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Here's
the story...
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 12 -1960 Corvette
The
public was ready for
something really exciting. Actually what happened was the first of many
Corvette "bait 'n' switch" setups with the automotive press. Road
& Track said in January 1959, "We predict that this will be the
year
of big changes for the Corvette." Rumors had it that Chevrolet was
going
to release a completely new Corvette for 1960.
Rumors were fueled by speculation concerning the radical Q-Corvette.
Unfortunately, this highly advanced 1957 design never made it past the
clay
model stage. However, the Q-Corvette's styling would eventually become
the 1963
Sting Ray Coupe. What really fanned the flames was the XP-700 show car.
This
was your basic, overdone show car that was used to test the public's
reaction
to some new styling ideas. Since Bill Mitchell often drove the car,
some saw it
as just an executive perk. That may have been partially true, but
XP-700
clearly showed us the upcoming "boat tail" design for 1961. We'll
cover the XP-700 in the next issue.
So after all of the press-fed anticipation, the 1960 Corvette was
somewhat of a
letdown. Anticipating this reaction, Zora Arkus-Duntov had planned some
good
stuff under the hood . Advertisements announced, "major breakthrough in
design and metallurgy." Aluminum heads would be standard on both
versions
of the optional fuelie engine. This improvement saved 53 lbs. and
bumped the
power rating from 250 to 275 hp for the hydraulic lifter version and
290 hp to
315 hp for the solid lifter fuelie. Extra power came from an enlarged
injection
plenum, improved combustion chamber design, larger valves and higher
compression. Unfortunately, casting irregularities killed the exotic
new heads.
Disappointments and setbacks aside, the 1960 Corvette was still an
improved
car. A rear stabilized bar was now standard, along with a thicker front
stabilizer bar, eliminating the need for stiffer springs. An optional
racing
package included stiffer shocks, quicker steering and finned brake
drums with
cooling scoops. Aluminum was used to save 18 lbs. on the bellhousing
and the
fuel injection cars now used an aluminum core radiator.
On the race track, Briggs Cunningham took a team of three Corvettes to
Le Mans
and finished in 8th place overall. This was a huge feather in
Chevrolet's cap,
having much more status than a class win at Sebring. It clearly let the
Europeans know that the Corvette was here to stay.
Here's the
story...
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 13 -1960 XP-700 Corvette Show Car
While
Bill Mitchell was busy racing his Sting Ray Racer, there was an
accompanying
custom Corvette that was getting a lot of attention. Mitchell had
initiated a
policy that all new car designs would be fully functional -- no more
full-size
mockup "dream cars." Since Bill liked to drive his designs, the
XP-700 would have plenty of power under the hood.
What's really interesting about this car is that it clearly showed
styling
trends that would be used in the '61 and '63 Corvette and eventually
the '97
Corvette. It also showed the classic '50s era of "more is better."
The midsection is clearly stock Corvette design. Vents on top of front
fender
vents have no reason to be there. The sidepipes are interesting, but
are too
short, looking like add-ons, as do the scoops behind the doors.
The twin bubble top is nicely mated with the stock windshield and
clearly
points towards the '97 Corvette. The mirrors are also nice.
The front of the car is very strange. In '50s excess style, everything
is
"bigger and better." The nose is elongated with an elliptical opening
and has a scoop under it. The headlights are moved forward and also
have scoops
under them. The vents on the hood were used on the Sting Ray Racer '63
Racer
and the production '63 Corvette.
The back end of the car was nearly perfect. A body crease leads off the
tops of
the fender openings and wraps around the back. Below the back edge, the
license
plate was mounted deep in the center. Dual taillights flank both sides
of the
license plate and horizontal bumpers were at the corners. The design
was so
well received that it was put into production for '61. It also set the
shape
for the back end design for the upcoming '63 Sting Ray.
Since this was a functional prototype, the interior had many features
that
became standard items in '61, like a parking-light warning light, dual
sun
visors, windshield washers, and interior courtesy lights. The narrowed
transmission tunnel also made it into production. What didn't go into
production were items like a periscope rear view mirror, experimental
overdrive
unit, and a dash-mounted chronometer.
The XP-700 was the first of the functional Corvette show cars. Later
Corvette
show cars would be knock-out beauties. Unlike today's show cars,
Mitchell
actually drove this car to work. That would never happen today!
Here's the story...
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 127 -
Briggs Cunningham's 1960 Le Mans Racing Corvette
Thirty nine years before the ‘99 C5-Rs arrived
at Le Mans, there was another Corvette team that took Le Mans by storm. GM’s
official position may have been, “we don’t race,” but that didn’t stop Zora
Arkus-Duntov from making hot parts for racers and coincidentally taking his
vacation on the same dates as important racing events. Sports car racing was
relatively new to Americans and considered the realm of the small European cars.
But Duntov and a few select friends had a different
agenda.
Briggs Swift Cunningham‘s passion for racing
began in 1930 and included not only cars, but yacht racing. Briggs was a wealthy
financier and poured millions of dollars into his racing enterprises. In the
’50s he racked up dozens of sports car wins and took the America’s Cup in ‘58 He
had a passion for creating racing teams and raced anything that was fast -
Ferraris, Mercedes, Porsches, Maseratis. But when the big V-8 Corvettes started
winning sportsman races, Briggs took notice.
Meanwhile, back in Detroit, Duntov was always
looking for people to champion his Corvettes. In 1960, the rules for the GT 5000
class allowed big-engine cars to race at Le Mans. Briggs loved speed and Duntov
loved seeing Corvettes raced. Cunningham built a 3-car team and Lloyd Casner
fielded a similar looking Corvette. The four big-engine,white Corvettes lined up
first and were an imposing sight to the Europeans.
Compared to the C5-R and the C6.R Corvettes,
the Cunningham and Casner cars were amazingly stock. The cars were prepared by
Alfred Momo with help from Duntov, Frank Burrell, and a few other Corvette
engineers. All used a basically stock 283 / 290-horsepower Fuelie engine with
cast-iron manifolds, side-exit exhausts, and an oil cooler. Racing drum brakes
were used and the car road on Halibrand magnesium knock-off wheels, and racing
tires. An over-sized gas tank was added with a center-mounted, quick-fill gas
cap. The interior had a roll bar, special instruments, racing bucket
seats, and an adjustable steering column. The hardtops were
bolted on and all of the cars were white with blue stripes. Corvettes were
tough-looking, fast cars at Le Mans in 1960.
Le Mans is all about speed and endurance. Car
#1 crashed and burned after three hours of racing. At the 17th hour, the Fuelie
engine in car #2 expired. At hour #22, car #3 with Bob Grossman and John Fitch
driving, experienced a broken radiator cap that lead to a blown head gasket. The
engine was packed with ice and finished the race in 5th place overall and 1st
place in the GT 5000 class. The Casner car finished in 21st
place.
The fastest of the team cars hit 151-mph on the
Mulsanne Straight with a 4:26.2 lap time. Production Vettes wouldn’t see 150-mph
until the arrival of the big-blocks. Briggs Cunningham knew how to build fast,
endurance cars, and Duntov was all too happy to provide unofficial assistance
from Chevrolet. This was the juicy stuff of legends.
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