has surely made a lot of improvements with the Corvette over the past decade or so. Once considered the poor man's sports car, Corvettes today are considered one of the hottest cars you can own.

When exactly did the Corvette transition to reclaim its past glory? Car enthusiasts can debate this to death, but we think the transition may have started with the 2012 year-end model.

Meet the 2012 Corvette

The 2012 Corvette came at the tail end of Corvette's sixth generation (C6). Nonetheless, Chevy engineers tirelessly tinkered with the 2012 Corvette to make it better than the prior year. Unlike other models, Chevy wanted the C6 to go out with a bang.

To appease car enthusiasts of all flavors and budgets, the 2012 Corvette was available in four iterations: the base model, the Grand Sport, the Z06, and the ZR1. Even the base model carries an impressive 6.2-L V8 that can produce 436 hp, as reported by

Motortrend

. Not too shabby at all.

For the true speed demons, the ZR1 carried the same engine only supercharged. This beast produces 638 hp.

No matter which trim you prefer, all 2012 Corvettes could handle themselves on the track. But for those who wanted something even more flashy, there is a special "Centennial Edition" Corvette. This package commemorates the 100-year anniversary of the first Chevy car ever produced, the Chevrolet Series C Classic Six.

History aside, the Centennial Edition has a beautiful carbon flash metallic paint that pairs with satin-black graphics and custom badging.

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Is the 2012 Corvette a 'supercar'?

MORE: Supercars vs Hypercars–What's the Difference?

Every gearhead agrees on what a supercar is. It is any high-performance vehicle that has limited production, making them rare collector's items. Disagreements start to arise when trying to assign an actual number as to when a supercar becomes just another mass-produced vehicle.

In the case of the 2012 Corvette, a little more than 11,000 were produced. That is on par with approximately how many Porsche 911s are made each year. While some may consider this a controversial opinion, we would consider the 2012 Corvette to be a supercar.

Buying one of these speed demons

MORE: Your Chevy Corvette Could Be Worth Much More Than You Paid

With all the different trims and packages, the 2012 Corvette sure did have a wide price range. For a base trim coupe, buyers could expect to shell over $49,600 without any add-ons or packages. At the other end of the spectrum was the ZR1 coupe, which started at $111,600.

For the Base and Grand Sport trims, prices actually depreciated slightly, which is surprising for such a powerful sports car. Granted, this is based on vehicles that have around 50,000 miles, so those who never drove their 2012 Corvette may have a better return on their investment.

The Z06 did a little bit better, with typical prices staying the same as the original MSRP. As for the ZR1, well, we couldn't find a private seller who was willing to disclose a price publicly. This bodes well for ZR1 owners who were hoping for a return on investment.

Speed into cheaper car insurance

No matter which Corvette you plan on buying,

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