Remember the Rossi SixtySix? It first entered our radar at SEMA back in 2008, when we saw renderings of the C6-meets-63/66 Corvette. We didn't hear any more about the car until this summer when it was announced that the first one was ready for production. Fast forward a few months and the car, as most cars tend to do, has ended up in Jay Leno's Garage.
Leno spends some quality time with the Rossi SixtySix, as well as its Director of Design, David R. The car's design inspiration is the C2 Corvette, but the underpinnings are all modern since it's a C6 underneath the skin. And despite its model name being the SixtySix, there's a split window in the back, which came from the 1963 Corvette. The point isn't to mimic a specific model year, however, but rather to create a unique version of a car that many people love. We think the end result does a better job than the C5-based convertible we saw at the beginning of 2008.
Regardless of the name, the SixtySix is all Corvette. Rossi takes a modern C6 donor car and applies its own body work to the chassis. The cost, including a base Corvette, will run you $130,000. The tires, wheels and suspension receive an upgrade but the powertrain remains stock. It's up to you where you want to start under the hood, be it with the 435-horsepower base Vette or the 505-hp Z06. We're going to assume you wouldn't do this to a ZR1.
After talking design, Jay takes the car out on some local Southern California roads, providing real insight into a car that has gone from vaporware to very real.
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