The early Corvette produced in 1953, was a manifestation of the styling flair of Harley Earl, who convinced GM that two-seater sports cars were the ultimate American dream. The name Corvette comes from a small maneuverable fighting frigate. At that time, Chevrolet was known for producing superb performing cars in a no nonsense package. So, though the cars were good value, sales continued to decline.
The Corvette history would have ended with this small chapter except for the arrival of Zora Arkus-Duntov in the engineering department of GM. Duntov single handedly transformed the Corvette from a two-seat car to a genuine sports car by taking a 265 version of the engine and applying the three-speed manual transmission to it.
Corvette history covers 6 generations of the famous Corvette cars beginning from C1 through to C6. By 1963, turbulent times lay ahead for the Corvette, with various other cars trying to outshine each other. The famous L88 version of the Stingray was another landmark in Corvette history. Small changes in styling rendered the Corvette even more stylish and lightweight. 1973 saw the last of the Corvettes with chrome bumpers. 1975 was the last year a Corvette convertible was produced, and in 1980, the Corvette got a new aerodynamic design overhaul that drastically reduced drag.
The glorious Corvette history moves on to the C4 or fourth generation Corvette, which saw the first Corvette to have a glass hatchback. This model was acclaimed as being the best handling car ever. The Grand Sport version of the Corvette released in 1996 marks the end of the C4 series. High performance and superb looks were highlighted in this model. The look of the car had improved considerably in this version. Corvette history is full of the various awards and prizes won by Corvette both for its looks as well as performance.
It was a classic story of a promising car that didn’t have a chance to really prove itself. The Corvette SS began in 1956 as a pet project of General Motors’ styling director Harley Earl, who wanted Chevrolet to take on the big names in international endurance racing. Earl’s initial idea was to design a racy body, drop it onto a Jaguar D-Type chassis, and swap the Jag’s six for a Chevy V8.
It?s the same thing with high-horsepower cars. The car’s body is made of aluminum, and the front fenders and front wheelhouses are made of carbon fiber. Derived from Chevy’s successful Corvette racing program, the ZO6 has an all-new chassis that replaces the conventional car’s steel parts with lightweight aluminum, magnesium and carbon fiber.
The new LS7 7.0-liter OHV (overhead valve) V-8 engine for the 2006 ZO6 Corvette will not only achieve 500 horsepower, it will be capable of running up to 7100 rpm. The previous limit was 6600 rpm in the 6.0-liter LS2.
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