What a great summer. Chevy made so many people smile at Rev It Up that we couldn't even count them all.
-Dan Passe, PR Director, Rev It Up 2007
To hear Chevrolet officials tell it, the company wants to give everyone in America the chance to experience its high-performance vehicle lineup. The proof? An all-Chevy-powered, enthusiast-oriented day camp called Rev It Up, which toured San Francisco, Los Angeles, Houston, Orlando, New York, and Washington, D.C., this year during the months of July and August.
In its second season with Chevy as a title sponsor, Rev It Up once again put drivers behind the wheels of performance-oriented offerings such as the Cobalt SS, the Impala SS, the Trailblazer SS, and, of course, the Corvette.
"With Rev It Up, we [went around] the country...to show driving and racing enthusiasts that Chevy is serious about performance," says Chevrolet Marketing General Manager Ed Peper. "Chevy is proud to be part of this exciting summer program that proves we not only talk the talk, we drive performance home-today and with our exciting future products."
VETTE was invited to enjoy a behind-the-scenes look at Rev It Up during its stop in Orlando, Florida, in July. Here's an overview of how the series works:
Participants of all legal driving ages get behind the wheel of identically prepared Chevrolet Cobalt SS coupes and compete against a "perfect" autocross time (assigned a 1,000-point value), set at each event by a professional driver. The 10 people whose times are closest to the pro's in each of two daily contests then move on to the Corvette Shootout.
This session uses a similar scoring system, but dispenses with the Cobalts in favor of '07 C6s. Match the professional time in the Vette, and you receive 1,000 points. Run slower, and you're assigned a score ranging from zero to 999, based on a mathematical formula. Beat the pro time, and you receive a score of 1,001 or higher.
The contestant with the highest score in each of the six cities is then entered into the final rankings; the highest overall score wins. This year's grand prize was a brand-new '08 Corvette-quite an incentive to brush up on your driving skills. Follow along with us as we check out some of the action from Rev It Up 2007.
For more information on Rev It Up, visit www.revitup.com.
Each event winner received...
Each event winner received a special Corvette-inspired PRS "Jake" electric guitar and an all-expenses-paid, two-day classroom experience at the Bondurant Racing School in Phoenix. Six PRS guitars were awarded in total, and the overall winner's guitar was signed by the Corvette Racing Team drivers.
A race-spec LS7 engine poses...
A race-spec LS7 engine poses in front of the No. 4 C6.R. Also on hand were the Chevrolet/Lowes No. 48 NASCAR racer, the Camaro Convertible concept, and a variety of other Chevy racing and project vehicles.
Dan Passe of Rev It Up shows...
Dan Passe of Rev It Up shows off an Atomic Orange '07 Corvette convertible. Chevy's entire '07/'08 performance-vehicle lineup was on-hand for the event.
Roger Foo (right) explains...
Roger Foo (right) explains the finer points of autocrossing to an attendee. Free beginner and advanced driving courses were offered by Chevrolet, and all members of the public were invited to attend.
Before competing in the timed...
Before competing in the timed autocross contest, participants were allowed to make unlimited familiarization runs in a Cobalt SS. For the contest itself, only two runs per person were permitted.
These automatic-equipped '07...
These automatic-equipped '07 Corvettes were used for the Corvette Shootout portion of the event. For many participants, this was their first time behind the wheel of a Vette.
Chevrolet Media Relations...
Chevrolet Media Relations Manager, Southeast Region, Alex Vitale prepares to put a Corvette through its paces on one of the specially prepared autocross tracks.
A display board kept track...
A display board kept track of participants' autocross times throughout the day. In the foreground are the Cobalt SS coupes used in the first round of competition.
Pro racer Matt Reilly lapped...
Pro racer Matt Reilly lapped all day long in this '07 Z06. The next day, C6.R driver Johnny O' Connell took over the hot-lapping duties.
The 505hp Corvette Z06 was...
The 505hp Corvette Z06 was the star of the "Z06 Time Attack" at Rev It Up. The Time Attack gave attendees a chance to ride in a Z with a professional race car driver.