Fresh from its first runs around the 'Ring, the first 2014 Corvette Stingrays are shipping to dealers today, bringing a new era of the iconic American sports car into the first retail buyers' hands.

About 1,000 Corvette Stingrays have been built so far, and will reach dealers over the next several weeks, according to today's announcement.

The first several rounds of deliveries are likely to be in fulfillment of pre-ordered cars, but GM says it will ship cars out of build sequence if necessary to speed delivery to customers.

"It’s an amazing sight to see the transporters filled with Stingrays heading to customers in all corners of the country," said Dave Tatman, plant manager of General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly plant, in a release today. "The pride at Bowling Green is overwhelming and it shows in the tremendous quality and attention to detail going into each one of these new Corvettes."

The 2014 Stingray is, in our estimation, the very best performance buy you can make for the price; on the numbers alone, the new Corvette is the most potent car for sale under $52,000.

If you're just dying to see the new Stingray in person, start haunting your dealer this weekend--you just might get lucky and see one as it rolls off the truck.

2014 Chevy Corvette Stingrays lined up outside of Bowling Green plant. Image via Corvette Museum.

2014 Chevy Corvette Stingrays lined up outside of Bowling Green plant. Image via Corvette Museum.