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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!
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