1963 Corvette Grand Sport to be auctioned in January

There are a lot of legendary Corvettes - – the L88, ZL1 and Z06 to name a few. None, however, have obtained the legendary status of the 1963 Corvette Grand Sport.

Only five were produced by the "father of the Corvette", Zora Arkus-Duntov, to battle with Shelby's Cobra roadsters before General Motors cancelled its motorsports activities in 1964.

The Grand Sports are rarely offered up for sale, and this is the first time one is being put up for auction. Both RM and Keith Martin, publisher of Corvette Market Magazine, have declared the car to be the most important Corvette ever to be offered for sale.

This particular Grand Sport is chassis #002 and is one of only two roadsters. It features a completely original unrestored body and was previously owned by Roger Penske and George Wintersteen. No price estimates were given, but the bidding will surely go into the millions of dollars.

Dodge Viper now available for employee pricing

Chrysler may be trying to unload the Viper brand to the highest bidder, but first it's going to give millions of Americans the opportunity to buy their own supercar at a discounted price.

Until now the Viper remained outside Chrysler's Employee Purchase and Certain Designated Individuals discount program, but that's about to change as the supercar joins the list of eligible vehicles.

While Chrysler employs over 130,000 people, we doubt many of them, especially in this economic climate, will have the means or motivation to pick up the gas-guzzling V10 muscle car. However, an arrangement between Chrysler and Wal-Mart extends the benefits program to employees of the mega-retail chain, and with over 1.2 million employees, we're sure there are a few who'll take Chrysler up on its offer. Don't go rushing to pick up an ACR, however, as the track-focused model remains outside the program.

MT gets better numbers from ZR1 than C&D

Most automotive journalists have already experienced the raw, unbridled power of the new Corvette ZR1. Motor Trend has joined the party, and they brought their own extensive list of testing equipment with them.

Motor Trend tested the ZR1 at the Chrysler Proving Grounds because its 5-mile loop is one of the few places that has the space to test the ZR1's top speed. The mag was able to crest 200 wind-adjusted mph, and MT computers showed that the ZR1 was still pulling when that magical number was achieved.

Hitting 200 mph puts anything on four wheels in the supercar club, and a 0-60 time of 3.3 seconds ranks the ZR1 near the top of any exclusive car club. MT testers also needed only 11.2 seconds to travel a quarter mile and crossed the magic line at 130.5 mph, which they point out is 6.1 mph faster than the Dodge Viper.

Car and Driver was the first to test the ZR1 and posted slightly slower 0-60 and quarter mile times of 3.4 and 11.5 seconds, respectively. Other impressive stats from MT, however, include a 60-0 brake distance of just 97 feet and max lateral acceleration of 1.1 g, which easily bests the Viper's .99.

Bottom line is, the ZR1 is fast.