I am NOT a Corvette guy… that said, I love the 63-67 Vettes. I love the looks of both the convertible and the coupe… and the performance is pretty reasonable for the era. But of course, car guys want more performance. And as technology advances, more power gets squeezed out of the engines.
The performance of the current generation of Corvette has astounding performance. The ZR-1 can run with just about anything… even cars that cost 4 or 5 times as much. Ferraris and Lamborghinis have to watch the rear-view mirror for ZR-1s…
But imagine the surprise of a supercar owner if the rapidly growing speck in the rear-view mirror was an old Corvette… perhaps that ‘63 Split Window Coupe… Of course, even a stock big-block powered vintage Vette is not going to have that kind of thrust. And it would be SCARY at the kinds of speeds the new ones can handle without drama.
Drop in the 6.2L LS9, with its 638hp and 602 lb-ft of torque. Back it up with the 6 speed transmission… but more importantly, squeeze the entire suspension from the ZR-1 under the vintage Corvette. It would require a LOT of work. In fact, I think that the entire car would need to be a bit wider to accommodate the suspension and the seriously wide tires.
Come to think of it, I would bet that the car would HAVE to have a roll cage just for the additional structural rigidity. Actually… might just want to build a whole new body from carbon fiber for more strength and rigidity, less weight and the cool factor (skip paint… see the carbon fiber). There might have to be a few tweaks to make it aerodynamically stable at speeds over 150mph.
Sound like fun? I’d love to take that out for a spin or three…
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I'd love to hear from you...
Lane,
Thanks for the look back. Loved the split rear window on those old Vettes. That body styling looks a lot like the Stealth fighters of today.
Rich
Lane & Richard...
The stingray was way ahead of its time. There is just something about a Corvette that everyone should be allowed to experience. I had a 93 collector edition and then went to a 96 collector edition. Every-time I get in that thing, its space shuttle time. Power, looks, fun and good performance make for a fun day for me.....
Thanks for yor post.....