sbcbuilder

Once upon a time...

there was a white-haired, Russian mechanical wizard...

that defied The General... build a snake-eater... and created a legend...
.
Yes, a white-haired mechanical wizard fell in love with the young and beautiful Princess of The General, in the stylish house of Chevrolet. Her name was Corvette and under the good graces of the House of Chevrolet's Lord of Styling and Good Looks, Master Harley Earl she was the most beautiful machine in the entire kingdom of The General. Now the wizard’s name was Duntov, Zora Arkus-Duntov and he had a passion for racing like no one else in the House of Chevrolet. Zora the Gray focused his unbridled passion for racing on the young Corvette and before long, she was winning races all across the land.

In 1953 there was NOTHING like the new Corvette! But as the sixth decade of the last century of the second millennia of the new age dawned, it was decreed that it was time for the young and beautiful Corvette to enter into a new stage of life. A body and chassis makeover the likes of which the Kingdom of Detroit and lands far and away have never seen before. For this new phase of life, the creative and ambitious new Lord of Styling for the House of Chevrolet, one William “The Shark” Mitchell, saw that Princess Corvette needed a second name for her new stage of life and christened her, “Corvette Sting Ray.”

Bill Mitchell was truly a Styling Master and was responsible for the ‘63 to ‘67 Corvette Sting Ray, the Mako Shark-inspired ‘68 to ‘82 Corvette, the ‘63 Buick Riviera, the ‘67 Camaro, and MANY other GM cars that have since become genuine classics.

Now the Wizard Duntov never stopped toiling away to make his most favored of all of the cars in the House of Chevrolet some of the fastest and most fierce in all the land near and far. But alas, there will always be challengers and this new time was no different. Coming out of the tall weeds in rural Texas and the warm, sunny land of southern California, were venomous snakes owned by a chicken farmer named Shelby. This Shelby person had no pedigree but was a wily driver of sports cars and like Duntov the Gray, Shelby was the Wizard of the Cobras.

By itself, the ‘63 Z06 Corvette was an awesome car. Zora made this grim discovery on the eve of the new '63 Corvette Sting Ray’s debut while testing a new package of racing parts called the Z06 Option. The new racing suspension, brakes, and oversized 35-gallon fuel tank were supposed to work in concert with the new 4-wheel independent suspension and lower center of gravity to give the Sting Ray the advantage over her competition. Instead, the Cobras from Texas came out of the grass with a vengeance, hobbling the new Sting Ray before she even had a chance. But hey, that’s life in the arena of the race track.

But the Wizard Duntov would have none of this, and in fact, had anticipated it with his superior ability to see into the future. Zora shared his secret plan with a special friend from inside the hallowed halls of the House of Chevrolet – one Baron Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. While Semon was a loyal servant of the House of Chevrolet, in his heart, he wanted to be in a Sting Ray, in the racing arena. But it was not to be for Ol’ Bunkie. His roll was much more important. Barron Knudsen made sure that Zora the Gray was supplied with a special lair and a secret black budget to build 6 lightweight Sting Ray racers to take on the Cobras from Texas and their chicken farmer lord and master! It was deemed that the new Cobra-killers were to be christened, “Grand Sport” because it was going to be “sport” decimating the snakes.

In full-battle gear, the Grand Sports savaged the 289 Cobras at Nassau in '63. While the new Grand Sport looked like a regular Corvette, minor details were different. It was what was under the thin fiberglass skin that made the difference. Duntov made sure the Grand Sport had a strong, lightweight steel tube frame with light weight suspension parts and an all-aluminum hemi engine. While the exotic engine was part of the dream, reality set in and the Corvette’s tried and proven Fuelie engine was pressed into service. Preliminary tests were encouraging, but the front end of the Grand Sport was capturing too much air and bigger tires were sorely needed. Rather than tap the talented stylists from the Lord of Styling, Sir William Mitchell, engineers from within Duntov’s lair worked on the car’s problems with a plethora of scoops, vents, flares, and other racing arena details. When the new Grand Sport made her debut on the island of Bahamas, the Cobra Master from Texas was not a happy wizard. Only five of the proposed six Grand Sports were built and while they had their problems, they savaged the Cobras. Indeed, it was a glorious day for the wizard, Duntov the Gray and his team of engineers. But a little too much of glory’s lime light shown upon the merry men. That’s right, The General found out and was NOT happy!

Two of the five grand Sports had their “Sting Ray” tops chopped off and were converted into roadsters. Duntov the Gray was looking for every advantage he and his team could think of.
The General was VERY displeased with the Grand Sports of Duntov the Gray because The General had signed a treaty with the other Masters of the Automobile in the Land of America, pledging that they would not “glorify the dangers of speed” by supporting the racing of their cars. (As destiny would have it, Duntov the Gray was spared by The General.) But only after a short time, the Barons of Speed at the House of Ford and Chrysler fell into forgetfulness and let their passions for speed get the better of them, and started racing their cars with all their heart and soul. In fact, they were having a damn good party, experiencing the drunkenness that comes from victory.

At the other end of the Kingdom of Automobiles called Detroit, Duntov the Gray was spiritually cut from the same cloth as the Lords of Speed at Ford and Chrysler and longed for the taste of victory he had experienced in his younger days racing for the Lords of Speed at Porsche, in the Land of Germany. In Zora’s wildest dreams, he wanted to build hundreds, then thousands of Grand Sports so that Corvette racers far and wide could go forth, battle, and be victorious – thus experiencing the taste of victory for themselves. But it was not to be. It seemed the the Wizard Duntov had run out of friends in high places... But perhaps not.

Ed Cole – Godfather of The General’s most successful engine ever build, the small-block Chevy. What started out in 1955 as a 195-horsepower, 265 cubic-inch engine transformed in 2009 into the C6 ZR1's 638-horsepower, 376-cubic-inch, all-aluminum gem. This is the most powerful production engine to ever come from Detroit.

It was Lord Edward Cole that first saw potential in Duntov back in ‘53 when the Corvette first arrived in the Kingdom of Chevrolet. Cole was a friend and quiet supporter of Zora the Gray’s wild ideas for making the Corvette into a respected race car first, so that it could then be a respected street sports car. We will never know for sure, but perhaps it was Lord Cole that spared the only five Grand Sport Corvettes in existence from the dreaded fate of the CRUSHER. That’s the usual fate of unwanted, special project cars that officially “don’t exist.” Off to the CRUSHER, never to be seen again!

But somehow, the five Grand Sports were spared that compressing fate and were sold off into servitude to privateers.

Like dogs of war, privateer racers only care about two things – winning and prize booty. Thus began a new and difficult phase of life for the racing Grand Sports. Orphaned by their parents, all five Grand Sports went through many alterations by their various owners – some good, some not so good. Their godfather, Zora the Gray looked after them from afar, assisting the various teams with special, “in development” parts that were “loaned” to the teams for “field testing.” The Grand Sports were owned and driven by some of the most famous princes of racing in their day. Names such as Mecom, Penske, Hall, Winterstein, Foyt, Thompson, Davis, Pabst, and many others experienced the pure joy and challenge of driving a Grand Sport Corvette.

Although Duntov the Gray loved the limelight and was the Corvette’s best spokesperson, his best work was making sure Corvette enthusiasts always had the right stuff to race their Corvette. After the Grand Sport effort was shut down, the philosophy was, “We’ll make the parts, and the racers can win with them!”

But the young prince’s coffers were meager compared to those in the House of Ford that resided in the Kingdom of Dearborn, making the Grand Sport no match for the Cobras that rebounded with additional development. Competition and development was moving at blinding speed. It was only a matter of a few years before the Grand Sport was hopelessly out gunned due to a lack of deep pockets and big purses needed to refine and develop the Grand Sport Corvettes for competition.

By the end of the decade, the Grand Sports had been modified and repainted to the point where they had all but vanished. It wasn’t until the middle of the following decade then people began asking, “Whatever happened to those Grand Sport Corvettes? Has anyone seen them? Are they still around?" Details were beginning to get fuzzy and wild stories became the stuff of bench racing tall tales from Corvette lovers. Gradually, one by one, the cars surfaced – some nothing but basket cases, others still reasonably in tack, considering how many times the cars had been bought, sold, modified. One was even forced into servitude as a custom street machine!

All five grand Sports are amazingly alive, restored, functional, and VERY valuable. See here at the 2003 Grand Sport Reunion at the 2003 Amelia Island Concours D’Elegance.

Fortunately, the story has a very happy ending. All five Grand Sport Corvettes are alive and well. They have all been restored to what is considered by most Corvette fans of the Grand Sport legend to be their best configuration. The two Grand Sports that were converted to open roadsters still look as they did on their best day. No one knows for sure or remembers how much The General was paid when the cars were sold off, rather than going to the crusher. Probably less than $10,000. They were just something to “get rid of and forget.” Over four decades later, the five restored cars are now worth millions of dollars and are considered running, functional, automotive art.

But do not despair dear reader if you do not have the liquid assets to spend millions for an exotic piece of automotive history. The Grand Sport Corvette legend has created legons of loyal followers and craftsmen and women with extraordinaly skill and artistry. For as much as one would pay for some of the a new, specialty Corvettes, you can have a Grand Sport relicacar that is a spot on facimili of the original. The new wizards of our time have solved all of the problems the original Grand Sports due to the lack of development time and gold backing.

That’s The Legend of the Grand Sport Corvette. - KST


"Three Generations of Grand Sport Corvettes"

There’s nothing quite like a surprise at a birthday party. On April 24, 2009, at the National Corvette Museum’s C5/C6 Registry Birthday Bash, GM officials floored the audience with the unveiling of the 2010 Grand Sport Corvette. The last time we saw a Grand Sport was more than 13 years ago, in 1996. Times were very different then, as the C4 was making its last appearance. Spy photos of the C5 were all over the car magazines, so Chevrolet’s challenge was maintaining customer interest in a car that was in its final year of production. The solution came in two parts: the Collector Edition—a special paint-and-trim option—and the stunning Grand Sport model. The Admiral Blue Grand Sport—with its white center stripes, red hash marks, black wheels, and other assorted details—was an instant classic. Production was limited to just 1,000 units, and the $3,250 price made it the most expensive option for the ‘96 Corvette. But after six years of the $31,000-plus ZR-1 package, the Grand Sport seemed like a bargain. Since then, the C4 Grand Sport “look” has been applied to all sorts of Corvettes, with many delightful results.

But the Grand Sport story goes back much further than 1996. In fact, it stretches back 34 years, to late 1962 and a test session at Riverside Raceway. It was there that a disheartened Zora Arkus-Duntov saw his latest effort come up short against a formidable new challenge: the Shelby Cobra. Duntov and his team were “field testing” a new ’63 Sting Ray equipped with their latest racer kit, the Z06 option. Since 1957 Duntov had made sure that Corvette racers had an excellent foundation for competition. The 283 fuelie engine provided plenty of grunt, while RPO 684 provided suspension and braking improvements. The package was very successful and was the foundation for Corvette dominance in several SCCA racing classes. Duntov was very happy with the performance of the Z06-equipped ’63, thanks to a new frame that allowed the engine and driveline to sit lower, improving the car’s center of gravity. The four-wheel independent suspension was far superior to the earlier layout, which was described by many racers as, “stab ‘n’ steer.” While most drivers were able to adjust their driving style to fit the Corvette’s unique handling characteristics, it was still a crude way of getting around the track. Many a track official had his wits scared out of him by a Corvette coming around a curve sideways, seemingly out of control. But the presence of the Cobra stopped the new Corvette in its tracks. Duntov and his crew had expected to be several steps ahead of the competition with their new car. Instead, they found themselves seriously outclassed. But Duntov always had another plan.

What happened then could never have taken place in the modern era. Fortunately, Duntov had very powerful friends at the top of GM’s food chain—namely, Ed Cole and Semon “Bunkie” Knudsen. It was Cole who hired Duntov in 1953 with instructions to do something with the fledgling Corvette. And although Knudsen was the son of William “Big Bill” Knudsen, the man responsible for GM’s quick turnaround during the war effort in 1940, he was no privileged rich kid. Knudsen learned the car business from the bottom up, working on the assembly line during his summer breaks from college. He also liked fast cars and was solidly behind Duntov’s racing efforts, so he understood the Corvette chief engineer’s dilemma with the new Sting Ray and the quicker Cobra. The obvious solution to level the playing field was to build a lightweight Corvette. Knudsen agreed and approved Duntov’s ambitious plans for the Grand Sport model. While the move might not seem like a big deal today, in 1962 GM was on board with the infamous AMA ban on factory-supported racing. The Grand Sport proposal was in direct violation of the ban and ran counter to GM’s official position. Duntov knew it, and Cole and Knudsen looked the other way.

Knudsen approved the construction of six lightweight Corvettes of Duntov’s design. After the six initial cars, 125 more Grand Sports were to be built to qualify for FIA homologation. Another 1,000 units would be produced for public consumption.

Duntov started with what was then a state-of-the-art ladder-type frame made from large-diameter steel tubing. The front suspension was similar to, but much lighter than, the stock Corvette setup. The rear suspension used the new Sting Ray independent design, but with an aluminum differential and drilled-out trailing arms. Girling disc brakes were used with Halibrand lightweight magnesium wheels and contemporary racing tires. The body was very close to the production Sting Ray, but used much thinner fiberglass. The final weight of the new Grand Sport was around 2,000 pounds. Duntov had several exotic small-block engines in development, including one with hemi-style heads, another with double overhead cams, and even an all-aluminum fuelie. But none of Duntov’s exotic engines were anywhere close to being ready for competition, so a slightly modified 360hp fuelie was installed for initial shakedown runs. The first versions of the car looked almost stock, but by the time the Grand Sports arrived for the Nassau Speed Week races, they had a full complement of flares, scoops, and fat tires. The cars looked tough and pounded the Cobras. Then GM’s top brass found out and killed the program—officially, anyway.

It’s amazing that Duntov wasn’t fired on the spot, but as I mentioned earlier, he had friends in high places at GM. Even more amazing was that the cars were not sent to the crusher. Grand Sports 003, 004, and 005 boasted 377ci aluminum small-blocks that breathed through four 58mm Weber carbs each and made 485 hp. Cars 001 and 002, meanwhile, had been converted to roadsters. When GM discontinued the program, the cars began passing from racer to racer, as various privateers tried to make the Grand Sport into a serious competitor. But the mid-’60s were a time of tremendous advancement in race-car technology, and in just four years, the Grand Sports were seriously outdated. They had numerous problems that were never fully sorted out, including a terrible front-end lift that would occasionally pull the tires off the ground at high speed. Many famous drivers spent time behind the wheel of a Grand Sport, including A.J. Foyt, Augie Pabst, Jim Hall, Dick Thompson, and George Winterstein. In 1967 Alan Sevadjian bought one of the cars for just $7,500. By the 1970s the Grand Sports were all but forgotten and their whereabouts mostly unknown. The cars began to surface in the late-‘70s, and today all five are accounted for. In January 2009, at RM’s Automobiles of Arizona, Grand Sport 002, one of the two roadsters, was a no-sale at $4.9 million.

Fast-forward to 1996, and the revival of the Grand Sport option. Obviously the C4 edition couldn’t be a lightweight, tube-chassis racer. But it was an extremely well-executed collection of off-the-shelf parts. Under the hood was the new LT4 engine, an enhanced version of the base LT1 that made an additional 30 hp (up to 330 total) with basic hot-rod hardware. These included a higher (10.8:1) compression ratio, new aluminum heads with bigger ports and valves, a revised camshaft, Crane roller rocker arms, and higher-flow fuel injectors. The new engine redlined at 6,300 rpm and had an 8,000-rpm tach. All 1,000 Grand Sports were painted with Admiral Blue paint and had a wide white stripe that ran from the nose to the tail. The ZR-1–style 17-inch wheels were painted black, and flares originally developed for the Japanese export market were installed on the rear fenders. As a salute to the Grand Sport racers, red hash marks were applied to the left front fender. The Z51 suspension option was available to stiffen up the car’s handling. Of the 1,000 cars built, 810 were coupes and 190 were convertibles. (The latter didn’t have the wider tires and the rear fender flares.) Priced at $3,250 for the coupe and $2,880 for the droptop, option Z16 became an instant classic. These days, show organizers like to put all the C4 Grand Sports together in rows, where they make for a dazzling presentation.

The C6 Grand Sport is a completely different animal. The base LS3 engine produces 430 hp—100 more than the old LT4. The new option fits neatly between the base Corvette and the Z06 and is available on both coupe and convertible models, in all color combinations. Oddly enough, the signature fender hash marks are optional. Perhaps most notable are the Z06 body panels, which include front and rear flared fenders, a front air-splitter, and a rear spoiler. The rear brake-cooling scoops are functional, but the front nose scoop is not. Visually separating the Grand Sport from the Z06 are a set of revised front-fender vents, with their ’67-inspired vertical slats. Model-specific five-spoke wheels are available in silver, Competition Gray, or chrome. The fronts measure 9.5 x 18 inches and are shod with Goodyear F1 run-flat tires sized 275/35ZR18. The 12 x 19-inch rears, meanwhile, get massive 325/30ZR19s. The front brakes have been enhanced with cross-drilled 14-inch front rotors and six-piston calipers, while the rears boast 13.5-inch rotors with four-piston binders. All four calipers are painted silver and wear red “Corvette” lettering.

Since the Grand Sport replaces the Z51 Performance Option, all of the Z51 goodies—heavy-duty springs, shocks, and stabilizer bars, along with coolers for the engine oil, transmission fluid, and steering fluid—are included. Additionally, all six-speed manual cars come with the Z52 option, which adds a dry-sump oil system, a rear-mounted battery, and a differential cooler. Manual cars also receive a new launch-control system. This system allows the driver to simply floor the gas, at which point the computer automatically selects the optimum launch rpm. All that’s left for the driver to do is drop the clutch and start shifting. All of the standard Corvette options are available on the Grand Sport, including four trim packages and the Dual Mode Exhaust System. Priced at $55,720 for the coupe and $59,530 for the convertible, the new Grand Sport is still around $15,000 less than a Z06. Zero-to-60 times clock in at 4 seconds flat, with quarter-miles in the low 13s or better. The car generates 1.0g on the skidpad and has an EPA rating of 26 mpg on the highway. Top speed is between 185 and 190 mph, making the latest Grand Sport faster than even the old racing versions.

For at least the first 20 years of its existence, the Corvette was always a hair’s breadth away from being canceled. Thanks to dedicated engineers like Duntov, McClellan, Hill, Juechter, and many others, the C6 Grand Sport can take its place among the greats of Corvette history.

"Chevrolet's Cobra Killer"

The 1963 Grand Sport is undoubtedly the ultimate "could-have-been" Corvette. Had GM not pulled the plug, this 2,100 pound monster could have been a true snake-killer. But it wasn't to be.

Grand Sport's problem wasn't a lack of hardware or technical assistance, it was political. The problem began with the 1957 Automobile Manufactures Association ban on factory supported racing. At first, Ford, GM and Chrysler complied, but by 1960 Ford and Pontiac were developing racing programs despite the AMA ban. In June of '62, Ford and Chrysler announced that they would ignore the AMA ban and openly develop racing programs. At Chevrolet, Zora Arkus-Duntov was watching.

Zora figured that if Pontiac was developing the Super Duty program and other groups in Chevrolet were developing the Mark II Mystery Motor, he should be working on a real racing version of the 1963 Stingray. This car would be homologated in the FIA as a GT Class production car.

To be "legal" in the FIA, Chevrolet had to make at least 100 cars to qualify as "production cars." Unfortunately, only five coupes were built. Years later, two were made into open roadsters. The target weight was 1,900 pounds with an all-aluminum 377 small block making 550 horsepower! This was a 180 mph Corvette. Everything was strictly racing!

The body was almost stock except for the nose and rear window. After its intial outing in '63 the G.S. grew all sorts of flairs, scoops and bulges. Under the thin fiberglass body was a twin tube chassis with a stock independent rear and hand made front suspension. The interior looked stock, except for the racing bucket seats, roll cage, and 200 mph speedometer! The car's best effort was the 1963 Nassau Speed Week where they stunned the Shelby team and won!

GM gave all racing programs the axe in January 1963. The Grand Sports were sold and raced independently. Lacking real factory support, they were quickly obsolete by 1966. All five cars have been fully restored.

1963 Grand Sport Corvette Roadster
"Chevrolet's Cobra Killer - Part II"

Road racing in America went through a tremendous growth period during the mid-'60s. A competitive race car could be obsolete in only two years. Duntov and his crew secretly designed and built five Grand Sports early in 1962. The three Grand Sport Coupes got enough attention at their debut race in Nassau, that GM brass ordered the program halted.

The three coupes were sold in 1964 and the two roadsters were supposed to be sent to the crusher. Somehow, Duntov managed to avoid that fate. In 1965 one of the roadsters surfaced at a car show at Notre Dame University. Someone in the press quipped that a Grand Sport with the new 427 NASCAR engine might be an interesting race car. Enter Roger Penske.

Penske was planning to race a 427 Coupe that year and added the two remaining Grand Sport Roadsters to his team. Assisting in the preparations was veteran Corvette racer, Dick Guldstrand. The team knew that the Grand Sport was getting tired, but it was too tempting to pass up. Guldstrand supervised the complete rebuilding of one of the roadsters and the necessary changes required for the Traco Engineering-built, 500-horsepower, 427 engine.

By the time the Grand Sport Roadster made it to Sebring in March 1966, the car was seriously outdated. But it was a valiant effort that might have had a chance with some factory support. The biggest problem was still the suspension and it's infamous front end lift.

Driver Delmo Johnson was quoted as saying, "As far as I'm concerned, if any driver ever says he had complete control of that car, he's lying to you." Between the front end lift and the power from the 427, Roger Penske said, "It was so light in the front end that when you really stood on the gas, the front end would come off the ground like a dragster."

Power was not a problem for the roadster. During practice, Guldstrand reported that he could easily blow off even the Ford Mark II cars. A. J. Foyt got dusted by a Grand Sport and was quoted as saying, "What's in that damn dinosaur? It went by me like I was stopped." During actual racing, the car was embarrassingly inadequate.

Penske sold roadster 001 to John Mecam and roadster 002 to George Wintersteen who raced the car unsuccessfully and later sold it for $6,700. George still regrets the sale.

The Grand Sports were the ultimate "could have been" racing Corvettes. Completely lost in the '70s, they have all been found and restored. - KST

"The Ultimate Could Have Been Corvette"

The 1963 Grand Sport is arguably the ultimate "could-have-been" Corvette. Had GM not pulled the plug, this 2,100 pound monster could have been a true snake-killer. But it wasn't to be.

Grand Sport's problem wasn't a lack of hardware or technical assistance, it was political. The problem began with the 1957 Automobile Manufacturers Association ban on factory-supported racing. At first, Ford, GM and Chrysler complied, but by 1960 Ford and Pontiac were developing racing programs despite the AMA ban. In June of 1962, Ford and Chrysler announced that they would ignore the AMA ban and openly develop racing programs.

At Chevrolet, Duntov was watching. Zora Arkus-Duntov figured that if Pontiac was developing the Super Duty program, and other groups in Chevrolet were developing the Mark II Mystery Motor, he should be working on a real racing version of the 1963 Stingray. This specially developed, all-out race car would be homologated in the FIA as a GT Class production car.

To be "legal" in the FIA, Chevrolet had to make at least 100 cars to qualify as "production cars." Unfortunately, only five coupes were built. Two years later, two were made into open roadsters. The target weight was 1,900 pounds with an all-aluminum 377 small-block making 550 horsepower! This was an all-out, strictly racing, not-meant-for- public highways, 180-mph Cobra eater!

The body was almost stock except for the nose and rear window. After its initial outing in '63 the G.S. grew all sorts of flairs, scoops and bulges. Under the thin fiberglass body was a twin tube chassis with a stock independent rear and hand made front suspension. The interior looked stock, except for the racing bucket seats, roll cage, and 200 mph speedometer! The car's best effort was the 1963 Nassau Speed Week where they stunned the Shelby team and won!

GM axed the car in January 1963. The Grand Sports were sold and raced independently, and are now fully restored. Kit versions are so right on, it's easy to mistake a replicar for the real thing. However, replicars can be made streetable.

K. Scott Teeters

groovyjay

Thanks for sharing these stories, if you don't mind I'm going to re post them on the general grand sport thread.