Syndicated Talk Show host is first to sign up for Chevrolet’s new hands-on ultimate car guy option.
Todd Schnitt’s fifth Corvette, a 2011 Cyber Grey ZR1, will be unlike any he has had before. This time he will personally help build its 638-horsepower supercharged small block engine on August 30 at the GM Performance Build Center in Wixom, MI.
As part of the $5,800 Corvette Engine Build Experience option, a special Chevrolet concierge is coordinating all arrangements with Schnitt. Upon completion, the engine will be tracked and sent to the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green, KY. where Schnitt’s ZR1 will be assembled with his engine.
“To build my own engine is over the top,” said Schnitt who hosts the Tampa, FL-based MJ Morning Show and nationally syndicated Schnitt Show. “When my dealer told me about the option it was like ‘Of course, I’ll do it, sign me up!’ I can’t wait to get there and build my own LS9. It will be the ultimate personalization. I’m anticipating it being one of the coolest things I’ve done in my life.”
“In a way, this is a dream program for a Corvette customer. I would have jumped at the chance to build the 427 in my ’67 Corvette, and it didn’t have half of what goes into one of these modern precision engines,” said Tom Stephens, GM vice chairman, Global Product Operations. “Today's LS7 and LS9 Corvette engines are pinnacle achievements in engineering, and to personally involve our customers in their final creation shows the depth of Chevrolet’s commitment to make lasting connections with the customer.”
Skilled technicians at the PBC individually hand build each Corvette Z06 LS7 7.0L engine, Corvette ZR1 6.2L supercharged LS9 engine and a variation of the Corvette Grand Sport’s LS3 6.2L engine. The PBC incorporates the best practices of low-volume niche manufacturers and the established quality and manufacturing standards at GM to ensure the highest-quality specialized engines. Schnitt will be closely guided and coached by one of these technicians. His engine will still be covered by GM’s five-year / 100,000 mile warranty.
In addition to building their own engines, Corvette buyers can attend driving school in Arizona or Nevada, take delivery of their vehicles at the National Corvette Museum or watch their vehicles being built at the Corvette assembly plant in Bowling Green. Schnitt attended the driving school in conjunction with his 2009 ZR1 purchase and took museum delivery of his 2007 Z06.
The popular host’s current daily driver is a 2010 Cadillac CTS-V with a 556-horsepower supercharged small block and six-speed manual transmission. Of the CTS-V, he says “applause goes out to the GM engineers; the products these days don’t leave me wanting for anything.”
To see what the Corvette Engine Build Experience is all about, check out this video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PlzktN4Ql4
For more information about 2011 Corvettes, please visit
http://www.chevrolet.com/corvette/