Tag: Bill Mitchell

Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 82nd Birthday Larry Shinoda

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 3.26.12

The next time you see a mid-year Sting Ray or Shark Corvette, think of Larry Shinoda.

He was born “Lawrence Kiyoshi Shinoda” but the automotive and Corvette world knew him as Larry Shinoda – Corvette designer and all-around carguy! Growing up in Southern California, Larry was steeped in the car culture and like many SoCal young men, was into the burgeoning sport of drag racing. In addition to his Corvette accomplishments, Larry also participated in an won his class at the very first NHRA national event in Great Bend, Kansas in 1955.

Larry was only 25-years old when after not completing his studies at Art Center School of Design in Los Angeles, he landed his first job with Ford in 1955. A year later, he briefly went to work at Studebaker/Packard, then went to General Motors late in 1956. Larry not only had an impressive portfolio, he had an intuitive sense of styling. If didn’t take long before his talent caught the keen eye of GM’s Bill Mitchell. But it wasn’t just Larry’s skill at wielding a pen and airbrush that helped acquaint him with Mitchell – it was drag racing.

The story goes that one day Shinoda and Mitchell had a chance encounter at a traffic light. Since both men had what Mitchell called, “gasoline in their veins,” neither man needed much goading to initiate a little stoplight grand prix. The light turned green and Larry put a whoop’n Bill, which may have been one of his best career moves. Mitchell drafted Shinoda into his special forces of car design, headquartered deep inside GM’s guarded facilities in a place called, “Studio X.” (sounds like a ‘50s sci-fi b-grade movie, doesn’t it”?) Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 82nd Birthday Larry Shinoda” →

Vette Videos: Driving The Night – A Corvette Celebration of Light & Shape

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 3.21.12

Feast your eyes on the lines and shapes of this classic Bill Mitchell Shark Corvette

For shark Corvette fans, this is a MUST-SEE Corvette video. The video looks to have been shot inside a long, lighted roadway tunnel because the light reflections is what creates this artistic, dreamy video.

As you are watching, keep in mind that the shape of the car was worked out almost 50 years ago! And it still is dripping with sexitude. Continue reading “Vette Videos: Driving The Night – A Corvette Celebration of Light & Shape” →

Vette Video: 1960 Mako Shark-I Corvette At The Georgia Aquarium

Published on by Scott3 Comments

Dateline: 3.5.12

What A Better Place To Show Off the Mako Shark-I

Lucky for us, GM design chief, Bill Mitchell had a fish fetish. Or should we say, a shark obsession. I once read an amusing story about Mitchell and his “shark thing.” He was talking with someone about the Mako Shark-I show car and he said, (sorry for the paraphrasing) “Look at the open mouth in that grille area. You can just see the blood dripping from the opening!” Yea, he was “into it.”

The story goes that Mitchell caught a big shark off the coast of Bimini and had it stuffed and mounted. It must have been his muse because he obviously picked up on three design elements.

1. The real shark’s side gills. On the car they show up just ahead of the front wheel wells and just behind the rear wheel wells.
2.  The real shark’s open mouth snout. Gee Bill, no teeth for the car? I think over the years, a few show car Corvettes have been seen with shark’s teeth.
3. The real shark’s light underbelly and dark blue top. This became the signature “Mako Shark” paint job with lots of variations.

Continue reading “Vette Video: 1960 Mako Shark-I Corvette At The Georgia Aquarium” →

Vette Videos: The STUNNING Corvette Classic 1959 Stingray Racer

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 3.2.12 –

A Timeless Corvette Beauty

Every so often a car design comes along that is “perfect.” It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, you end up stopped dead in your tracks. You find yourself almost unable to STOP looking at the car’s shape. For me, the 1959 Stingray Racer is such a car. The 1959 Stingray Racer was an outgrowth of the dead-on-arrival 1957 Q-Corvette, which never made it past the full-size clay model stage. But the pint-sized concept had a nuclear-powered punch because it set in motion a design process that is still with us today. Consider the lineage…

Q-Corvette leads to…
1959 Stingray Racer leads to…
Mako Shark I show car leads to…
1963-1967 Sting Ray leads to…
Mako Shark-II-inspired C3 “shark” Corvette… that leads to…
C6 Corvette (look closely at the front and rear fenders of the C6 – there’s a C2 Sting Ray in there).

 

Back to the timeless ‘59 Stingray. Clearly, Bill Mitchell wasn’t done with the design of the proposed Q-Corvette. So, with a borrowed chassis from the aborted ‘57 Corvette SS racer (1957 was a VERY GOOD year for the Corvette!), Mitchell designed a roadster version of the interesting Q-Corvette around the small, lightweight birdcage tube chassis from the mule version of the Corvette SS project. Continue reading “Vette Videos: The STUNNING Corvette Classic 1959 Stingray Racer” →

C7 Report – Styling Analysis of the Jalopnik C7 ZR1 Renderings

Published on by Scott6 Comments

Dateline: 2.10.1

Are the Jalopnik C7 renderings revving you up, or stalling you out?

Catch the entire Jalopnik report here... http://jalopnik.com/5858683/exclusive-this-is-the-2014-chevy-corvette

Be sure to take out C7 Jalopnik rendering poll at the bottom of this post!

I’ve been meaning to get to this for about two months now.  Back on November 14, 2011, Jalopnik.com dropped a fire bomb on the Corvette community with three renderings of what they claim to be, accurate illustrations of a ZR1 version of the C7 Corvette. Chevrolet immediately said, “Thanks, but WRONG, Jalopnik!” And Jalopnik called GM’s response, “a weak ass denial…” Okay, play NICE, everyone!

So, it’s been almost three months and if you read through the various forums and blog comments, not everyone is jazzed about what they see. Initially, Jalopnik said they would be releasing “photos” and then delivered “renderings,” claiming that their inside source swears on his mother’s grave that the created renderings are correct. I also have it from a Corvette writer friend with an inside source (I don’t know if it’s the same source as Jalopnik’s) that the renderings are spot on. Yes, right down to the Camaro taillights. My friend’s friend claims that even though Chevrolet knows that the Corvette fans will negatively react to the Camaro taillights, it’s a “corporate look” that runs across the Chevrolet line. I suppose it’s like how the Chevy Volt’s front end almost looks like a Malibu.

Be sure to read the entire Jalopnik story here, http://jalopnik.com/5858683/exclusive-this-is-the-2014-chevy-corvette

Since the Jalopnik renderings were published, there have been a rash of C7 sightings wearing those totally UGLY camo suits that could make a Playboy centerfold girl look like a dawg!. About the only thing that clear is that the car will (might) have quad exhaust pipes and LED taillights. But most obvious is the overall shape. Sorry guys, but it sure does look like a C6. And it’s BIG too. Continue reading “C7 Report – Styling Analysis of the Jalopnik C7 ZR1 Renderings” →

NEW Mako Shark Tribute Art Print From K. Scott Teeters

Published on by Scott2 Comments

Dateline: 1.25.12

A Salute to the design the set the style for America’s sports car, the Corvette.

It’s only been a week or so since the photos of a disguised C7 Corvette surfaced and already the critics are weighing in. One report commented that the profile and proportions look too much like the current C6. And therein lies the designer’s dilemma when it comes to designing a new Corvette. The new design has to “look like a Corvette,” but has to “look new.” This isn’t a new problem actually. But before we come down on the Corvette design team too harshly, we should all just breath… and be patient. Those disguised cars always look bad.

But, there is no doubt that the Corvette’s image will forever be locked into the design that goes all the way back to 1963-1964 when GM’s VP of Design, Bill Mitchell charged his designers with the challenge to, “Design a “narrow, slim, ”selfish” center section and coupe body, a prominently tapered tail, an “all of one piece” blending of the upper and lower portions of the body, prominent wheels with protective fenders, distinctively separate from the main body, yet gaffed organically to it.” The end result was the Mako Shark-II. Continue reading “NEW Mako Shark Tribute Art Print From K. Scott Teeters” →

Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The Motion / Silva Macos

Published on by Scott3 Comments

Dateline: 1.6.12

More Mako Shark-II that a Production C3 Corvette

As groovy as the new C3 1968 Corvette looked to most Vette fans, for some, it wasn’t what they were expecting. What they were expecting was what they’d been drooling over since ‘65 – a production version of the “Mako Shark” show cars. They didn’t want to hear a lot of bunk about what can or can’t be manufactured or that the Mako’s front fender humps were too tall. They wanted the Mako Shark-II, period!

While some grumped and grumbled, one man did something about it. He made his own Mako Shark-II. And to prevent GM from crashing down on his head, he called it the “Maco Shark.” John Silva produced the first total body kit for the late model, C3 Corvette. The only part of the exterior body that was production Corvette was the windshield. While the completed kit wasn’t a 100% dead ringer for Bill Mitchell’s Mako Shark-II, it was close enough for many. But what put the Silva Maco on the map was the guy from Long Island that was already building Chevy supercars and could make sure the Maco had gobs of grunt. Yes, Joel Rosen.

Joel Rosen, along with PR master, Marty Schorr, editor of CARS Magazine, were already in the thick of things with their Baldwin-Motion Phase-III Supercars. Their line of turn-key, bad-ass Super Chevys was called, “The Fantastic Five.” You can get a heap’n help’n of Baldwin-Motion dishes at our sister blog site, www.BaldwinMotionReport.com. While the sales of Phase-III Supercars was cooking along in 1969, Rosen was thinking ahead and working out the details of his Phase-III GT Corvette. Rosen’s plan was to offer a true GT (Grand Touring) version of his Phase-III Corvette. The classic GT car configuration used a stout frame and chassis, plenty of power, excellent brakes, creature comforts, and room for travel bags. GT cars were essentially a sport coupe that you would use for a long trip – a “grand” “tour.” In other words, a “big trip.” C3 Corvette Coupes are short on usable space, so Rosen created a fastback rear window to open up the back storage area to hold those small travel bags for his customer’s, “Grand Tour.”

So, around the same time Rosen started offering his Phase-III GT Corvette, John Silva was making his own version of the Mako Shark, marketed under the name “Maco Shark.” The two men worked out a deal and Motion Performance started offering their own turn-key Motion Macos and Maco body kits. Here’s where things get a little muddy. Removing the complete production Corvette body and replacing it with the Maco was VERY labor intensive and expensive. So, very few Motion-built Macos were produced.

 

This Maco Shark was a barn find car! It's a real beauty today.

However, lots of body kits were sold and if you’ve ever been involved in the kit car hobby, you know that most kits are not completed. For the cars that were completed, some were better than others and depended on Continue reading “Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The Motion / Silva Macos” →

Mako Shark Attack Week!!! Vette Video – The 1969 Manta Ray Corvette Show Car

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 1.5.1

Bill Mitchell’s longer, lower, louder, sleeker Mako Shark

Bill Mitchell and his design team cranked out an amazing number of concept and show cars through the ‘60s. The ‘69 Manta Ray was the end of the line for Mitchell’s shark theme that started in ‘61, and was somewhat overlooked for a time. Those were heady days between the new production Corvette, Chevy and other exciting muscle cars, and tremendous advances in all kinds of race cars. The Mako Shark-II-based Manta Ray was kind of, “been there, done that” by 1969. Designers often have concept ideas that they just want to try out in full size, and it seems that the Manta Ray was such a car.

Perhaps the most unfortunate part of the whole Mako Shark-II story is the fact that the configuration of the the running Mako Shark-II is gone! When Mitchell decided to try out a few more design elements for the Shark Corvette, the quickest way to get there was to start with the ‘66 running Mako Shark-II. The running Mako Shark-II was a stunningly beautiful car, so can you imagine what it might have been like for the designers and builders that were tasked with the job of CUTTING THE CAR UP to make the Manta Ray? Oh, that first cut must have been painful! It must have felt like sacrilege taking a zip saw to such a beauty. Continue reading “Mako Shark Attack Week!!! Vette Video – The 1969 Manta Ray Corvette Show Car” →

Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The Running 1966 Mako Shark-II

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 1.4.12

The Non-running Mako Shark-II totally jazzed GM’s management, the RUNNING Mako Shark-II was mind-blowing!

While the non-running Mako Shark-II was dropping jaws at the ‘65 New York Auto Show, there was one major project and one minor project in the works within the Corvette design group. The engineers and stylists were jam’n trying to figure out how to translate the show cars body shape to fit into a car that could be mass produced. What perhaps looked like a no-brainer turned out to be not so easy.

Even though the new production Corvette would use the existing frame, suspension, engine/transmission, and drive train from the then-current Sting Ray, getting everything to fit within an even tighter package was a major challenge. There were issues with front and rear bumper requirements, headlight height and configuration, interior ergonomics, and forward visibility of those gorgeous front fender humps. Getting the design right, plus making all of the parts for tooling was impossible to accomplish in one year for the new design to be a ‘67 model. It’s surprising to me that GM’s upper management couldn’t see that. Another year was added to the development schedule and in retrospect, it should have been two years.

The minor project on the Corvette design team’s plate was to produce a running version of the Mako Shark-II. If you think the production C3 Corvettes were tight, take a close look at the image of the running Mako Shark-II in front of a preproduction ‘68 Corvette. And note how Bill Mitchell towers over the Mako Shark-II. And Mitchell wasn’t a big tall fellow either. The shot of Mitchell getting into the Mako Shark-II shows him slightly bent at the knees. No, the Mako Shark-II was a tiny Corvette. But the shape is brilliant and is a classic example of Mitchell’s ability to style and shape the proportions of a car such that a smallish car looks much bigger without any size reference. Take a look at Mitchell’s early Buick Riviera by itself and than next to a full-size car and you’ll clearly see that the Riviera was not a big car, it just had big car proportions. Continue reading “Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The Running 1966 Mako Shark-II” →

Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The 1965 Mako Shark-II

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 1.3.12

A Look Back At the First of Bill Mitchell’s STUNNING Non-running Mako Shark-II Corvette Concept Car

No sooner had the‘63 Corvette Sting Ray been released, Bill Mitchell was at it again with another one-of-a-kind concept car. Never one to rest on his laurels, (you know the saying, “He who rests on his laurels, gets knocked on their rears!”) Bill went for something really far out. Now, it’s essential to know this first. Mitchell was often the generator of ideas, but didn’t necessarily pen out all of the details. That’s where the “stylists,” such as Larry Shinoda came in. So, if you were a stylist/designer, how’d you like to get an assignment like that?

Bill told his designers he wanted the following; “A narrow, slim, center section and coupe body, a tapered tail, an all-of-a-piece blending of the upper and lower portions of the body through the center (avoiding the look of a roof added to a body), and prominent wheels with their protective fenders distinctly separate from the main body, yet grafted organically to it.” That’s all. Or as my grandmother used to say, “Yea, clear as mud!”

As his designers and stylists came back with their sketches, Mitchell would art/design direct from there. “I like this… I don’t like that… More here… Less there… That’s not it…That’s it…” etc. It seems that Mitchell had a vague notion of what he wanted and directed the design process. It’s also worth remembering that the design of a single Corvette concept car was just one of MANY design projects that Mitchell was responsible for. Continue reading “Mako Shark Attack Week!!! The 1965 Mako Shark-II” →

Corvette Timeline Tails: Happy 102nd Birthday Zora Arkus-Duntov

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 12.25.11

Where the Corvette Got Its Mojo From!

Don’t miss the Duntov video at the bottom of this post!

Corvettes are all about passion and that passion shows up in two powerful ways – visually and from performance. The two are so intrinsically connected that they seem one and the same, but a closer examination reveals that is not the case. Of course, the first thing one notices about the Corvette is its looks. The car’s appearance is totally unique, even though it did borrow a little here and there from other designs. But at the end of the day, the completed design only looks like a Corvette.

But looks will only get you so far. What completes the Corvette addiction is the visceral experience of driving one. To “get” the Corvette, you must drive the car. And if the driving experience was now much different from a mushy sedan, what’s the point? No, if the Corvette didn’t deliver responsive performance with gobs of sensory input for the driver, the car surely would have gone quietly into the night, fading into automotive obscurity, along with a long list of once interesting cars.

So who was responsible for infusing the Corvette with it’s Mojo? Zora Arkus-Duntov. Zora was, without a doubt, the ultimate automotive corporate misfit to ever work in Detroit. By the time he saw the very first Corvette at the 1953 Motorama, he was 44 years old, a seasoned mechanical engineer, race car driver and builder. he was quoted as saying, “When I saw the Corvette at the Motorama, I thought it was the most beautiful car I’d ever seen.” And Duntov appreciated beauty. Just look at his stunning blond beauty wife and former Bluebell Girls dancer, Elfie Duntov. yes, Zora new a good-looking dame when he saw one and one look at the Corvette and he knew where he wanted to be – in the engineering department of Chevrolet, working on the Corvette. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tails: Happy 102nd Birthday Zora Arkus-Duntov” →

Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 84th Birthday to Corvette Designer, Chuck Jordan

Published on by Scott

Dateline: 10.21.11

Chuck Jordan – the last of the old guard GM designers.

When car designer Chuck Jordan passed on December 9, 2010, it was the end of an era in automotive design. Jordan started working for GM in 1949 as a junior engineer and retired in 1992. During that time, he worked with all of the greats of GM design; Harley Earl, Bill Mitchell, Ed Cole, Zora Arkus-Duntov, Larry Shinoda, and more.

Jordan’s nickname was “the Chrome Cobra.” He was steeped in a time of very strong personalities. Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell had strong personalities  with flash-like tempers – quick to anger, quick to let it go. When Mitchell retired in ‘77, his replacement, Irv Rybicki, was specifically chosen because upper management said, “No more strong opinionated design chiefs!” They were glad to see old Bill go. Irv was an excellent designer, but to Jordan, Rybicki seemed to play it safe too much. The automotive press noticed too and began to wonder what happened to GM’s sense of style.

But Jordan got his shot in ‘86 when Rybicki retired and was promoted to vice president of design, serving from ‘86 to ‘92. Below is a brief slide show of some of the cars Jordan styled, designed, and managed through the development process. Design styling is one thing and designing for mass production is another. Some designs translate into production better than others. What’s obvious is that over his 40-plus year career as a car designer, he consistently followed the advanced trends of the day. Chuck loved design so much that after he retired, he taught design at ??? He could have stayed home and enjoyed his many Ferrari sports cars. But Jordan loved the high school art design in Southern California. Continue reading “Corvette Timeline Tales: Happy 84th Birthday to Corvette Designer, Chuck Jordan” →