General Motors is expected to announce a $100 million upgrade plan for its Chevrolet Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which like many of the automaker’s facilities across the country has fallen by the wayside due to recent bankruptcy proceedings.

The information was revealed by people familiar with the matter who said GM’s North American chief, Mark Reuss, could make the announcement as early as tomorrow.

The upgrades are most likely in preparation for the introduction of the redesigned ‘C7’ Chevrolet Corvette due either late next year or in early 2013.

The car is expected to feature brand new engines, completely revised sheet metal and possibly a dual clutch transmission, all of which means most of the current tooling at Bowling Green will need to be replaced.

The Bowling Green plant first opened in 1981, and has the capacity to build more than 30,000 cars a year. However, through March 2011 it's built just 3,070 cars and even with Corvette sales up 15 percent so far this year the plant is still running at less than 50 percent capacity.

Pictured above is a computer-generated rendering of what the new 2013 Chevrolet Corvette may look like. Click here for more details on the car. 

[The Wall Street Journal via TheCarConnection]