This Corvette Grand Sport is the Indy 500 pace car

Meet the 2019 Indy 500 pace car. For the 16th time, ‘the greatest spectacle in racing’ will be led by a Chevrolet Corvette.

No car has donned the pace car uniform more often, and no brand, either, given this is Chevy’s 30th appearance overall. The less said about 1990’s Beretta Convertible, though, the better…

The car on duty on May 26 2019 is a Corvette Grand Sport, possessing of a 455bhp 6.2-litre V8 engine, good for 0-60mph in 3.6secs and some noise. Quite a lot of noise, actually.

This particular Grand Sport uses an eight-speed automatic gearbox, has a Brembo brake package and Magnetic Ride Control for extra comfort. It should ride over that yard of bricks like a dream.

It also looks to be quite the shade of maroon, though official nomenclature for its colour scheme is ‘Long Beach Red Metallic Tintcoat’. Obvs. To that, Chevy has applied the Indy 500 pace car decals. Quite tastefully, no?

If you’re missing our bombardment of stats from earlier, then this is also the third year running the Indy 500 has been led by a ‘Vette, and more staggeringly, the 18th year in a row there’s a Chevy up front. The first year a Corvette wore pace car stickers was 1978. Next pub quiz, you’ll know…