prototypes
What’s a prototype?
1951 How it all began
1952 Corvette EX-122
1954 Corvette Corvair Motorama showcar
1954 Corvette Hardtop Motorama Showcar
1954 Corvette Nomad Motorama Showcar
1955 Corvette Biscayne Show Car
1956 Harlow Curtis SR-2 Lookalike
1956 Corvette Impala Show Car
1956 Corvette SR-2 Sebring Racer
1952 EX-122 Concept Car
1957 Q Corvette
1957 Corvette SS Show Car
1957 Corvette SS XP-64
1958 XP-700
1959 Stingray Racer XP-87
1959 Corvette Stingray
1961 Corvette Mako Shark XP-755
1962 C2 Prototype XP-720
1962 Four Seat Stingray Corvette XP-720 2+2
1963 Corvette Rondine Pininfarina Coupe
1963 Corvette Grand Sport
1963 Wedge Corvette Split Windshield
1964 World’s Fair Styling Study
1964 Clay model for '66 update
1964 Grand Sport GS-II(b)
1964 CERV II
1964 Pontiac Banshee XP-833
1964 Corvette XP-819 Rear Engine
1965 Corvette Mako Shark XP-830
1966 Mid Engine Styling Proposal
1967 Astro I
1968 Corvette Astro-Vette
1968 Astro II-XP-880 mid engine
1969 Astro III
1969 Manta Ray
1969 Mid Engine XP-882
1970 Scirocco Showcar
1970 Corvette XP-882
1973 Corvette 2 rotor XP-897-GT
1973 Reynolds XP-895
1973 Corvette 4 rotor XP-882
Aerovette
1973 Corvette XP-898
1974 Mulsanne Showcar
1976 Corvette XP-882
1979 Turbo Corvette
1978 Corvette Astro-Vette
1980 Turbo Corvette
1982 4th Generation Concepts
1984 Bertone Ramarro
1985 Corvette Indy
1986 GTP Corvette
1987 Corvette Geneve
1989 Corvette DR-1
1989 Corvette ZR-2
1990 Corvette Conan ZR-12 V12
1990 CERV III
1990 Bertone Nivola
1991 ZR-1 Snake Skinner
1992 Stingray III
2001 Corvette Tiger Shark
2003 Corvette Italdesign Moray
2009 Sideswipe

1959 Stingray Racer XP-87


In 1959, the bones of the SS were revived when Bill Mitchell secretly funded the Stingray race car. Mitchell purchased the chassis of the 1957 SS race car mule for $500 and had Larry Shinoda create a new body.

The shape of the Stingray racer was inspired by the 1957 Ghia IXG Turin show car, designed by Tom Tjaarda.

The Stingray used elements of the still-born "Q-Corvette" design study as well as the SS underpinnings, featuring a 92-inch wheelbase. The new car was exceptionally light, with a dry weight of 2,200 pounds, nearly 1,000 lb lighter than a 1960 production car. Its fuel-injected 283-cubic-inch (4.6-liter) V-8 engine produced 315 hp at 6,200 rpm. The car had a thin fiberglass skin with aluminum (initially) and balsa-wood (later) reinforcements in high-stress areas. The Stingray's body design strongly influenced the styling of the next generation Corvette, which saw production as a 1963 model year. It also was a test bed for many technical developments with a four-speed manual transmission, extensive use of aluminum and a de Dion rear suspension. The Stingray exists today with a 327 cubic inch (5.4 liter), fuel-injected V-8 of 375 hp (280 kW).

Billed as a car "built to test handling ease and performance," Mitchell arranged to race the car quite extensively. In the hands of Dr. Dick Thompson, it made its debut at Maryland's Marlboro Raceway on 18 April 1959, finishing in fourth place. It went on to win an SCCA National Championship in 1960. The Stingray was then retired from racing and modified by Mitchell with, among other things, a passenger seat added.

The modified vehicle was exhibited as an experimental show car even while Mitchell regularly drove it personally on weekends. After its career as a concept car was finished, it was retained by the GM Design Studio as a historically significant vehicle.

When an all-new Corvette finally arrived in the 1963 model year, the origin of its distinctive shape was quite evident. The "mid-year" 1963-67 second-generation Corvettes are considered by many enthusiasts to be the ultimate in sports car design. In its October 2004 issue, Automobile magazine editors ranked a 1967 427 Corvette roadster number one on its list of 100 Coolest Cars.










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