On November 20, 1960, Zora Arkus-Duntov unveiled the Corvette Experimental Racing Vehicle I (CERV I), a radical prototype that showcased Chevrolet’s engineering vision and influenced future Corvette performance innovations. This milestone marked a turning point in Corvette’s development toward track-ready capability.
When the doors opened, there it was; the stunning, aggressive-looking, broad-shouldered, experimental, transverse, and mid-engine Corvette! It was fresh looking, yet it screamed “CORVETTE!”
The only thing hotter than an August day in Michigan was the all-new, 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. The GM Proving Ground was first opened in 1924 and was the industry’s first dedicated automobile testing facility. Located in Milford, Michigan, the facility is huge and today has 4,000 acres, 107 buildings, and employs around 4,800 people. Some say that in the summer months, out on the 4,000 acre black asphalt surface, the temperature can reach 140-degrees!
A tribute to Vette Magazine (1976–2019), the definitive voice for Corvette fans — chronicling cars, culture, and community for over 40 years.
On this date in 1953, GM officials never imagined their little fiberglass concept car would one day become a world-class sports car and GM’s technological...
Zora used to joke that he had the birthday-Christmas curse, which means you won’t get double the number of gifts – which is funny coming from him because he was Jewish. The man had an awesome sense of humor! Regardless, Zora Arkus-Duntov’s part in the Corvette story is just as important as the original design of the car.
When Zora went to work for GM on May 1, 1953, no one inside GM knew anything about serious sports car racing. If it hadn’t been for this gray-haired, wild Russian with more passion for racing than anyone inside GM had ever seen before, surely the Corvette would have floundered and not lasted through the 1950s and never made it out of the 1960s.
When it comes to skid-pad figures, Corvettes have been in “exotic territory” since 1984! Dateline: 11.29.17 (Photo GM Archives) – Thirty-five years ago the statistical...
We’re not sure how often this has happened, but “not often” is a safe bet. This was the inaugural season of IMSA’s GT Championship racing series. The cars were Grand Tour-style racecars that ran in the GTU and GTO classes. “GTU” class was for cars with engines under 2.5-liters and “GTO” class was for cars with engines over 2.5-liters. At the end of the 200-mile race, Don Yenko and Dave Heinz came in 1st overall and 1st in the GTO class, followed by SEVEN other Corvettes!
