1953 – Corvette Concept Car Debuts at GM Motorama, NYC
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
January 17, 1953 – Happy Birthday, Corvette! Chevrolet’s concept car, the Corvette, makes its debut at the GM Motorama at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City
Dateline February 2016: While it is not generally known exactly when Harley Earl first sketched, perhaps on a napkin, his idea of an American Sportscar, built by Chevrolet – we do know when the Corvette made its grand debut to the automotive world. January 17, 1953 should be considered the Corvette’s birthday. Continue reading
1966 – L88 66 Corvette Built for Roger Penske, Daytona & Sebring Racing
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Corvette Milestones: January 14, 1966 – A pre-production L88 1966 Corvette is built at the St. Louis assembly plant, destined for the Roger Penske’s shop in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, then Daytona, and Sebring
Dateline February 2016: For 1966 the new Mark IV “big-block” was offered as it was designed to be, a 427 cubic-inch beast. Duntov’s next step was to offer an all-out racing version of the Mark IV with aluminum heads, as part of what would become his legendary L88 “racer kit” package. Continue reading
1999: Winning Corvette Race Team Tests Two C5-R Race Cars at Daytona
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Corvette Milestones: January 10, 1999 – At the Daytona International Speedway, in Daytona, Florida, the Corvette Racing group tests its two Corvette C5-R racecars
Dateline January 2016: All we can say is that it was about time GM and Chevrolet got behind a factory-supported Corvette racing effort! While Pratt & Miller built the cars, Corvette engineers were right there assisting and observing what worked and what didn’t, then applying their finding to what would become the Z06, the ZR1, the C7, and the C7 Z06. Continue reading
1963: Corvette’s Bunkie Knudsen Produces All New Mark IV Big Block Design
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Views
January 4, 1963 – GM President and Chief Operating Officer, Jack Gordon gives Chevrolet General Manager, Bunkie Knudsen approval to proceed with an all-new big-block engine to replace the W-Series 409/427 engine
Dateline January 2016: When you think of “big-block” Chevy engines, the Mark IV, aka “Porcupine,” Rat Motor” usually first comes to mind. But the first Chevrolet “big-block” was the W-Series engine that was in production from 1958 to 1965 – only eight model years! Continue reading
1991 ZR-2 454 Big-Block, “Big Doggie” Experimental Corvette
by K. Scott Teeters, written for Vette Magazine as republished from SuperChevy.com
Excerpted from: Trend Setting, Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes
Dateline 01.23.16: There must have been something in the office water cooler in the late ’80s that inspired engineers to want to put seriously big engines back into Corvettes. Scott Leon was a project coordinator at the GM Proving Ground in Arizona. And although the Corvette was being hailed as “The Best Vette Yet!,” hammering the competition in the SCCA Showroom Stock series, and had won several magazine new car top speed competitions and was crowned “The Fastest Car In America!,” there were some that longed for the days of big-block horsepower and torque. So, Scott Leon cooked up a plan. Continue reading
1983 – Production begins on the First C4 – 1984 model Corvette
By Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
January 3, 1983 – Production begins on the 1984 model Corvette, the all-new C4 Corvette.
Dateline January 2016: Chevrolet had a lot riding on the all-new C4 Corvette – expectations were very high since the C3 had been riding on the C2 chassis that was designed in 1960! Even though the new C4 used the 1982 Cross Fire Injection, rated at 205-hp, the new structure, modern suspension and brakes, and huge tires made the new Vette handle better than ever. Continue reading
1990 ASC ZR-1 Corvette Spyder Show Car
by K. Scott Teeters, Written for Vette Magazine as republished from SuperChevy.com
Excerpted from: Trend Setting Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes
Dateline 01.22.16: Corvette product planners spend a lot of time playing “What if?” But at least 80 percent or more of what they come up with never goes into production. Continue reading
1995 – Third Time Corvette Chosen as Official Indy 500 Pace Car!
by Scott Teeters for Vette Vues
Corvette Milestones: January 3, 1995 – Chevrolet announces that for the third time, the Corvette has been chosen as the official pace car of the 1995 Indianapolis 500 race.
Dateline January 2016: Chevrolet announces to its dealers that 522 pace car replicas would be produced, with 87 replicas for the Indianapolis festival and public relations. Twenty cars were scheduled for export to Canada. The remaining 415 available replicas were distributed to the top Chevrolet dealers. The final tally of 1995 Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car Replicas was 527. Continue reading
1992 Falconer All-Aluminum V-12 Experimental ZR-12 Corvette
by K. Scott Teeters as written for Vette Magazine and republished from SuperChevy.com
Excerpted from: Trend Setting, Part 15: A look back at Chevrolet’s experimental, prototype, concept car, and show car Corvettes
Dateline 1.22.15: When the Dodge Viper debuted at the North American International Auto Show in January 1989, NO ONE knew what hit them! The Viper was new and fresh, yet the connection to the Shelby Cobra was obvious. Advanced orders were flooding in! You just know that the Corvette designers were going back to the office saying, “DAMN!” Continue reading
First Drive: Superformance Corvette Grand Sport from Autoweek
by Mark Vaughn as republished from Autoweek
With the efforts of Superformance, there is no shortage of great Grand Sports
Dateline 01.20.16: Even in the rarified, no-necked, hairy-backed world of ultimate muscle cars and the men who love them, the Corvette Grand Sport is exalted. Rumble and growl all you want about your Cobras, your GT40s and your whatever-the-hell-else you think is the ultimate road brute, but the Corvette Grand Sport just might crush them all. Continue reading
1953 – Production of the 1954 Corvette begins in the St. Louis plant
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Timeline Tales: December 28th,1953 – Production of the 1954
Corvette begins in the St. Louis plant
December 2015 Dateline: As Corvettes got better and better in the late 1950s and through the 1960s, new Corvette enthusiasts weren’t aware that the first batch of 300 Corvettes were built in a make-shift assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, that was previously a large garage. While the St. Louis plant was a big improvement, it left a lot to be desired. Built in 1920, the early days of big American industry, the plant was described in Mike Mueler’s 2009 book, “The Corvette Factories” as, “… not only archaic, it was also lacking in size and scope. Expansion was out of the question, as was modernization…” Continue reading
Dec 25 1909 – Happy Birthday to Corvette Godfather Zora Arkus-Duntov
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Timeline Tales: December 25th, 1909 – Happy Birthday to Corvette Godfather Zora Arkus-Duntov
December 2015 Dateline: Zora used to joke that he had the birthday-Christmas curse, which means you won’t get double the number of gifts – which is funny coming from him because he was Jewish. Regardless, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s part in the Corvette story is just as important as the original design of the car. Continue reading
1978 – Bill Tower, of Plant City, Florida buys Grand Sport #005 from Dave Erwin
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Timeline Tales: December 24, 1978 – Bill Tower, of Plant City, Florida
buys Grand Sport #005 from Dave Erwin
Dateline December 2015: Duntov’s Grand Sport program is arguably one of the most beloved Corvette stories of all time for several reasons. It was the ultimate “could have been” Corvette program. The basic design of the Grand Sport was fine for 1962, when pencil was first put to paper to create Duntov’s beast. But road racing was developing at such a fast pace that by the time Roger Penske owned one of the Grand Sport Roadsters and raced at Sebring in 1966, the car was seriously outdated. Continue reading
1987 – Subcontractor Mercury Marine starts the first pre-production prototype LT-5 engine for the ZR-1 Super Vette
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Timeline Tales: December 24, 1987 – Subcontractor Mercury Marine
starts the first pre-production prototype LT-5 engine for the ZR-1 Super Vette
Dateline December 2015: Mercury Marine is generally known for their superb outboard boat motors and chainsaws. They even fielded a NASCAR Ford racer in 1955 and 1956 that won their championship with Buck Baker and Tim Flock driving. By the 1960s their MerCruiser stern-drive line of boats had 80% of the world market. Mercury Marine was one of the world leaders in the design and assembly of all-aluminum performance engines. Continue reading
1961 – The final design of the all-new 1963 Corvette Sting Ray is approved by management
by Scott Teeters as written for Vette Vues
Timeline Tales: December 24, 1961 – The final design of the all-new
1963 Corvette Sting Ray is approved by management.
Dateline December 2015: A total design change for any automobile is a big deal. Millions of dollars are committed to a design that won’t be proven “successful” until almost a year after the new car is released. Designs are looked at, reviewed, challenged, and scrutinized, until the day arrives then its decision time. Continue reading
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