Last C6 Rolls off GM Bowling Green Assembly Line. Tooling for C7 Corvette Starts

[Falundir]

Per National Corvette Museum

Today, Thursday, February 28, 2013 at 8:04 a.m., the last 2013 Corvette came off the line at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant. The celebration was short lived, as less than 30 minutes after the last car was built, workers began remodeling the plant to prepare for the launch of the all-new 2014 Corvette Stingray.

A total of 215,100 sixth-generation "C6" Corvettes were made at Bowling Green since production began in 2005, the last of which was the exclusive 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition outfitted with the 60th Anniversary design package. This package boasts an Arctic White exterior and a Blue Diamond leather-wrapped interior with suede-microfiber accents.

At the heart of the 427 Convertible is the 7.0-liter (427 ci) LS7 aluminum-block V8, which is handcrafted by skilled engine craftsmen at the GM Performance Build Center. For the LS7 destined for the last C6 produced, the engine was built by Corvette executive chief engineer Tadge Juechter.

The last C6 Corvette will join other historic General Motors vehicles at the GM Heritage Center in Warren, Mich.

“Leading up to the production of the last C6 has been all business,” said Bowling Green plant manager Dave Tatman. “We take our job seriously and consider it the privilege that it is. But you can’t do what we do and not get emotionally attached to the car.”

Even as the team celebrated building the last C6, Tatman said there has been a great deal of anticipation and excitement toward building the all-new Stingray.

“The last C6 rolls off the line at 8:04 a.m. and I’ll have people in here at 8:30 a.m. to start tearing down and putting in new tools,” Tatman said.

The task will require that 120 workers take just four weeks to turn the Bowling Green plant around, completing a job that usually takes months to accomplish. All employees are slated to return to work on March 25, where they will learn the entirely new process required to build the Stingray.

Bowling Green Assembly, which hosts up to 50,000 visitors a year, is currently closed to the public to facilitate the remodeling of the line. Tatman said he plans to reopen the plant to outside tours as soon as possible, knowing that everyone is excited to see this new generation of Corvette built.

“As I always say, we don’t build cars, we build dreams,” Tatman said.

View more images of this historic moment on our Picasa Web Album online here.

One step closer to our C7s!

[Shark72]

"The last C6 rolls off the line at 8:04 a.m. and I’ll have people in here at 8:30 a.m. to start tearing down and putting in new tools,” Tatman said."

That is awesome, bring that C7 to life!!!

[volsfan0911]

I think it's amazing that they're going to change over the entire plant to C7 production in 4 WEEKS! Good luck - I'm sure it's a huge undertaking.

[OldJedi]

The last C6 being a 427 Convertible will certainly increase it's value. I am sure that someone has already spoken for the car. The last car is almost as valuable as the first car.

[volsfan0911]

Originally Posted by OldJedi

The last C6 being a 427 Convertible will certainly increase it's value. I am sure that someone has already spoken for the car. The last car is almost as valuable as the first car.

GM Heritage Center bound, according to Corvette Action Center

[mikeyg36]

It's sad seeing it go...

[PfadtRacing]

Originally Posted by mikeyg36

It's sad seeing it go...

+1

[pfargo]

I have not seen any discussion about this 4 week turnaround, training, etc. Everyone is still talking 3rd quarter, but the C6 and C5 were rolling off the factory line in just a few months. I think we will see new C7s in June. Someone on the line should know for sure. Anyone think the same as I do?

[volsfan0911]

Originally Posted by pfargo

I have not seen any discussion about this 4 week turnaround, training, etc. Everyone is still talking 3rd quarter, but the C6 and C5 were rolling off the factory line in just a few months. I think we will see new C7s in June. Someone on the line should know for sure. Anyone think the same as I do?

Unfortunately, it's going to be August at least before you see C7s hit the showroom floor. Although they were literally taking down the C6 assembly line as the last car rolled off it, there are a lot of steps they have to go through prior to actual production starting. Pre-production cars are probably starting soon, those will be used for testing, QA, sent to car rags for reviews, etc. Once everyone is happy with the final product, then they'll green light the line and actual production cars for sale will start rolling.

It's going to be a long summer yes............