AP Photo/Carlos Osorio

General Motors unveiled its newly designed 2014 Corvette Stingray in Detroit, on the eve of the North American International Auto Show.

The Corvette features a 6.2-liter small-block V-8 with 450 horsepower takes the car from zero to 60 mph in under four seconds.

Potential buyers will see overwhelming changes in the car from what they last say nine years ago: aluminum replaced steel, super-light rivets held parts together, and the V-8 engine kicked down to four cylinders at highway speeds, saving fuel.

"There won't be a Corvette if we don't care about fuel economy," Tadge Juechter, the car's chief engineer, said Sunday night.

While the car features sweeping changes, the Corvette team paid homage to the first Stingray in 1963, with a sloping roof that tapers toward the bottom. The car has a small Stingray badge on each side, complete with gills. The car also has an updated edition of the Corvette's crossed-flag logo.

The muscle car has been a favorite of adrenaline junkies for 60 years. The Stingray will arrive in showrooms this fall.

General Motors has not listed a price on the 2014 model.