America turns 250 soon, and Chevrolet marked the milestone without a garish tricolor smeared across the bodywork. The result is far more restrained — the Stars and Steel series. Three models get the treatment: Corvette, Colorado and Silverado. But only one of them will be truly collectible. The Corvette will be built in exactly 250 units — one for each year of American independence — and every car carries a plaque with its own number.
On the Corvette the package costs $9995. Nearly ten grand for stripes and badges — let that sink in. Yet it’s offered across the entire 2026 lineup: Stingray, E-Ray, Z06, ZR1 and ZR1X, coupe or convertible, but only in the pricey 3LT and 3LZ trims. Outside there are long flag-motif stripes, three-stripe door emblems nodding to 1776 and 2026, red calipers and an Edge Red engine cover. Inside — special sill plates, floor mats with red stitching and that numbered plaque marking the car’s place in the run.
The color logic is simple but deliberate. The white Corvette pairs with a Santorini Blue cabin and red belts. The black one gets an Adrenaline Red interior. American symbolism without a literal paint job — there’s no flag on the body, yet you read it in a heartbeat.
The pickups, by contrast, have no production cap — buy as many as you like. But the price bites harder. The electric Silverado EV arrives with the RST trim, 24-inch black wheels, red Brembos, black badging and signature stripes. That version starts at $99,945 with the Extended Range battery and at $108,445 with the Max Range one.
The Silverado 1500 demands the Crew Cab RST with the short bed, the 6.2-liter V8 and all-wheel drive. The truck alone costs at least $52,790, and Stars and Steel piles on another $14,395. The Silverado HD, based on the LTZ Trail Boss with the diesel Duramax 6.6 V8, starts at $72,595, with the package running $15,135. And for the Colorado Trail Boss the surcharge stings most of all: $14,900 on top of a price from $42,590.
The point of this series isn’t the hardware. What’s on sale here isn’t extra horsepower but a sense of belonging to American car culture: the Corvette as “the nation’s sports car,” the pickups as the familiar badge of working America. And the final touch that explains a lot — for every Stars and Steel sold, Chevrolet donates $250 to a nonprofit supporting veterans.
