1979 Experimental Turbo Corvette: GM’s Forgotten C3 Test Car
Before the Callaway Twin Turbo arrived, Corvette engineers were taking a shot at turbocharging a 1979 Corvette
Dateline: 8.22.11 The C7 Corvette rumor mill has been quiet for the last month or so. Oh, a few weeks ago, there was a burp about a possible C7 chassis mule hidden under a late model Corvette Coupe. (not much in that report) Then, towards the end of May ‘11 CorvetteBlogger.com posted a report from TheDetroitBureau.com that the C7 would be powered by a turbocharged 3.0-liter V8.
Of course, no one really knows except for the Chevrolet and Corvette engineers who are working on the project. But my take is that the little turbo engine report is pure speculation. There have always been those who have wanted the Corvette to be a small European-like sports car. I say, if that’s what you want, buy a Lotus.
Will Chevrolet back down from the 638-horsepower high-water mark of the current LS9 engine?
Let’s hope not. The computer emission controls on the latest LS engines seem to be more than capable of adjusting for horsepower, as we’ve seen from the work of Howard Tanner, the new “Mr. Motion” that’s building the official authorized, 800-horsepower Baldwin Motion Phase III Camaros. Yes, I have it on excellent authority that a Phase III C6 Corvette is in the works.
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The 1968–1982 C3 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
What might pull the plug on a mega-horsepower C7 Corvette power plant is the CAFE (Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency) standards. But since Corvettes are a tiny percentage of the average of all GM cars, they might be able to slip in a horsepower beast into the C7 to function as their latest, greatest halo car.
It’s ALL up in the air and delicious fodder for bench racing.
But the turbocharged issue is interesting and got me remembering an earlier turbo Corvette that Chevrolet was tinkering with. Back in 1979, the above show car Corvette was powered by a 195-HP L48 engine with an AIResearch turbocharger that bumped the power up to around 280 – 290-HP.
Why they didn’t use the more stout L-82 engine, only the Corvette engineers know. Ask Dave McLellan if you get the chance.
The base price of the 1979 Corvette was $10,220. The optional 225-horsepower L82 cost $565. If Chevrolet had seen enough potential sales to offer a turbo version of the L82, perhaps $750 would have been on the money.
But the extra 90-to-100-horsepower didn’t WOW anyone in the already husky 1979 C3 Corvette. But the car sure looked cool! The silver Coupe wore production front and rear spoilers, had an interesting vent treatment on the hood, red pinstriping on the factory 8-slot aluminum wheels, and unique red & black pinstriping along the nose, hood, wheel arches, tops of the doors, and around the rear glass, plus “turbo-corvette” lettering over the front fender vents.
Dave McLellan’s 1979 350 Turbo C3 Corvette looked production-ready
Overall, it was a very handsome-looking car, too bad it was a few hundred pounds lighter and had 400-horsepower for all of the turbo work. And then, there was the matter of timing. The C4 was already in development, and McLellan had plenty on his plate. A few years later, McLellan spearheaded the effort to get the Callaway Twin Turbo as an official Corvette option. This was a tactical move on McLellan’s part to have the bragging rights to, “We have a turbo supercar, and it’s a Corvette”. Akk the while, engineers from the Corvette group, Lotus, and Mercury Marine were getting the 385-horsepower LT-5 ready for the ZR-1.
The inner sanctum world of Corvette R&D is an amazing place
Fortunately, it’s populated with men and women who are VERY passionate about Corvettes and high-performance cars. Probably 8-out-of-10 ideas tried never make it, and of the two that do, MAYBE one will make it into production.
How’d you like to get the grand tour of the R&D facility? Dream on! And I’ll be dreaming with you! – Scott
Our 1953–1962 C1 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
The 1962–1967 C2 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
Also, 1968–1982 C3 Corvette Review: Engineering, Styling, Sales, and Legacy Story is now available.
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