User:Kumboloi/sandbox/Corvette Grand Sport
| Corvette Grand Sport | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Body and chassis | |
| Layout | F/R |
| Platform | Custom |
| Powertrain | |
| Transmission | 4-speed manual |
Lead here.
History[edit]
In 1962 Ford officially withdrew from the AMA racing ban and soon after launched their "Total Performance" program, increasing factory participation in almost all major forms of motor racing. Right after Ford’s declaration, Arkus-Duntov’s Grand Sport program was approved. The goal was to create a special Corvette to race in international events against not only the Shelby Cobra and other GT cars, but against racing prototypes from the likes of Ferrari and Porsche as well.
Zora Arkus-Duntov began work on a successor to his Corvette SS in the summer of 1962.[1] The project was simply known as "the lightweight".
In 1962 Duntov launched a program to produce a lightweight version based on a prototype that mirrored the new 1963 Corvette.[2] Concerned about Ford and the Shelby Cobra, Duntov's program included plans to build 125 examples of the Corvette Grand Sport to allow the model to be homologated for international Grand Touring races. After the GM executives learned of the secret project, the program was stopped, and only five cars were built. (Maybe six???)
News of the Grand Sport's development reached the board of General Motors, and Duntov was ordered to close the project and destroy all the cars. The board feared that the antimonopoly department would require the company to be broken up. Duntov agreed to stop work, but handed over three cars to Texas tycoon John Mecom and hid the remaining two in a Chevrolet research garage. Before sending the cars with chassis numbers #003 and #004 to Texas, he handed them over for testing to two private racers: Chicago Chevrolet dealer Dick Doane and Grady Davis from Gulf Oil. Homologation papers were filed with the Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), but the sanctioning body balked at homologating a car with only 5 of the required 100 copies having been built.[3] The car showed controversial results, but after some adjustments and improvements it won first place in the ACC championship in 1963. Driving chassis #004 was Dick Thompson, who earned the nickname "Flying Dentist," because of his off-track career. The victory in ACC became known to the GM bosses, who asked Duntov to return all the cars and not participate in races. Having received the cars back, Duntov improved the cars with chassis #003, #004 and #005, adding air vents and installing wider 9.5 inch wheels. Due to these changes, traction has increased, and lateral acceleration has decreased from 1.9G to the optimal 1.1G. After all the changes, Arkus-Duntov decided to send the Grand Sport to compete with Shelby Cobra at the Nassau Trophy race (1954-1966) in the Bahamas. Officially, all three of the improved Grand Sports were on behalf of tycoon John Mecom Jr.. They beat all competitors by 10 seconds. Both the Shelby Cobra, and even the Ferrari GTO were left behind. However, this was not the end of the Grand Sport program. Taking the previously unimproved chassis #001 and #002, Duntov converted them into roadsters by removing their roofs, and was preparing to send them to the race in Daytona.
In 1962, GM Corporate, under serious pressure from the US government, decided to discontinue support for motorsport. It was exactly the same contract as the AMA, concluded in 1957, but now GM has made policies mandatory for its brands.
SEDCO Black Widow, 1962 government pressure. 53% of sales. Break up the company?[4]
Robert Kennedy antitrust, 1961. Pontiac Super Duty. GM reasserts racing ban.[5]
The reason was that by 1961, about 53% of the entire US car market belonged to General Motors, which greatly interested the Department of Justice. In the event the company’s market grows to 60%, the antimonopoly department has promised to close General Motors. Fearing this, management hoped to reduce auto racing revenues. These circumstances delayed the launch of a mid-engined Corvette for 60 years. But the most famous achievement of Arkus-Duntov was yet to come.
But General Motors entered into an agreement with Duntov on the termination of any races, since the risks of the division of the company reached a maximum level. All 5 cars were handed out to private individuals and could no longer continue the competition due to the stop of design work. In 2009, the last surviving #002 chassis was auctioned off for $4.9M.
In 1964, after the Grand Sport project ended, Duntov began work on the Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle II (CERV II) project.
Duntov was officially made Chief Engineer for Corvette in 1967.[6]
All five cars have survived and are in private collections. They are among the most coveted and valuable Corvettes ever built, not because of what they accomplished, but because of what might have been.[7]
The sixth car controversy[edit]
https://www.autoweek.com/news/a2099706/grand-sport-corvettes-now-we-are-six/
https://www.motortrend.com/features/greatest-corvette-urban-legend-6th-grand-sport/
https://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/c2/1963/grandsport/press2.html
https://www.corvetteactioncenter.com/specs/c2/1963/grandsport/press3.html
Current status[edit]
Chassis #001 is owned by former banker and car collector Harry Yeaggy of Cincinnati, Ohio. It was purchased for $4.2 million in 2002.[8]
Chassis 002 is a part of the permanent collection at the Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The car is in running condition, and is the only Grand Sport body which is original and unrestored. Also on display are a replica body and a spare 377 cubic inch engine, which were commissioned by the car's previous owner, Jim Jaeger, for participation in vintage racing without damaging the original components.[9]
Chassis #003 is owned by car collector Larry Bowman. It was bought in 2004 for an undisclosed sum.[10]
Chassis #004 is part of the Miles Collier Collection on display at The Revs Institute in Naples, Florida. This chassis was used in the Rolex Monterrey Motorsport Reunion in 2013.[11]
Chassis #005 is in the private collection of Bill Tower of Plant City, Florida. He was a former Corvette development engineer and also owns several historically significant Corvettes in his collection.[12]
Technical[edit]
The strategy was based on firstly making an aluminum version of the "small block" V8, equipped with special spark plugs (At 377°C, its power was 550 hp. at 6400 rpm.) and secondly, an unprecedented decrease in vehicle weight.
A new ladder chassis with large diameter (4.5 in (114 mm)) tubular main rails was built. All body panels were of thin fiberglass with no gel coat, and the aluminum door handles were taken from an old Chevrolet pickup truck. Special attention was paid to aerodynamics. The door handles were lightened and recessed into the body, and the headlights were hidden behind transparent plastic. However, aerodynamic lift tended to cause the Grand Sport's front axle to come off the ground at high speeds. To help alleviate windage, ventilation holes were added throughout the body: "gills" on the hood, openings behind the front and rear wheels, and even multiple openings at the headlights were introduced. According to the terms of the FIA GT races of those years, the wheels had to be "within the body", so the wheel arches were expanded, but barely passed according to the standards, since they also served to remove air from under the belly of the car, which gave its special shape. In order to use the oncoming airflow even more efficiently, near the rear window there were two air intakes (one from each side) that cooled the brakes. Also behind the rear window was an air intake. Weight was further reduced by the use of organic aviation glass. The wheels also became lighter, thanks to the magnesium alloy material employed. The result of all the work was a reduction in weight from the 3,199 lb (1,451 kg) of the standard model to 1,900 lb (862 kg) for the Grand Sport.
The Corvette Grand Sports were raced with several different engines, but the most serious factory engine actually used was a 377 cubic inch displacement, all-aluminum, small block with four Weber side-draft carburetors and a cross-ram intake, rated 550 hp (410 kW) at 6400 rpm. Body panels were made of thinner fiberglass to reduce weight and the inner body structure 'birdcage' was aluminum rather than steel. The ladder-type frame utilized large seamless steel tubular side members connected front and rear with crossmembers of about the same diameter tubes. Another crossmember was just aft of the transmission and a fourth one at the rear kick-up anchored the integral roll cage. The frame was slightly stiffer than the 1963 Corvette production frame and was 94 lb (43 kg) lighter. A number of other lightweight components were utilized to reduce overall weight to about 800 pounds less than the production coupe.[2] Initially the Grand Sport project was known simply as "The Lightweight".[13]
Specifications[edit]
| 1963 Corvette Grand Sport: | Original specifications: |
|---|---|
| Engine: | Chevrolet small-block V8 |
| Valvetrain: | Single cam-in-block, pushrods, rocker arms, 2 valves per cylinder |
| Displacement: | 377 cu in (6,180 cc) |
| Bore × Stroke: | 4.00 in × 3.75 in (102 mm × 95 mm) |
| Induction: | Naturally aspirated, Four 2-bbl 58 mm (2.28 in) side-draft Weber carburetors |
| Maximum power: | 485 hp (361.7 kW) at 6000 rpm |
| Maximum torque: | [convert: needs a number] at rpm |
| Compression ratio: | 11.75:1 |
| Cooling: | Water-cooled |
| Transmission: | 4-speed manual |
| Differential: | Positraction limited slip |
| Steering: | recirculating ball |
| Brakes f/r: | Four vacuum-assisted vented Girling disc brakes |
| Suspension front: | Short/long arms, coil springs, Delco high-performance shocks, anti-roll bar |
| Suspension rear: | trailing links, transverse leaf spring, Delco shocks mounted horizontally, anti-roll bar |
| Body/Chassis: | Fiberglass body on a ladder frame chassis of two large diameter steel tubes |
| Layout: | Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout |
| Track f/r: | [convert: needs a number] |
| Wheelbase: | 98 in (2,489 mm) |
| Wheels: | 15 inch magnesium Halibrand wheels with knock offs |
| Tires f/r: | 7.10/7.60 f/8.00/8.20 r |
| Fuel capacity: | 46 US gal (174.1 L; 38.3 imp gal) |
| Length Width Height: |
173 in (4,394 mm) 70 in (1,778 mm) 52 in (1,321 mm) |
| Weight: | 1,980 lb (898.1 kg) |
| Power-to-weight ratio: | [convert: needs a number] |
| Power-to-volume ratio: | [convert: needs a number] |
| Acceleration (0–60 mph (0–97 km/h)): | ~4.5 seconds |
| Maximum speed: | 175 mph (281.6 km/h) |
Racing record[edit]
The cars were driven by Roger Penske, A. J. Foyt, Jim Hall, and Dick Guldstrand, among others. Dick Thompson was the first driver to win a race in the Grand Sport. He won a 1963 Sports Car Club of America race at Watkins Glen on August 24, 1963, driving Grand Sport 004.[14]
Gallery[edit]
-
Corvette Grand Sport #001 -
Corvette Grand Sport #002 -
Corvette Grand Sport #003 -
Corvette Grand Sport #004 -
Corvette Grand Sport #005
https://www.superformance.com/factory-models/corvette-grand-sport
https://www.gmheritagecenter.com/featured/Corvette_Grand_Sport.html
https://www.simeonemuseum.org/collection/1963-chevrolet-corvette-grand-sport/
https://www.grandsportregistry.com/
https://www.grandsportregistry.com/63_history.htm
Other Corvette Grand Sport models[edit]
C4
C6
C7
Notes[edit]
- ^ Mueller, Mike (23 January 2012). The Complete Book of Corvette: Every Model Since 1953. Motorbooks. ISBN 978-0760341407.
- ^ a b Friedman and Paddock 1989, p. 16.
- ^ Ludvigsen, Karl (2014). Corvette - America's Star Spangled Sports Car. Bentley Publishers. p. 416. ISBN 978-0-8376-1659-9.
- ^ Kibbe, Robert (1 December 2010). "The History of GM Factory-Backed Racing: On, Off, and On Again". www.chevyhardcore.com.
- ^ Rotella, Rocky (14 September 2018). "GM's Infamous Racing Ban of 1963". www.pontiacv8.com.
- ^ Sherman, Don (31 October 2014). "The Story of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the Bad-Ass Who Made the Corvette an Icon". www.caranddriver.com.
- ^ Yates, Brock (April 1967). "Grand Sport!". Car and Driver. Vol. 12, no. 10. New York, New York: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. pp. 48–52.
- ^ "The Day the Corvette Grand Sports Stomped the Cobras". Super Chevy.
- ^ Simeone, Frederick. "1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport". Simeone Foundation Automotive Museum. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
- ^ "Untold Stories of the 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport #003". Super Chevy.
- ^ "1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport". Revs Institute. Retrieved 2019-08-02.
- ^ "Bill Tower's Career as a Corvette Development Engineer". Super Chevy.
- ^ "The Lightweight". Archived from the original on 22 August 2015. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ Friedman and Paddock 1989, p. 36.
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References[edit]
- Brock, Peter (2013). Corvette Sting Ray — Genesis of an American Icon. Henderson, NV: Brock Racing Enterprises LLC. ISBN 978-0-9895372-1-6.
- Flory, J. "Kelly" Jr. (2004). American Cars 1960–1972. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Coy. ISBN 978-0786412730.
- Antonick, Mike (1999). Corvette Black Book 1953–2000. Powell, Ohio: Michael Bruce Associates, Inc. ISBN 0933534469.
- Friedman, Dave; Paddock, Lowell C. (1989). Corvette Grand Sport: Photographic Race Log of the Magnificent Chevrolet Corvette Factory Specials 1962–1967. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Co. ISBN 0-87938-382-8.
- Holmes, Mark (2007). Ultimate Convertibles: Roofless Beauty. London: Kandour. pp. 54–59. ISBN 978-1-905741-62-5.
- Mueller, Mike (1996). Corvette Milestones. St. Paul, Minnesota: MBI Publishing Co. ISBN 0-7603-0095-X.
- Nichols, Richard (1985). Corvette: 1953 to the Present. London: Bison Books. ISBN 0-86124-218-1.