Corvette Stingray (concept car)

Corvette Stingray
Corvette Stingray
	File:Corvette Stingray (concept car).jpgCorvette Stingray in its concept car version Corvette Stingray
Overview
Manufacturer	General Motors
Production	1959
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car (experimental)
Body style	2-door convertible

Stylist Bill Mitchell’s XP-87 "Stingray" project was a privately funded project that was to lead to the development of the next generation of the Chevrolet Corvette.

Design and development

The Corvette Stingray Racer was designed by Bill Mitchell, GM Vice President of styling, and Larry Shinoda in 1959. The basis of the "Stingray" was the 1957 Corvette SS, an engineering test mule chassis for the creation of an official Chevrolet race effort culminating with the 24 Hours of LeMans. Soon after its race debut, the Automobile Manufacturer's Association banned manufacturer-sponsored racing, and the SS had been relegated to test track duty.

The Stingray used elements of the still-born "Q-Corvette" design study as well asthe SS underpinnings, featuring a 92-inch wheelbase. The new car was exceptionally light, with a dry weight of 2,200 pounds, nearly 1,000 lb lighter than a 1960 production car. Its fuel-injected 283-cubic-inch (4.6-liter) V-8 engine produced 315 hp at 6,200 rpm. The Stingray's body design strongly influenced the styling of the next generation Corvette, which saw production as a 1963 model year. It also was a test bed for many technical developments with a four-speed manual transmission, extensive use of aluminum and a de Dion rear suspension. The Stingray exists today with a 327 cubic inch (5.4 liter), fuel-injected V-8 of Template:Auto hp.

Operational history

Billed as a car "built to test handling ease and performance," Mitchell arranged to race the car quite extensively. In the hands of Dr. Dick Thompson, it made its debut at Maryland's Marlboro Raceway on 18 April 1959, finishing in fourth place. It went on to win an SCCA National Championship in 1960.

The Stingray was then retired from racing and modified by Mitchell with, among other things, a passenger seat added. The modified vehicle was exhibited as an experimental show car even while Mitchell regularly drove it personally on weekends. After its career as a concept car was finished, it was retained by the GM Design Studio as a historically significant vehicle.

Specifications (1959 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer)

Year: 1959
Make: Chevrolet
Model: Corvette Stingray Racer
Frame:Space frame
Body: Fiberglass
Engine location: Front
Drive type: Rear wheel
Weight: 2200 lbs (997.9 kg)
Engine
- Engine Configuration: V
- Cylinders: 8
- Aspiration/Induction: Normal
- Displacement: 283.00 CU IN. | 4638.4 cc. | 4.6 L.
- Valvetrain: OHV
- Horsepower: Template:Auto hp @ 6200.00 RPM
- Torque: 295.00 Ft-Lbs (400 NM) @ 4700.00 RPM
- HP to Weight Ratio: 7.0 LB / HP
- HP / Liter: 68.5 BHP / Liter
- Bore: 3.87 in | 98.3 mm.
- Stroke: 3.00 in | 76.2 mm.
- Compression Ratio: 11.0:1

Trivia

This car was featured briefly in the 1967 Elvis Presley movie Clambake.

References

Friedman, Dave and Paddock, Lowell C. Corvette Grand Sport: Photographic Race Log of the Magnificent Chevrolet Corvette Factory Specials 1962-1967. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Co., 1989. ISBN 0-87938-382-8.
Mueller, Mike. Corvette Milestones. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Co., 1996. ISBN 0-7603-0095-X.
Nichols, Richard. Corvette: 1953 to the Present. London: Bison Books, 1985. ISBN 0-86124-218-1.