Dateline: 8.10.2010
Answer: Not for actual drag racing competition. (now THAT would have been interesting) But they did build a dragster Vette, just to show off a little.

(SPECIAL TREAT AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST!)

The introduction of the four wheel, independent suspension in the ’63 Sting Ray was a major breakthrough for road racers, but left drag racers with tons of rear suspension broken parts. Let’s face it, the production independent rear suspension was never designed for those brutal drag racing starts. Corvette engines, small and big-blocks have never had a problem producing lots of power. Too much power for the Corvette’s rear suspension.

Although there were a few successful drag racing Corvettes that included Bo Laws, Astoria-Chas, and Bernie Agman, most drag racers used the solid-axle Camaros, Novas, and C1 Corvettes.

At the ’70 press introduction in the Summer of ’69, Chevrolet had a specially prepared ’69 Corvette engineering design study set up for drag racing.  Actually, it was the same car used the previous year to show off the ’69 ZL-1 engine. Duntov and his crew wanted to show off the awesome power potential of an even bigger ZL-1.

Chevrolet’s Hib Hufstader and Tom Langdon built the flaming orange, drag race prepared Corvette with a 454 cubic-inch version of the all-aluminum ZL-1 with a modified Turbo Hydra-Matic automatic, open 180-degree headers, and racing slicks for the press to “play with.”The menacing-looking Monaco Orange ZL1 was a press darling. Duntov enjoyed keeping the automotive press happy. Continue reading “Corvette Oddball: Did Chevy Ever Build a Drag Racing Corvette?” →