cars news 10: 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Priced at $66,445

Essentially positioned as a middle ground between the standard Stingray and the wild Z06, the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport is a track-focused car but without the supercharged engine of the Z06. We now know just how much you’ll pay for all the Grand Sport when it goes on sale this summer: $66,445, including destination, for the coupe, and $70,445 for the convertible.

Those prices are, like the Grand Sport itself, a middle-ground between a standard 455-460-hp 2016 Corvette, which lists from $56,395, and the 650-hp Z06, which rings in from $80,395 in coupe form.

The 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport uses the 460-hp LT1 6.2-liter V-8 engine from a regular Stingray, but with many components from the Z06 to improve performance. There are staggered 19/20-inch wheels with Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires, enlarged Brembo brakes with 14-inch front rotors, Magnetic Ride Control dampers, and an available Z07 package with carbon-ceramic brakes and Michelin Pilot Sport 2 Cup tires. Other changes including cooling upgrades, plus a unique vented carbon-fiber hood, a new front splitter, and a new rear spoiler.

Chevrolet says that, when equipped with its seven-speed automatic instead of its standard seven-speed manual transmission, the Grand Sport can hit 60 mph in 3.6 seconds and runs the quarter mile in 11.8 seconds at 118 mph. With the standard tires, Chevrolet says to expect 1.05g of cornering grip, which rises to a ludicrous (for a street car) 1.2g with the Z07 package.

Customers can pick from any color offered on other Corvette models, and can elect to have their car fitted with the Heritage package that includes fender hash-mark decals. Optional stripes are available, too, and later this year there will be a Grand Sport Collector Edition with unique paint and stripes, and various interior enhancements.

The only thing that remains is for us to get behind the wheel of the 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport to see just how those performance parts fare on track. The car goes on sale this summer.