10-5-65 The Running Mako Shark II Was Shown To The Automotive Press – WOW!

October 5, 1966, the Running Mako Shark-II Debuts at the Paris Auto Show

Mako-Shark-II-1Forty-Nine years ago today, October 5, 1965, the automotive press got to see the first, running Mako Shark-II show car at the Paris Auto Show in France. The non-running full-size model of the Mako Shark-II had been shown in April ’65 at the New York Auto Show and was a knock-out. The response was so overwhelming, Chevrolet brass quickly decided to build a running prototype for the next phase of development.

As V.P. of Design, Bill Mitchell laid out what he wanted the next Corvette to be. See if you can follow this.

He wanted the following; “a narrow, slim, center section and coupe body, a tapered tail, an all-of-a-piece blending of the upper and lower portions of the body through the center (avoiding the look of a roof added to a body), and prominent wheels with their protective fenders distinctly separate from the main body, yet grafted organically to it.” Continue reading “10-5-65 The Running Mako Shark II Was Shown To The Automotive Press – WOW!”