Miguel Sánchez
PHOTOS CHEVROLET CORVETTE GSII: GENERAL MOTORS
Imagine that Porsche suddenly decides to put the 911's engine in the forward position. Decades of clearly defined identity would go down the drain. Surely rivers of ink would flow in which crowd of fans would rip their clothes off. Because well, okay, objectively it makes little sense to continue with the engine hanging from the rear axle but ... That is the shape and form that defines every Porsche 911!
Well, something similar is what is happening right now with the new generation Corvette. And it is that the eighth evolution of the American sports car par excellence - it was presented 11 years before the Mustang - is the first with the engine in central position. Yes, you read it right. A heresy for many Corvette fans, who only conceive the model based on a powerful front engine mounted on a generous battle chassis.
However, although many have been surprised since its introduction, the truth is that this was on Chevrolet's mind since the 60s. Yes, six decades in which General Motors has come to flirt almost ten times with the idea of installing a mid-engine in the Corvette. In fact, one of the first attempts will be an exceptional protagonist in the imminent Amelia Island Contest of Elegance. We talk about 1964 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport-IIB.
A CENTRAL ENGINE CORVETTE TO GET BACK ON THE TRACKS
In light of the media dust raised by the first series-production mid-engined Corvette, Chevrolet has decided to draw arguments from its history. Thus, on the next Amelia Island General Motors will introduce all the mid-engined Corvettes preceding the current C8. And be careful, because they are quite a few and from the beginning of the saga. Those of you who are more knowledgeable in the history of the model will already have a name in mind: Zora Arkus-Duntov.
Winner in his category at the 24 1954 Hours of Le Mans, this driver and engineer is considered one of the fathers of the Corvette. However, as soon as the first serial version is presented Duntov was involved in all sorts of projects behind the backs of the directors of General Motors. The idea was to maximize the Corvette's racing potential. Outcome? Since 1959 several truly unrecognizable versions of the model began to appear compared to the one you could see on the street.
However, Duntov was not alone in this. The engineer Frank winchell He also had in mind to place the Corvette in racing, even more so after 1963, at which point General Motors decides to exit the racing business. Trying to achieve a superior vehicle, capable of convincing managers, cooperates with driver Jim Hall and his Chaparral Cars team to develop the ultimate Corvette. Mind you, a mid-engined Corvette.
THE FIRST GREAT CORVETTE WITH A CENTRAL ENGINE: 1964 GS IIB
Trying to stay away from the press and the inquisitive glances of managers who intuited Winchell's semi-secret operation, the development of the Corvette GS IIB was carried out on the Midland Texas track. According to historian Karl Ludvigsen, there This mid-engined Corvette peaked at 320 mph. A not inconsiderable data, even more so if we take into account that its passage through a curve should not be a bad thing thanks to its short wheelbase, low center of gravity and only 658 kilos.
Come on, a car capable of handling well in curves and chicanes, but also on long straights thanks to the thrust of its V8 with 5 liters and more than 4CV. With this combination… Some of you have already figured out what the purpose of this mid-engined Corvette was. Exactly: the 24 of Le Mans. At this point, let your imagination run wild. Let's see, the Corvette GS IIB was finalized in 1964, at which time the first Ford GT40s scored not much higher points, while the Ferrari 330 P3s moved in the figures given by the mid-engined Corvette at Midway.
Obviously a race like Le Mans also requires great engine reliability, but… Who knows? Perhaps this GS IIB would have been an unexpected protagonist. Be that as it may, the truth is that it never arrived at 24 Hours, although it did opened the ban on a long series of prototypes with which Chevrolet tested the idea of a mid-engined Corvette. An idea that, almost 60 years later, is finally being brought into series production thanks to the C8.
