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Here's the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 14 - 1961 Corvette
Zora Arkus-Duntov was a
very adaptive engineer. He had built several racing Corvettes that GM's upper
management promptly stopped dead in their tracks. Instead, the ever- creative
engineer worked to give buyers the best all-around performance car on the
market. Duntov's original plan was to sell two different Corvettes, one
"street" Corvette and another "racing" Corvette. When the
SS Project was killed in 1957, Duntov decided to create the best of both worlds,
a tough-guy street performer that "could" become a competitive racer
with the right parts from Chevrolet. This tactic made for great marketing and
advertising.
Corvettes took a lot of heat from the sports car crowd for being a drag racer
rather than a road racer. But by the late '50s and early '60s, Corvettes
dominated SCCA class racing. It took Carroll Shelby's 2000- lb. Cobras to break
the Corvette dominance.
The '61 Corvette with the fuel injection option would run 0-60 in 5.5 seconds
and 14.2 seconds in the quarter-mile. Top speed was 130 mph. Sports Car
Illustrated magazine referred to the '61 Corvette this way, "One of the
most remarkable marriages of touring comfort and violent performance we have
ever enjoyed, especially at the price."
1961 was the first of several big changes for the Corvette's styling leading up
to the stunning 1963 Sting Ray. Except for minor trim, styling had been static
since 1958. Corvette styling chief Bill Mitchell was busy testing the public's
opinion with his XP-700 show car. The front end was overdone, but the back was
perfect. Not only was the '61 tail end design taken directly off the XP-700,
but it was also a preview of the '63 Stingray.
Other styling changes were more subtle. The nine- tooth shark-like front grille
was replaced with a mesh-style grille and the chrome headlight trim was now
body-colored. Crossed flags replaced the round Corvette badge on the nose and
"CORVETTE" spelled out under the badge like the SS Racer. The
interior had a narrower transmission cover for more leg room, updated seat
upholstery and door panel trim. Former options like a courtesy light,
windshield washers, parking brake alarm, and sun visors were now standard.
Sales figures for 1961 were 10,939 units, up from 1960's sales of 10,261. The
Corvette was now a respectable sports car with real racing potential. 1962
would bring more changes aimed toward the '63 Sting Ray. The days of the
solid-axle Corvette were almost over and the Mako Shark I was on its way.
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