
DATE: Saturday, March 8, 1997               TAG: 9703080227

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY LON WAGNER, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   70 lines

A 'VETTE WITH A LOT OF VERVE

Sport utility trucks. . . . Minivans. . . yeah right. How about a real car?

How about 345 horsepower under the hood, zero to 60 in 4.72 seconds, top speed of 175 mph, two-seats, low riding, 18-inch-wide rear wheels?

How about a brand new, never driven, 1997 Torch red Corvette?

Sorry, it's gone.

Colonial Chevrolet on Virginia Beach Boulevard had only one, and Gary Leach bought it.

Leach paid $5,000 over the sticker price of $39,555. Without even test-driving it.

``She's a doll,'' said Leach, owner of a Norfolk transmission repair shop. ``Ain't no doubt about it - American dream.''

Colonial Chevrolet and 401 other top U.S. Chevy dealers on Friday unveiled the redesigned 1997 Corvette. It's the first full redesign of perhaps the ultimate muscle car in 13 years.

Chevy revived an old automobile marketing trick for the 'Vette. Only the top 10 percent of dealers got a new Corvette, and the company mandated that they remain under a gray cover until release day.

Unofficially, though, Leach bought Colonial's Corvette on Feb. 22, said Jerry Ferrell Sr., new car sales manager.

``This gentleman already wanted to buy it before it got off the truck,'' Ferrell said.

Only three other Hampton Roads dealers got a new Corvette for unveiling day, the dealers said. Casey Chevrolet in Newport News wants $46,000 for its red one.

Kline Chevrolet on Military Highway in Chesapeake landed a whiteone with red interior. Kline is selling its 'Vette through a silent auction, but won't accept anything lower than the recommended price of $42,000, Sales Manager Brad Anderson said.

RK Chevrolet in Virginia Beach has a loaded, bright red Corvette listed at $51,294.

Leach has had several other Corvettes. In fact, he drove his Riverside Red, white-topped 1964 convertible to Colonial on Friday for the unveiling. Leach and his wife, Barbara, of Virginia Beach, say the 1997 seems more passenger-friendly than previous versions.

The transmission is in the rear, giving the passenger and driver more room. The hood, curvaceous in the right places, slopes down to almost kiss the road. From there, the car swells up and back toward a sculpted rear.

A Driver Information Center shows readouts for oil temperature and pressure, instant miles per gallon and can check the pressure of each tire individually.

There's no spare tire, by the way. The Goodyear Eagles designed for the car can ride 200 miles at 55 mph when completely deflated.

``That's class there, buddy,'' Leach said.

Class, of course, costs a little more than in 1964, the year of Leach's other 'Vette.

He's still got the window sticker on that one: $4,976.

But don't ask. Personalized license plates on the '64 read: NO SALE. ILLUSTRATION: [Color photo]

L. TODD SPENCER

Gary and Barbara Leach sit in their 1997 Corvette Friday after

paying more than $40,000 at Colonial Chevrolet, one of four Hampton

Roads dealers to sell the car, which received its first redesign in

13 years.

THE 1997 CORVETTE

Some features of the new Corvette include a rear transmission, a