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The Car That Shouldn’t Exist: Superformance Corvette Grand Sport

Think back to the early 60s. The Shelby Cobra was at full pelt at Sebring and Le Mans, and GM wanted some of the pie. So Zora Arkus-Duntov, the “Father of the Corvette”, put his head on the line and gained permission to build the 1963 Corvette Grand Sport. It had a fibreglass body on a tubular frame riding on magnesium wheels with a speedo that had a ‘2’ with two zeros beside it.

Then GM got a whiff and pulled the plug and pulled their support. Zora however, pushed on, and with Jim Hall, Roger Penske, and Dick Thompson at the wheel, three of these cars royally spanked the Cobras at Speed Week in Nassau. While these cars are part of history and unreachable by us mere mortals, a company in Irvine CA is bringing it down reality.

They’ve created a replica of chassis number 004. It’s made from the ground up and is exactly the same. It’s made using the same materials, the same methods, and because of this, is an officially licensed GM product.

Powertrain wise however, it’s had a bit of an upgrade. It features a modern 6.2L LT1 V8 that is currently in the C7 Corvettes and is mated with Tremec T-56 6 speed manual. But for what price can you buy this car which may as well have been assembled by the God’s hands themselves… $169, 295. Not bad if you really think about it.

Alex Harrington

Alex started racing at a young age so certainly knows his way around a car and a track. He can just about put a sentence together too, which helps. He has a great interest in the latest models, but would throw all of his money at a rusty old French classic and a 300ZX. Contact: [email protected]

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