Chevrolet Celebrates 100th Anniversary with 2012 Centennial Edition Corvette Package

The Chevrolet brand turns 100 this year, and unlike some people that like to hide their age after a certain point, the automaker is out to tell the world. Among the many celebrations planned for this occasion is the presentation a special 2012 Centennial Edition Corvette with a black color scheme and unique design elements.

�Racing and performance are the roots of Chevrolet, a tradition carried forward today by Corvette,� said Rick Scheidt, vice president of Chevrolet marketing. �The Centennial Edition not only celebrates our 100 years, it once again pushes Corvette forward for a new generation of sports car fans.�

The 2012 Centennial Edition will be available as a special package on all Corvette models, including the Grand Sport that features a 6.2-liter V8 pumping out 430HP, the Z06 that comes equipped with a 505HP 7.0-liter V8 and the flagship ZR1 with its 638-hp supercharged LS9 V8 engine.

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VIDEO: 2012MY Nissan GT-R Trims Nurburgring Lap Time to 7:24.22, Plus Split-Screen with ZR1

At last November�s LA Auto Show, Nissan lifted the sheets off the revised GT-R that recently went on sale as a 2012MY in North America and as a 2011MY in the rest of the world. Key changes over the previous model include a 45HP bump in output to 530HP, plus a series of aero and chassis tweaks.

For those of you wondering how these modifications affected the GT-R�s performance on the notorious Nordschleife, Nissan�s team managed to shave more than two seconds off the 2011MYs time of 7:26.4, dropping it to 7:24.22, allegedly in less than ideal conditions. You�ll have to skip to about 3:20 into the clip for the driving to begin.

We also found a edited film on Youtube that compares the 2012 GT-R and Corvette ZR-1 on the 'Ring in a split format, which was created by synchronizing the two videos at the pit exit. Watch both videos after the jump.

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VIDEO: Corvette ZR1 ALMS Ad Belittles BMW, Ferrari and Porsche, but Ends up Losing to M3s in Sebring�

Just before the season opener of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) at the Sebring International Raceway in Florida this past weekend, GM aired an aggressive commercial touting its 638-horsepower-strong Corvette ZR1. The ad claims that the firm�s engineers had to reduce the stock ZR1�s LS9 engine output by 168HP in order to compete in the race and �just to be fair against Porsche, Ferrari and BMW�.

For one, the Corvette ALMS racers are actually powered by a V8 loosely based on the Z06�s LS7 engine (see the second video after the jump). Perhaps most importantly, the Corvettes finished third and fourth in the GT class in Sebring behind two BMW M3 GTs� Videos follow after the break.

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