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Here's the story:
lllustrated Corvette Series No. 19 - 1963 Grand Sport Corvette
"Chevrolet's Cobra Killer"
The 1963 Grand Sport is
undoubtedly the ultimate "could-have-been" Corvette. Had GM not
pulled the plug, this 2,100 pound monster could have been a true snake-killer.
But it wasn't to be.
Grand Sport's problem wasn't a lack of hardware or technical assistance, it was
political. The problem began with the 1957 Automobile Manufactures Association
ban on factory supported racing. At first, Ford, GM and Chrysler complied, but
by 1960 Ford and Pontiac were developing racing programs despite the AMA ban.
In June of '62, Ford and Chrysler announced that they would ignore the AMA ban
and openly develop racing programs. At Chevrolet, Duntov was watching.
Zora figured that if Pontiac was developing the Super Duty program and other
groups in Chevrolet were developing the Mark II Mystery Motor, he should be
working on a real racing version of the 1963 Stingray. This car would be
homologated in the FIA as a GT Class production car.
To be "legal" in the FIA, Chevrolet had to make at least 100 cars to
qualify as "production cars." Unfortunately, only five coupes were
built. Years later, two were made into open roadsters. The target weight was
1,900 pounds with an all-aluminum 377 small block making 550 horsepower! This
was a 180 mph Corvette. Everything was strictly racing!
The body was almost stock except for the nose and rear window. After its intial
outing in '63 the G.S. grew all sorts of flairs, scoops and bulges. Under the
thin fiberglass body was a twin tube chassis with a stock independent rear and
hand made front suspension. The interior looked stock, except for the racing
bucket seats, roll cage, and 200 mph speedometer! The car's best effort was the
1963 Nassau Speed Week where they stunned the Shelby team and won!
GM gave all racing programs the axe in January 1963. The Grand Sports were sold
and raced independently. Lacking real factory support, they were quickly
obsolete by 1966. All five cars have been fully restored.
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