Miguel Sánchez
CORVETTE SCAGLIETTI PHOTOS: DRIVETRIBE / KYLE SMITH / TOMINI CLASSICS
The anecdote about how Lamborghini decided to make sports cars is well known. However, we are going to summarize it because it bears a lot of resemblance to why the three Corvette Scaglietti were created. Fed up with the breakdowns of his Ferrari 250 GTB, Ferruccio Lamborghini protested to Enzo Ferrari. Not only because of the delicate mechanics, but also because of the slowness of the technical service given in Maranello. After the complaint, and with the usual lack of tact that he always showed Il Commendatore, The latter blurted out that a tractor manufacturer did not know how to drive their sports cars.
Considering the passionate Italian character, it is obvious that the confrontation was served. Thus, Ferruccio sold his Ferrari and after a few years appeared with such spectacular vehicles as the 350GT. Blessed anger that caused the birth of the sports division of the tractor driver Sant'Agata Bolognese! A story similar to the one that led to the birth of the Corvette Scaglietti; since, after all, these were also the result of annoyance with the poor mechanical service provided by Ferrari.
Something that was noticeable more intensely on the other side of the Atlantic, where pilots like Gary Laughlin had to wait months for those of Maranello to solve a simple failure in the crankshaft. Nevertheless, in 1953 the first generation of the Corvette had already appeared. A car that many American drivers saw great possibilities for. So many that, by the late 50s, Gary Laughlin, Jim Hall and Carrol Shelby decided to drive three of these sports cars in Italy. This is how some really interesting vehicles were born: the Corvette Scaglietti.
CORVETTE SCAGLIETTI. UNEXPECTED UNION
For seven years, Gary Laughlin cultivated a passion for racing off the income from being one of Texas' oil tycoons. A fortune that allowed him to have two reference Ferraris: a 750 Monza and a 250 TR. In that environment, and with an interesting record, Laughlin He rubbed shoulders with pilots as legendary as Jim Hall or Carrol Shelby. Two key names to understand the history of the Corvette Scaglietti. But let's go in parts. First of all, we start from Laughlin's dislike of Ferrari technical service.
That makes, by the end of the fifties, he thinks of using an American sports car for racing. But which? After all, the national sports cars were the opposite of the light and dynamic Europeans. However, by 1953 the Corvette had appeared. A car that, although it was not a Lotus or Porsche, did have a shorter battle and great weight concern. Something that is seen in its bodywork; almost completely done in fiberglass.
With these signs, the Corvette C1 aroused the interest of North American pilots. Even more when Arkus-Duntov began to develop more aggressive versions of the model despite the reluctance of General Motors. As it was, the play was clear: Laughlin decided to take the Corvette as the basis for his new racing cars. However, there was still a lot of work to be done. A job for which he had Hall and Shelby. Especially with the second, since thanks to his friendship with the almighty Ed Cole he was able to obtain three chassis of the C1 to send to Italy.
And it is that precisely there is the key point: its modification in Italy with a new bodywork. A point at which Carrol Shelby also entered, providing Laughlin with contacts that led him to Scaglietti. The legendary Maranello bodybuilder, responsible at that time for the Ferrari 250 saga. In short, the highest quality craftsmanship. So things, around 1957 three units of the Corvette Scaglietti were ordered. One for Gary Laughlin, one for Jim Hall, and one for Carrol Shelby. A promising project that, however, did not have an unexpected obstacle.
LYED BY ENZO FERRARI
The bad character of Enzo Ferrari is anthological. From how he ruled the assembly line with an iron fist to the Night of the Long Knives - in which five engineers, including the mythical Giotto Bizarrini, left Maranello - there are many corpses on the road as evidence. However, in case there is any doubt, Corvette Scaglietti history adds fuel to the fire. The first of these was delivered in 1959 after 18 to 24 months in the bodybuilder's workshops. So, doing the math, the three C1 chassis must have arrived from America in 1957.
What caused this infuriating wait? Well, Scaglietti was between a rock and a hard place, doing everything possible to make the Americans forget about the project. The reason was in a visit by Enzo Ferrari to his workshop, when he saw the three Corvettes in the process of transformation. Annoyed at this, neither short nor lazy he blurted out to the bodybuilder that, if he made more of these Corvette Scaglietti, he could already forget to continue working for Ferrari. A serious enough threat, since the horse's men were practically his only client.
Caught in this situation, the Italian took little interest in the Corvette Scaglietti. In fact, the delay in delivery disappointed the pilots. Something that added to the anger that Ed Cole threw at Carrol Shelby after suffering it himself from the management of General Motors. And it is that the American giant did not see these projects favorably behind the great mass production. Elements that They ruined the possibility of having created a wide production of these vehicles. Something that, equally, would have happened if I had tried them more carefully.
Because yes, the truth is that those lines in which Scaglietti rehearsed what would be the Ferrari 275 GTB / 4 of 1964 are breathtaking. But things change when testimonials from some owners are consulted, narrating how the nose rises dangerously when accelerating. A torpedo against the efficiency of the Corvette Scaglietti, as in fact Carrol Shelby himself pointed out when he did not give a very good opinion of the car in motion. However, the three Corvette Scaglieti have remained as one of the most interesting modifications made on the mythical model.
Three units all different, something that is especially seen in the rear and certain details added by one or another owner in years after his departure from Scaglietti's workshops in Maranello. By the way, if you are really interested in this Italian-American story we announce that the first of the three is right now for sale. The only one that kept the original grill. Hinting that, under those Italian lines, a first-generation Corvette hides.
P.S: If you have been more eager to see Corvettes bodied in Italy, we suggest you finish the reading of this article with the only Corvette bodied by Vignale. An interesting and rounded design exercise launched in 1961.
