A few years before his death in 1988, Mitchell has this to say about the C4 Corvette, “That square box is pretty near plastic… the instrument panel – Dracula’s dressing room… it rides like a truck… it isn’t a style car, it’s an machine car… engineers are running it. Earl would never let that – I would never let that happen, and I condemn the guys for it!”
Ed Cole was born on September 17, 1909 and grew up on his family’s dairy farm. As a kid, Ed designed, built, and sold radio sets and when he was old enough, the natural mechanic started working at an auto parts supply store and building hot rods. For a time, Ed thought he wanted to be a lawyer, but that “car thing” got in the way.
Harley J. Earl’s accomplishments were staggering. His beautiful concept cars and subtle innovations (such as turn signals and wrap-around glass) that live on today, unnoticed, aren’t nearly as impactful as his greatest legacy, the Corvette. His quote, “The Corvette was a little thing I started.” is one of the all-time great, automotive understatements. Sixty-five years after Earl took his LeSabre concept car to the 1951 Watkins Glen sports car race and was inspired, we are still captivated by Corvettes. That’s one heck-of-a legacy!
It’s getting close. Mid-engine Corvette mules have been seen on public roads wearing that crazy camo wrap, but at least we can see the basic shapes. The headlights taillights, front grille openings and engine cover are probably “holder” pieces, as they look too awkward to be the finished details.
Time flies when you are having fun racing and winning. But five years can be an eternity in prototype sports car racing. I was shocked to see a report on Jalopnik.com that the five year old Corvette Daytona Prototype is now relegated to vintage historic racing events.
Last week while finishing up a story about Bill Tower’s Grand Sport #005 Corvette for Vette Magazine, I came across two YouTube videos posted by GM Heritage Center. The videos are silent and were probably shot with an 8mm camera that someone brought along to the events. The film looks like hand-held and amateurish and not at all the same quality of the Jam Handy films from that era. But, you do get to see the Grand Sports in action.
This was arguably the first time ALL FIVE 1963 Grand Sport Corvettes were all together in one place. Perhaps “once” after all five Grand Sports were built in the last months of 1962, all five cars might have been together, but there’s no documentation. So, it only took 50 years for all five Grand Sports to be in one place and be formally documented.
The last time we saw something like this was in 2010 when Chevy showed the Z06-X Concept Corvette. The formula is the same; your basic Z06 with all the latest racer-type hardware. This is right out of the old Zora Arkus-Duntov RPO “racer kit” model from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s.
The first time we ever saw something like this was back in 1969 when Duntov held court at the GM Proving Grounds with one of his mule development Corvettes. Zora and his team built the car like a racer would have; they removed everything that shouldn’t be on a racecar and added everything that should be on a racecar, plus a ZL-1 engine! It was one of my favorite Duntov Corvettes.
The National Corvette Museum just announced that BIG plans are in the works. The proposal calls for more display space, more office space, and more storage space. Hemmings Motornews posted a very comprehensive article that you can read HERE.
I was surprised to learn that the Museum owns 81 vehicles and that the museum does not have an example of every year Corvette. That’s just one of the many things on the Museum’s Wish List.
And just an interesting FYI, in December 2017 at USA Today poll, readers voted the National Corvette Museum as the “Best Kentucky Attraction”! Check it out HERE. https://www.10best.com/awards/travel/best-kentucky-attraction/
Unlike today’s Corvette Racing Team’s massive year-around, non-stop R&D program, the Sebring cars were prepared in just a few weeks and were being worked on around the clock. But all things considered, it was a valiant effort that paid off. Here’s a list of the modifications made to the Corvettes. This is why I say, these were no ordinary Corvettes and by 1956 standards, these cars were very advanced.
While Duntov lead the charge when it came to racing Corvettes, he wasn’t the only power player inside Chevrolet with a vision for a mid-engine Corvette. Frank Winchell was a low-profile company man who, unlike Duntov, did not like or seek out fame and attention. He was comfortable in his role as a corporate man. Winchell ran the Chevrolet R&D group from 1959 through 1966 and was a “take no prisoners,” “lets try it” kind of guy. While not a degreed engineer, he had a natural sense of how things worked and specialized in the design and development of automatic transmissions.
Question: What’s better than a Grand Sport? Answer: TWO Grand Sports Special Edition Corvettes are a fun part of the Corvette hobby. Production numbers for...
The Chevrolet-backed Corvette Racing Team starts its 20th racing season this month and has consistently raced longer than any other team in IMSA history. But...
John and Patti Hutchinson, of Orlando, Florida, and owners of The Grand Sport Registry (www.GrandSportRegistry.com), are the winners of Corvette Report’s first “Vette of the Month” photo contest with their Grand Sport Twins!
Since John and Patti Hutchinson already owned a 1996 Grand Sport, it was just too tempting! They HAD TO get a a 2017 Grand Sport Convertible, in Admiral Blue with red fender hash marks! What’a pair of Grand Sports! BRAVISSIMO to the Hutchinsons! More to come in the March issue of Vette Vues Magazine.
Subscribe to
Corvette Report