The Official Pace Car for the 2019 Indianapolis 500
is the 2019 Corvette Grand Sport. America’s sports car will lead 33
drivers to the green flag on May 26 for the 103rd running of the legendary race
that is part of the Triple Crown of Motorsport, the other two being the 24
Hours of Le Mans and the Monaco Grand Prix.
It will be the 16th time a Corvette has served as a
Pace Car, with the tradition starting in 1978. At the same time, it will be the
30th time a Chevrolet has led the field at the Indy 500 — the first time was in
1948 when a Fleetmaster Six convertible paced the race. No other brand or
vehicle has served as the Indy 500 Pace Car more than Chevrolet and the
Corvette, respectively.
For the occasion, Chevrolet has given the 2019
Corvette Grand Sport Pace Car a unique GM Design Indy 500 decal package and
full-length racing Blade Silver dual stripes on top of the Long Beach Red
Metallic Tintcoat. The rest of the car is stock, meaning the LT1 6.2-liter aluminum V8
makes 460 hp and 630 Nm of torque. Hooked to an eight-speed
paddle-shift automatic transmission, it enables the Corvette Grand Sport to
sprint from 0 to 96 km/h in 3.6 seconds.
That will come in handy on the Brickyard, as will
the dry sump oil system and cornering capability of 1.2 g made possible by the
many advanced aerodynamic components. Other performance features on the
Corvette Grand Sport include the performance suspension with Magnetic Ride
Control, Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, and Competition Sport Bucket Seats.
