by Keith Cornett
CorvetteBlogger

During today’s press conference at Road America, Corvette’s Chief Engineer Tadge Juechter accepted the 2012 ALMS GT Manufacturers Championship award for Chevrolet and then used the high profile event to kickoff the countdown for the highly anticipated world debut of the next generation 2014 C7 Corvette. That countdown will culminate on the evening of Sunday, January 13, 2013 when the new Corvette is official revealed in Detroit.

Like every new Corvette generation that went before, Chevrolet has redesigned the iconic crossed flags logo specifically for the 2014 Corvette, and its release today provides Corvette fans with the first official glimpse of the new American sports car.

?Winning the ALMS championships with the Corvette C6.R, against prestigious competitors from Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW is the perfect send-off for the sixth-generation Corvette,? said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer. ?The seventh-generation Corvette will build on that success,? Juechter continued. ?With the new Corvette, we set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and driver engagement that is second to none. The result is a truly all-new Corvette. There are only two carryover parts from the C6 used in the C7?the cabin air filter and the rear latch for the removable roof panel.?

From 1953, the Crossed Flags logo has been a part of Corvette’s lore. While the design has evolved with the sports car over the years, it has always incorporated a pair of flags ? one a racing checkered flag, and the other featuring the Chevy ?bowtie? and the French fleur-de-lis which is a nod to Chevrolet founder Louis Chevrolet.

The C7 Corvette logo features a highly detailed, swept-back appearance that Chevy says is a more technical and angular design. To us, the swept-back look of the two flags conjures an image of speed. Kirk Bennion remarked that if the C6 logo looks like its going 60 mph, the new C7 logo looks like its going 160 mph.

Chevrolet considered 100 different variations before this final design was selected.

?The all-new, seventh-generation Corvette deserved an all-new emblem,? said Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design. ?The new Crossed Flags design reflects the character of the next Corvette. The flags are much more modern, more technical, and more detailed than before – underscoring the comprehensive redesign of the entire car.?

Accompanying the release of the emblem is also this version which shows the ?Corvette? font that will grace the sports car on both the exterior and interior. The script font has been redesigned as well and again gives a nice modern update for the next generation Corvette:

In releasing the new emblem, Chevrolet is sending the message that the C7 is truly an all new sports car. Only two parts were carried over from the C6: The cabin air filter and the latch for the targa roof panel.

Today’s announcement also answers the question on when we will be able to see the new Corvette. The 2014 C7 Corvette will debut the night before the opening of the North American International Auto show in Detroit on the evening of Sunday, January 13, 2013.

The event will be closed to the public, but Chevrolet is planning on offering a limited number of tickets for Corvette enthusiasts with proceeds going to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, KY. If you are interested in attending, contact Roc Linkov at roc@corvettemuseum.com at the Museum for more details.

Leading up to January’s reveal, Chevrolet will offer even more information and videos about the C7 Corvette on a special website ? www.One13Thirteen.com and Corvette fans can also join in the conversation by visiting @Chevrolet (#Corvette). Fans who follow the #one13thirteen hashtag on Twitter will soon learn more and can look forward to exclusive updates.

Here is the official press release from Chevrolet about the C7 Corvette logo and the January reveal in Detroit:

Next-generation Corvette to Debut 1.13.13, in Detroit

New Crossed Flags logo illustrates the character of the all-new, ?C7″ Corvette, which features only two parts from the C6

BRASELTON, Ga.? Today, Chevrolet confirmed that the seventh-generation Corvette will debut the evening of Sunday, Jan. 13, 2013 in Detroit. To kick off the countdown to the debut, Chevrolet debuted the new Crossed Flags logo for the new, 2014 Corvette

?The all-new, seventh-generation Corvette deserved an all-new emblem,? said Ed Welburn, GM vice president of global design. ?The new Crossed Flags design reflects the character of the next Corvette. The flags are much more modern, more technical, and more detailed than before – underscoring the comprehensive redesign of the entire car.?

The new Crossed Flags logo was unveiled at Road Atlanta, as Corvette Racing celebrated a sweep of the 2012 production-based American Le Mans Series GT championships.

Chevrolet secured the manufacturer’s championship, Corvette Racing secured the team championship, and Oliver Gavin and Tommy Milner captured the drivers? championship, with four wins in the nine races preceding Petit Le Mans, the 2012 ALMS season finale.

These championships make Corvette Racing the most successful team in ALMS history, with a total of 77 class wins, eight drivers? championships, and nine manufacturer and team championships since 2001. The team has also taken seven class victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans since 2001. Corvette Racing will campaign the C6.R for the 2013 ALMS season, as the C7.R is expected to make its racing debut in 2014.

?Winning the ALMS championships with the Corvette C6.R, against prestigious competitors from Ferrari, Porsche, and BMW is the perfect send-off for the sixth-generation Corvette,? said Tadge Juechter, Corvette chief engineer.

?The seventh-generation Corvette will build on that success,? Juechter continued. ?With the new Corvette, we set out to build a world-challenging sports car with design, refinement, efficiency and driver engagement that is second to none. The result is a truly all-new Corvette. There are only two carryover parts from the C6 used in the C7?the cabin air filter and the rear latch for the removable roof panel.?

The Crossed Flags logo has been a hallmark of the Corvette since its 1953 introduction. It has always incorporated a pair of flags, one a racing checkered flag and other featuring the Chevrolet ?bowtie? emblem and a French fleur-de-lis. The design has evolved over the years, but has been featured on more than 1.5 million Corvettes built between 1953 and today.

For the seventh-generation Corvette, the Crossed Flags design is a more technical, more angular, and more swept appearance?a proportion that echoes the new car. It is also a more detailed representation, showing greater depth, color and attention to detail.

More than 100 variations were considered before the final design was selected.

The new Crossed Flags design will be featured on the all-new, 2014 Chevrolet Corvette, which will debut the evening of Sunday, Jan 13 in Detroit. The Corvette debut will be reserved for credentialed media. Chevrolet will offer a limited number of tickets for Corvette enthusiasts, with proceeds benefiting the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Ky. Interested parties can contact Roc Linkov (roc@corvettemuseum.com) for more details.

Over the next weeks more information and video content about the seventh generation Corvette will be unlocked on www.one13thirteen.com. Enthusiasts can join the conversation about the next generation Corvette, as well as keep track of any new announcements, on Facebook (facebook.com/corvette) and Twitter @Chevrolet(#Corvette). Fans who follow the #one13thirteen hashtag on Twitter will soon learn more and can look forward to exclusive updates.

FAST FACT: The first Corvette debuted as a concept car on January 17, 1953 at the GM Motorama in New York City. That car originally featured an emblem with a checkered flag crossed with an American flag. As the American flag couldn’t be used for a commercial emblem, the logo was changed to the fleu-de-lis/bowtie design by the time the car went into production in June of 1953.

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