Opening August 5th in the Charles Nearburg Motorsports Gallery at the famed Petersen Automotive Museum, Corvettes in Competition aims to showcase the evolution and enthusiasm that turned “America’s Sports Car into America’s Race Car.”
The latest exhibit at the Petersen will include significant competition cars among the many decades of the Corvette’s competition history.
Among those are:
1953 Chevrolet Corvette C1 #211
The first Corvettes did not have the performance that the public expected from a sports car. The straight-six engine made only 150 horsepower, and the two-speed automatic transmission did little to help. In 1955, in order to enhance its reputation, Chevrolet loaned two first-generation C1s, this car and a 1955, to NASCAR, which was still in its early stages. The cars saw few victories, but their appearance on a track at least made them seem legitimate. In 1956 both cars received new V-8s and were sent to the Daytona speed trials where they held their own but were outshone by three Corvettes with updated 1956 bodies.
1963 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport #004
In 1962 Zora Arkus-Duntov began work on a secret project he hoped would result in victory at Sebring and Le Mans, a dedicated lightweight race car in the guise of a C2 Corvette. To skirt GM’s racing ban, 125 cars were planned to be built and sold to private teams. Aluminum was used wherever possible including in the chassis, which was 93 pounds lighter than stock. Bonded to it was a single-layer fiberglass body. After a mere five cars were completed, GM executives learned of the project and shut it down. The Grand Sports were sold and in private hands proved to be formidable racers. This car, chassis 004, was the most successful in competition.
2014 Chevrolet Corvette C7.R
The C7.R was again developed alongside its road legal Corvette counterpart. It is the last front-engined Corvette race car and was developed by General Motors and Pratt & Miller with carbon-fiber bodywork over an aluminum monocoque from the production Corvette Z06. This car accumulated ten top-five finishes and helped Corvette Racing win the endurance triple crown in 2015 with class victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring. An accident in qualifying at the 24 Hours of Le Mans meant it did not start, but its stablemate C7.R was victorious in the LMGTE Pro class.
More information can be found visiting the Petersen Automotive Museum website HERE.