Relive the invasion of Nassau by three Cobra-killer Corvette Grand Sports — a celebration of classic Corvette racing, historic battles with the Shelby Cobra and the enduring legacy of GM’s lightweight legends that defined an era of speed and competition.
Before the Corvette Grand Sport racers shocked the sports-car world in 1963, Dave MacDonald drove a strange and lightweight Corvette-based race car known as the MacDonald-Simpson 1961 Corvette Special. With a dramatically shortened wheelbase and purpose-built racing body, the car blurred the line between production Corvette and prototype racer—making it one of the most intriguing early Corvette competition machines.
Step back to November 1965 for a legendary road test matching the 427 Corvette against the 427 Cobra. This big-block duel captured the height of American performance, blending brute horsepower, raw acceleration and fierce rivalry in a showdown that defined the golden era of muscle and sports car competition.
And Why Are We Talking About His 1960 Corvette Race Car? This story first appeared in the August 2024 issue of Vette Vues Magazine. Lloyd...
Corvette racers never had a better friend than Zora Arkus-Duntov. For the most part, Zora was good at sidestepping GM’s “we don’t race” edict. For those who knew what to look for, there were always plenty of “heavy-duty” and “off-road” options for Corvettes. As the new Sting Ray was being prepared for the ’63 launch, Duntov assembled the most advanced Corvette box racer to that date – the Z06.
The C8 mid-engine Corvette is a arguably the biggest new in the world of Corvettes since the very beginning in 1953. Many of us thought Chevrolet would never offer such a Corvette, but here we are. And thanks to an established pattern of performance track-model Corvettes that started in 2001 when Chevrolet decided to brand the car, “Z06” after the one-year-only 1963 Corvette, subsequent new model Corvettes have offered a Z06 model. Within minutes after the C6, C7, and now C8 Corvettes were debuted, fans second question (after “how much is the new Vette?”) is, “Where’s the Z06?” Yes, we expect it and Chevrolet has not let us down since.
In late September 1962, 16-year-old Doug MacDonald had such a defining moment. Doug’s big brother was road racing legend and 2014 National Corvette Museum Hall of Fame Inductee, Dave MacDonald. When your brother is eleven years older than you, while you are growing up, your perception is that your sibling is “one of the adults.” In 1960, Dave MacDonald started racing a 1957 Corvette when he was 23 years old and Doug was only 13, so the best Doug could do was hang around on the sidelines, take in as much as he could understand, and do his best to stay out of the way!
This story, “Zora Looks Back” offers some interesting insights into Duntov’s tenure at GM, as well as the “Lightweight Grand Sport Corvette” experience. For instance, Duntov said, “It was a quick and dirty sledgehammer project that we put together in a couple of months. There were so many compromises and constraints that we made something of which I am not particularly proud.” Interesting. Well, we sure love them!
