Delve into the life and legacy of Harley J. Earl, the visionary automotive designer whose innovation and style helped define the earliest Corvettes and shape America’s most iconic sports car.
Last week while finishing up a story about Bill Tower’s Grand Sport #005 Corvette for Vette Magazine, I came across two YouTube videos posted by GM Heritage Center. The videos are silent and were probably shot with an 8mm camera that someone brought along to the events. The film looks like hand-held and amateurish and not at all the same quality of the Jam Handy films from that era. But, you do get to see the Grand Sports in action.
Zora Arkus-Duntov was greatly influenced by the Auto Union and Mercedes race cars of the pre and post WW II era of racing. AWD was often part of the advanced engineering of the world’s best racecars, so it was no surprise that Duntov wanted AWD in his Corvette prototype to race at Le Mans. “Getting there” in a company that makes consumer cars would be a challenge, so Zora was limited to the parts bin. Duntov built his AWD racer using a 2-speed Powerglide automatic transmission with a modified 11-inch torque converter for the rear wheels, and a Corvair Powerglide transmission with a modified 10-inch torque converter just ahead of the front wheel centerline. There are many ways of driving four wheels in an automobile, but this was so unique that on November 19, 1968 Duntov was awarded U.S. Patient #3,411,601 for the design.
Semon Knudsen was the son of former GM president “Big Bill” Knudsen. Although technically a “rich kid” Semon didn’t just have everything handed to him – he had to work his way up through the ranks and pay his dues. For those that are able to climb the corporate ladder into the rarified upper atmosphere of the corporate world, there are perks. And when you work for a car company, there are sometimes special “car perks.”
I don’t know if the GM Design Center still does customs, but back in the glory days, one of the perks of being an executive was that you could get a GM car built just for you. I don’t know if the executives actually “designed” their cars or if the GM Design Center guys just “had at it.” (Okay Mr. Knudsen, what color would you like?”) It’s an interesting and very overlooked part of GM’s history. What’s not overlooked is when these cars go on the auction block or are on display at shows.
