Yenko Stinger
| Yenko | |
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 Yenko Stinger (1965) in a classic race at Watkins Glen International
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| Stinger | |
| Production period: | 1965-1969 |
| Class : | Sports car |
| Body versions : | Coupe |
| Engines: |
Gasoline engines : 2.7–2.9 liters (118–176 kW) |
| Length: | 4656 mm |
| Width: | |
| Height: | |
| Wheelbase : | 2692 mm |
| Empty weight : | 975 kg |
| successor | Yenko Stinger II |
The Yenko Stinger is a super sports car that was built from 1965 to 1969 by Yenko Sportscars , Inc. in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania based on the Chevrolet Corvair .
Donald Yenko , who initially raced a Chevrolet Corvette , discovered in 1965 that he was no longer competitive with the new Shelby Mustang . He therefore decided to drive a Chevrolet Corvair in the future . The standard Corvair, however, did not fit into any of the categories of the Sports Car Club of America (SCCA). So he converted a Corvair Corsa so that it complied with the regulations for sports cars: he removed the back seat and tuned the engine. However, the SCCA required an edition of at least 100 vehicles in order to recognize the new car as a production vehicle (and not as a prototype, which would have been a different class). Yenko therefore converted the required number of Corvairs within just one month in 1965 and offered them as Yenko Stinger .
In accordance with the regulations, all these cars were painted white, but otherwise differed in many ways: Some had changes to the body, such as: B. a bonnet made of fiberglass with spoilers, others not. There were also four performance levels. The steps 1-3 retained the standard six-cylinder piston engine with 2687 cc capacity, which in Corvair with four carburetors 140 bhp (103 kW) at 5200 min -1 made. Step 1 afforded 160 bhp (118 kW) at 5500 min -1 , Step 2 put it in a 190 hp (140 kW) at 5500 likewise min -1 and stage 3 developed 220 bhp (162 kW) at 6000 min -1 . In addition, there was a level 4, with the engine bored out to 2884 cm³ (bore 90.4 mm instead of 87.1 mm, stroke unchanged at 74.7 mm) and made 240 bhp (176 kW) at 6000 min −1 . All of these vehicles were factory-equipped by Chevrolet with a reinforced chassis, a lower steering ratio, a positraction differential (50 pieces with a ratio of 1: 3.89 and 50 pieces with a ratio of 1: 3.55) and two master brake cylinders. The latter change compared to the 1966 series was built into all Corvair as standard from the following year.
The Stinger competed in Class D for production vehicles, which was then dominated by the Triumph TR4 . In the first race in January 1966, a Stinger finished second, just 1 second behind the triumph. By the end of the 1966 season, Jerry Thomson had won the Central Division Championship and finished fifth in the National Championship . Dick Thompson , previously a very successful Corvette racing driver, won the Northeast Division Championship and Jim Spencer won the National Championship , with Dino Milani finishing second.
The following year, but the Chevrolet Corvair Corsa phased out and only offered the Corvair Monza, of the same displacement, but had only two carburettor and 95 bhp (70 kW) at 3600 rpm -1 made. At special customer request, Chevrolet continued to install the Corsa engine together with the long 1: 3.89 differential. However, the Monza had no tachometer and no temperature display for the cylinder heads. Yenko therefore had to retrofit these instruments. The SCCA, in turn, had relaxed the regulations and now allowed sports cars with red and blue paintwork to enter the races. Only 14 Stingers were supposed to have been made in 1967, but Dana Chevrolet , Yenko Stinger dealer on the west coast of the USA, ordered three more Stingers from Chevrolet with Yenko's consent, which, however, had to meet the stricter California emissions regulations.
A total of 185 stingers are said to have been created. The last one had the chassis number YS-9700 and was built for Goodyear as a tire test vehicle at the turn of 1969/1970 . The comedian , television star and automotive enthusiast Tim Allen was driving a Yenko Stinger with the chassis number YS-043 until about June of 2009.
