cul-de-sac at a time, but quietly leaving home early in the morning is a genuinely useful trick.
More importantly, early drives suggest the software has changed the character compared with E-Ray. The front motor is being used as a handling and traction tool, not merely a launch-control device. That should make the X the more confidence-inspiring choice in wet or cold conditions, although the rear-wheel-drive Grand Sport remains the purer proposition.
Where the Grand Sport now sits in the Corvette range
The most revealing thing about the 2027 line-up is that the Stingray and Grand Sport now share exactly the same 535hp LS6. The Grand Sport therefore has to justify its extra money with chassis and body hardware rather than a larger number on the engine cover.
That leaves the range unusually easy to understand. Stingray is the everyday entry point. Grand Sport adds the wide body and greater chassis capability. Grand Sport X adds all-wheel drive and hybrid punch. Z06 keeps its 670hp flat-plane-crank identity, while ZR1 and ZR1X occupy the faintly unhinged end of the catalogue.
For many drivers, the regular Grand Sport may be the most coherent car of the lot. It has enough performance to be genuinely serious, but not so much that the engine overwhelms the chassis or turns every useful stretch of road into a three-second event.
Why Admiral Blue still matters
Grand Sport is one of those Corvette names that arrives with baggage, most of it rather good. The original 1963 programme produced just five lightweight C2 race cars before General Motors shut the project down. The name then disappeared for decades before returning on the 1996 C4 Grand Sport.
That C4 is why Admiral Blue, a white centre stripe and red accents are so closely associated with the badge. Chevrolet has leaned into the history for 2027 with heritage graphics, fender hash marks and Launch Edition trim, but thankfully the new car is not just a sticker package.
The Grand Sport formula became properly established with the C6 and C7 cars: use the regular naturally aspirated engine, add the wider body and much of the chassis capability from the harder-edged models, then sell the result as the sweet spot. The new C8 version follows that pattern more closely than the launch photographs might suggest.
Inside: still unmistakably C8, but with more theatre
The 2027 cabin keeps the C8’s driver-focused layout but gains the latest digital displays, performance apps and connectivity. Wireless phone charging and phone projection are standard, while higher trims add items such as the Performance Data Recorder, heated and ventilated seats and a head-up display.
The Launch Edition is where Chevrolet has had the most fun. Santorini Blue can cover the cabin, with custom stitching, embossed Grand Sport headrests and a waterfall badge plaque. It is not subtle, but Grand Sport has never been a badge for shrinking violets.
There is also a wide choice of seats, from the road-biased GT1 to GT2 and Competition Sport designs. Buyers can even pair a Competition Sport driver’s seat with a more comfortable GT2 passenger seat in selected asymmetric interiors, which sounds odd until you remember who is doing the braking.
Price, availability and the UK question
In the United States, Chevrolet lists the 2027 Grand Sport 1LT coupe from $86,000 before destination charges and taxes. The 2LT starts at $93,100 and the 3LT at $97,750. Grand Sport X starts at $109,700 before destination and taxes.
Those numbers place the regular Grand Sport neatly between the $71,000 Stingray and the $121,500 Z06. The X sits below the Z06 on list price while offering more combined power, although the two cars are aimed at very different drivers.
For British readers, there is still an important blank in the specification sheet. Chevrolet Europe says information on potential European availability of Grand Sport and Grand Sport X will be announced later. There is therefore no official UK price to quote at the time of writing.
What is clear is that US supply is moving quickly. The Grand Sport is already in production and on the road. Grand Sport X retail ordering is open, first customer cars have been completed, and the online configurator is now live. This is no longer a story about what Chevrolet might build. It is about what the new Grand Sport is actually like.
Verdict: the sensible Corvette, in the least sensible sense
The most powerful C8s are engineering spectacles, but spectacle is not always the same thing as enjoyment. The regular Grand Sport makes a different case. It takes a 535hp naturally aspirated V8, surrounds it with more chassis than it strictly needs, and leaves the rear wheels to deal with the consequences.
That sounds almost restrained beside a 1,250hp ZR1X, which tells you how far Corvette has travelled. Yet the first tests suggest the old Grand Sport idea still works. It is quick enough to make almost any road feel short, grippy enough to flatter without becoming numb, and noisy enough to remind you that a large V8 is sitting just behind your shoulders.
Grand Sport X is the cleverer car and probably the faster point-to-point tool when the weather turns. The rear-wheel-drive Grand Sport is the one that feels truest to the badge. If the sweet spot of the Corvette range is supposed to be the version you would actually want to drive rather than merely explain in a pub, Chevrolet may have found it again.
2027 Corvette range at a glance
Current US starting prices shown below are Chevrolet list prices before destination charges and local taxes. Figures checked 28 August 2026.
Frequently asked questions
| Model | US start | Power | Drive | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stingray | $71,000 | 535hp | RWD | LS6 6.7-litre V8 |
| Grand Sport | $86,000 | 535hp | RWD | Wide body, Magnetic Ride, Z52 options |
| Grand Sport X | $109,700 | 721hp | AWD | LS6 plus 186hp front electric motor |
| Z06 | $121,500 | 670hp | RWD | 5.5-litre flat-plane-crank V8 |
| ZR1 | $197,700 | 1,064hp | RWD | Twin-turbo V8 |
| ZR1X | $227,500 | 1,250hp | AWD | Twin-turbo V8 plus front electric motor |
Chevrolet lists the 2027 Grand Sport 1LT coupe from $86,000 in the US before destination charges and taxes. The 2LT starts at $93,100 and the 3LT at $97,750.
It uses Chevrolet’s new 6.7-litre LS6 naturally aspirated V8. The engine produces 535hp and 520lb ft and is paired with an eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
Chevrolet quotes an available 0 to 60mph time of 2.75 seconds and a quarter-mile of 10.95 seconds at 124mph. Car and Driver recorded 2.7 seconds to 60mph and 11.0 seconds at 123mph using a car on optional Cup 2R tyres.
Grand Sport is rear-wheel drive and uses the 535hp LS6 V8 alone. Grand Sport X adds a 186hp electric motor at the front axle and a 1.9kWh battery, giving all-wheel drive and 721hp combined.
No. It is a performance hybrid. Its main power source is the 6.7-litre V8, assisted by a front electric motor. It can move briefly on electric power in Stealth Mode, but it is not a plug-in hybrid or battery-electric car.
Not confirmed. Chevrolet Europe says information about potential European availability of Grand Sport and Grand Sport X will be shared later. There is no official UK price at the time of writing.
No. For 2027, both Stingray and Grand Sport use the same 535hp LS6 V8. Grand Sport earns its higher position through its wider body, chassis hardware, suspension, braking and track-focused options.
Photo credits: All supplied 2027 Corvette Grand Sport, Grand Sport X and historic Grand Sport images are credited to Chevrolet / Chevrolet News.
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