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Here's the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 93 - 1992 Falconer V-12 Experimental
Corvette
"The Conan Corvette"
When the Dodge Viper debuted
at the North American International Auto Show in January 1989, NO ONE
knew what hit them. The Viper was new and fresh, yet it had a definite
connection to the Shelby Cobra. Advanced orders were flooding in you
know that designers were going back to the office saying, "DAMN!"
The
Corvette team was working on three fronts: improving the production
Corvette, getting the LT-5 (ZR-1) ready for production, and honing the
CERV III prototype as a possible C5 Corvette. But the economy wasn't
good and the reality of a CERV III-based car seemed dim at best
Meanwhile, Chrysler was going into production with the V10-powered
Viper. This posed a serious threat to the Corvette's "America's Only
True Sports Car" status.
Under the
guise of a "chassis development" program, the Corvette team came up
with the idea of trumping the V10 Viper with a V12 Corvette prototype.
Enter Ryan Falconer.
Falconer
got his start in the early '60 working for Andy Granatelli's Novi
engine -powered Indy racers. Later he joined in the Shelby American
team and worked on the GT40 and racing Cobras. Two years later, Ryan
started his own company, building his own racing engines. His
associates reads like a "who's who" of auto racing legends, including;
Parnelli Jones, Al Unser, Mario Andretti, Jackie Stewart, and many
others.
So when
the Corvette team decided to one-up the Viper with two extra cylinders,
they decided on one of Ryan Falconer's stunning, all aluminum V12
racing engines. Since the Corvette would have to be stretched, this was
the perfect time for a "chassis study."
Since the
Falconer V12 packed a 680-horsepower kick, the obvious place to begin
was with a production ZR-1. The biggest challenge was the fact that the
all-aluminum V12 engine was 8.8-inches longer than the production
Corvette engine. So the front end of the ZR-1 would have to be
stretched 8-inches. SportsFab of Wixom, Michigan was contracted to do
the stretching. The extra length is barely noticeable, but the
'60s-styled side pipes sure are. Those were straight-through pipes
directly off the tuned headers with no mufflers! With the hood up, the
engine looked enormous. Amazingly, the extra length and the larger
engine only added 100-pounds to the overall weight of the car. The
engine used electronic fuel injection with a short-runner intake
manifold and the aluminum block had pressed in cast iron sleeves,
similar to the famous ZL-1
Actual
performance figures were never published, as this was just a "chassis
study." But you can figure out the power-to-weight ratio. What was
certain was that at $45,000 per engine, plus the chassis and body
modifications, there was no chance this car would ever get into
production. Nick-named "Conan" because of the huge V12 engine, the
ZR-12 was without a doubt, the one of the baddest engineering study
Corvettes ever made.
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