We've just learned that EMO TRANS, the shipping company that was hired by General Motors to transport a Corvette SS mule to Germany for testing on the Nurburgring, has fired the employee who took pictures of the vehicle and posted them on the internet. In addition, the unnamed employee has been taken to jail, though we don't know what charges have been filed against him. For our part, we've removed the pics from Autoblog for fear of GM's wrath. The automaker has been reportedly approaching various sites all day requesting the images be removed, so rather than waiting for the phone to ring we've gone ahead and taken them down.

This clearly illustrates how seriously GM is taking the development of the Corvette SS, as well as how utterly embarrased and apologetic EMO TRANS must be for the actions of its employee. It's all fun and games on our side of the fence because we got to see some real, informative shots of this very special Vette, but it reminds us that there's a lot of money on the line. We're sure that GM didn't appreciate pics of this powerplant were available for every other automaker to peruse. Lesson learned, though harder for some than others.

TheGMSource Exclusive: Civilian Who Leaked Corvette Images NOT Arrested
By Josh Oliver
Published: February 22, 2007

TheGMSource - In the world of news reporting and in the case of the Internet, word spreads like wildfire once it hits the pages of popular web-sites. Earlier today it was reported that the gentleman who produced images of what is believed to be a prototype for the 2009 Corvette SS had been fired from his job, and subsequently arrested by local authorities.

We did a little research of our own and can confirm, with the utmost certainty that the gentleman in question was NOT arrested or placed in police custody.

TheGMSource has been able to confirm that a civial complaint was filed today by General Motors in Romulus, Michigan. We can also confirm that no criminal charges have been filed by the Romulus Police Department and that an investigation is still ongoing.

What is expected to happen next is a detective will be assigned to the case if it is deemed necessary. While we can not state specifics, we are told that the civil complaint is in regards to "a prototype being pictured by an employee."

So, to set the record straight. The gentleman in question was NOT arrested, nor placed in Police custody, and criminal charges are pending depending on the outcome of the ongoing investigation.

Stay with us as more news becomes available we will have it for you.

Josh E. Oliver

A Romulus loading dock worker not only took spy photos of a top-secret Chevrolet Corvette -- he took the super high-performance sports car for a test drive, according to a police report.

The employee drove the prototype car, valued at $1 million, around a parking lot on Monday, and used a camera phone to take some 23 photos of the vehicle, the report states.

The report was obtained Friday by the gmsource.com automotive blog and posted to its Web site. Romulus police would not release the report to The Detroit News on Friday afternoon, saying it was part of an ongoing investigation.

The incident took place at the Central States Trucking Co.'s facility near Detroit Metropolitan Airport the day before the vehicle was shipped to Germany

Several photos showing the Corvette's exterior and engine began appearing Thursday on auto enthusiast Web sites. The police report specifically said the pictures were sent to fast-autos.net.

Pictures were removed from that site at Central States Trucking's request, but remained on other sites, such as www.jalopnik.com.

The car was identified as a prototype of the 2009 Corvette SS, a 600-plus horsepower supercar dubbed the "Blue Devil," after General Motors CEO Rick Wagoner's alma mater, Duke University.

The police report said the loading dock worker was fired and civil action may be pending. He had worked for Central States Trucking since June.

A source close to the situation, who asked not to be identified, said it is odd that such a highly sensitive vehicle was packed in such an unsecured fashion, to the point it could be driven, rather than completely crated.

Automakers have struggled in recent years to keep a lid on photos of cars in development as Web sites aimed at auto enthusiasts have proliferated.

GM spokesman Terry Rhadigan would not confirm that the photos that appeared online were of the Corvette prototype. He also said he didn't believe it was GM that called police about the illicit photos. He said GM is continuing to investigate how the photos were leaked.

"Clearly this is a security violation," he said. "But we're still in the midst of investigation. As far as any next step, we're not in position to talk about that."

A receptionist at Central State Trucking's Bensenville, Ill., headquarters said company officials would not discuss the situation.

Rhadigan said he didn't know how police came to value the car at $1 million and said not all concept cars are valued at that amount.

A production Corvette Z06 starts at $70,000.

The Internet has been abuzz in recent weeks with speculation about GM's rumored development of a 600-plus horsepower Corvette supercar.

March 26, 2007

We caught the so-called “Blue Devil” Corvette last week on a General Motors test track outside Detroit, just days before it may be unveiled at the New York auto show. The sound of the supercharged V8 during acceleration is akin to a big diesel decelerating down—sharp rattle raps—only in reverse.

Check out that symbol on the rear: Is it a Duke Blue Devil? GM chairman Rick Wagoner went to Duke, but is officially denying being involved in the naming process (natch). He has, however, spoken in broad swaths about the Corvette model’s racecar derivatives, what with its reported 650 hp.

Whether the mascot sticks or not—we’ve heard whispers about Corvette SS being confirmed as the name, with Z07 and Stingray thrown around as well—it looks like you could see this ’Vette as a 2009 model at around $100,000. —Jim Dunne, Ben Stewart and Matt Sullivan

It appears the “Blue Devil” Corvette already is so quick it has even outrun a freeze on large and powerful rear-drive cars at General Motors, and it’s not even finished yet.

“That one is too late to stop. That’s almost finished. It’s in the final stages of tuning,” Bob Lutz, vice chairman in charge of product development, told CARandDRIVER.com during a recent interview in which he outlined a series of rear-drive projects that have been put on hold until the auto maker knows how strict the proposed new corporate average fuel efficiency (CAFE) regulations will be.

Mounting casualties so far include migrating the next Chevy Impala to the Global RWD Architecture (formerly known as Zeta), an ultra Cadillac based on the 2003 Sixteen concept, potential plans for a rear-drive Cadillac DTS, and work on the smaller Global Small RWD Architecture to produce a baby Caddy.

But the Blue Devil is still on track, despite a gestation period that Lutz described as challenging, in acknowledging, for the first time, the car’s existence. “It’s a very difficult vehicle development. This thing has so much power that we have to explore a dynamic envelope that we’ve never explored before. We want the vehicle to be safe and we want it to be predictable, even at speeds that no mortal is ever going to attain in the United States. That’s our obligation. We’re really into a speed and power realm that General Motors has never been in before. We’re way up there with Porsche Carrera GTs and Ferraris.”

Lutz won’t divulge engine details except to say the displacement of the new powertrain is greater than the pushrod 7.0-liter V-8 in the Z06.

In terms of horsepower, Lutz said: “We’re certainly not going to be at 600 because some of our competition is at 600. So, 600 is a number that is not satisfactory for us. I would say comfortably in excess of 600 is the way I would term it.” As for 700 horses, “that would be a stretch. Tom Stephens (GM’s head of powertrain) would say, ‘maybe in the second year.’”

Which brings us back to our long-held contention the car is packing a 650-horsepower V-8, although we expected it to be a supercharged 6.2-liter with an integrated intake-manifold intercooler. With the lightweight Z06 as a starting point, we expect the Blue Devil will make the sprint from 0 to 60 mph in less than 3.4 seconds.

As for torque expectations, Lutz said he really doesn’t know. “We’re obviously going to have to restrict it because otherwise you get nothing but wheelspin. So those are some of the problems, is how to get power to the ground.”

The product guru is not saying when the beast will bow publicly for the first time, but the expectation is early in the 2008 auto show circuit as we anticipate a 2009 model year designation for the limited run (1500-2000) built a year.

And it’s still anyone’s guess as to its name. While Lutz referred to it as the Blue Devil in talking with CARandDRIVER.com, the rumor mill has churned out Corvette SS, Z07, and Stingray as potential monikers.

Given its lengthy development, and Lutz’s assertion it is proving “almost as tough as an all-new Corvette,” Blue Devil might be apropos by the time this $100,000-plus monster makes it to market.