General Motors is offering up the first retail 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 to the highest bidder, but this isn’t just a blatant money grab. Instead, the automaker will generously donate the proceeds from the sale to the Karmanos Cancer Institute.

General Motors Company [NYSE:GM] has been a long-standing partner of the Karmanos Cancer Institute and in recent years has donated to it the proceeds from the sale of the first retail 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible as well as the first 45th anniversary edition 2012 Camaro. GM also recently gave the institute a $400,000 grant, bringing its total support over the last 17 years to $7.3 million.

This year, it’s the striking Corvette Z06 in the limelight. The rights to the first retail example (the existing cars are all pre-production units) will be auctioned off by Barrett-Jackson during the Collector Car Auction in Palm Beach, Florida on April 12. It will then be presented to its new owner at a special dinner event organized by the Karmanos Cancer Institute later that same month.

That new owner may very well be NASCAR team owner and avid Corvette collector Rick Hendrick. He recently dropped $1.1 million on the first 2014 Corvette Stingray and followed this up by dropping another $1 million on the first 2014 Corvette Stingray Convertible. No doubt the first 2015 Corvette Z06 would make a worthy addition to his collection.

The latest Corvette Z06 was presented for the first time at the 2014 Detroit Auto Show back in January, but it isn’t expected to go on sale until early next year. It’s closely based on the C7.R race car but features a unique supercharged V-8 engine, available eight-speed automatic transmission, and advanced infotainment system complete with performance data recorder.

Peak output registers at a heady 625 horsepower and 635 pound-feet of torque, but Chevy says these are only preliminary figures so the final output could be even higher when the car finally reaches showrooms. Incredibly, initial testing of the car has already shown that it’s faster than the C6 Corvette ZR1 around a track.

One of the perks of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray is its relatively low pricecompared to competitive European sports cars. Now, however the price is going up. A little bit, anyway. Prices for the both the Stingray coupe and convertible went up by $2,000 effective March 1. With destination, that brings the price of a base Corvette coupe to $53,995, while the convertible now costs $58,995.

In addition, the Z51 Performance package gets a $1,200 bump to $4,000. The package includes items--like an electronic limited-slip differential, uprated brake rotors, and the Performance Traction Management system--that significantly improve the 'Vette's on-track performance.

The price increase does not affect customers who have cars on order, and Corvette Blogger (via AutoBlog) reports that some dealers have not marked up cars built before March that are still on their lots. Chevrolet told Corvette Blogger that the price increase was a response to customer demand, which the company says has exceeded expectations.

Apparently, demand is high enough that customers won't be turned away by a new sticker price. After all, even with the slightly higher base price, the Corvette is still much cheaper than a Porsche 911 or Jaguar F-Type, and a great car on its own merits.

If you want to save money on your Corvette purchase, though, it might be a good idea to head over to the local Chevy dealer sooner rather than later.

It was an exciting time for Corvette Racing this year at the Tudor sportscar series championship Rolex 24 Hr race, as the new 2014 Corvette C7.R made its debut. Our Corvette DP teams swept the podium by having drivers finishing in first, second, third, and fourth place behind the wheel of the Corvette DP.

An intimate look at the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray convertible.