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The tease strip showed the XP 817 GS-II Corvette.. I wonder why there hasn't been more talk about the connection between Winchell - Jim Hall. Maybe because there was some real competition within GM between Winchell, Mitchell, and Zora? Taking nothing away from Zora, Chevrolet R&D chief Frank Winchell did an awful lot to increase the knowledge at GM about mid-rear cars. Jim Hall did an awful lot to demonstrate and test both at his Rattlesnake Raceway and on the track. The XP 817 GS-II Corvette was tested by Jim Hall at his Rattlesnake Raceway and as I recall, Hall adopted the Al chassis of this car to one of his Chaparrals.
Zora was and is the face of Corvette, without a question of a doubt.
My all time fav Chaparral - I was at Sebring in 1965 when it won overall. It was the coolest sight ever at night, it looked like a space ship landing!! (it also looked liked a open ocean racer during one of Sebring's biggest down pours ever!)
CERV II. 6.2-liter aluminum-block V-8, its advanced all-wheel-drive system used two automatic transmissions with torque converters, one in front of and one behind the engine, in a steel and aluminum spaceframe with outboard vented-disc brakes and (eventually) wide, low-profile experimental Firestone tires on Kelsey-Hayes magnesium wheels.
Very interesting. That car was very ahead of its time.
Great article. It pisses u off when u read about the technology GM had early on and how they squandered it.
A 650hp TT DOHC 5.7L motor in 1990. Son of a B**ch.
“Those Corvette Indy concepts were followed at the 1990 Detroit auto show by the somewhat more production-feasible CERV III, which previewed the roof shape and some other styling elements of what would eventually become the C5 Corvette. Built by GM Corporate Engineering, with Lotus consultation, it retained a long tail to accommodate its Lotus-tuned 650-hp twin-turbo DOHC 5.7-liter V-8 mounted transversely, which drove all four wheels, thanks to (advanced for then) viscous coupling, through a six-speed automatic transmission. Active suspension and rear steering tightened its turning circle and stabilized high-speed cornering, and its low-drag (0.28 Cd) aluminum-honeycomb-reinforced carbon fiber, Nomex, and Kevlar body sported Lamborghini-inspired "scissors" doors.”
No longer in production. but has some interesting GM links. Dave McLellan went to work for them after retirement. The car is featured in his book "Corvette From the Inside". Check the chapter "The Corvette's Future." Especially the section "Lessons Learned from the Mosler MT900"
Last edited by Kodiak Bear; 06-20-2019 at 11:35 AM.
You can visit the Petroleum Museum to see all the Chaparrals on exhibit. All the cars are maintained in driving condition. Jim Hall personally will drive one around the circular drive at the Museum every other month weather permitting.
About 7 years ago, I visited the museum and got to talk with Jim Hall at length because his drive got rained out. I arrived early and the mechanic that maintains the cars asked if I could help him put the rear body panel on the car Jim was going to drive. I took a lot of photos which I treasure.
See the website below for more info on the Chaparrals:
A couple of other places to look for Chaparral Corvette connection are "Chevrolet = Racing . . . ?" by van Valkenburgh and the series of articles written by Pete Lyons for Vintage Motorsport magazine in the middle 1990's. Coming is
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by Levy, George, Release date: Tuesday, December 3, 2019"
I am emphasizing the role played by the Hall Chaparral - Winchell Chevy R&D to the entire engineering mid rear and rear rear body of knowledge that Chevy has. The Rattlesnake Raceway was the site of a LOT of testing done by Chevy R&D away from the eyes of the executives of GM and the news media. Chevy R&D instrumented the entire track at Midland and just left their stuff in place when Chevy R&D was eliminated during one of the many GM reorganizations. One of the drivers under contract to Chevy R&D for that testing was Jim Hall as was Roger Penske who was the one that got his employer to cast the original al big block 427s. Many ideas were developed during braining storming sessions between the Chaparral crew including Hap Sharp and the "resident" Chevy R & D engineers who rotated in and out of Midland. Many of the items on the Chaparral were rolling test beds in racing at the urging of Chevy R&D The competition between the Zora products and the Chevy R & D products was intense enough that competing testing was done at Midland. Usually the Chevy R&D products won out because Winchell had the budget to properly develop the Chevy R&D products, where as Zora had to work on a wing and a prayer and sometimes without any official budget and under the guise of something else.
IMO a mark of respect would be to have Jim Hall invited to the Orange event, but that's a whole 'nuther story
Unfortunately, even if you could research the whole linage too much time has passed, information lost and key players died to get any kind of complete picture. Things were fluid to say the least.
Last edited by Kodiak Bear; 06-20-2019 at 04:21 PM.
No longer in production. but has some interesting GM links. Dave McLellan went to work for them after retirement. The car is featured in his book "Corvette From the Inside". Check the chapter "The Corvette's Future." Especially the section "Lessons Learned from the Mosler MT900"
You can visit the Petroleum Museum to see all the Chaparrals on exhibit. All the cars are maintained in driving condition. Jim Hall personally will drive one around the circular drive at the Museum every other month weather permitting.
About 7 years ago, I visited the museum and got to talk with Jim Hall at length because his drive got rained out. I arrived early and the mechanic that maintains the cars asked if I could help him put the rear body panel on the car Jim was going to drive. I took a lot of photos which I treasure.
See the website below for more info on the Chaparrals:
I was driving back from Colorado to Dallas and made a stop in Midland to go to the museum with my family maybe 10 years ago. If you really like cars and are within a few hours it is well worth going out of your way.. It only has a few Chaparrals, but there were only 6(? clearly more) original chassis made, so some were multiple models. IIRC they have 4 (7 now). There was also an Jim Hall Indy car. There a mock up you could try to sit in. Lets just say those guys are trim. My 3 year old daughter liked sitting it so much she tried to get in another one. Alarms went off and a good time was had by all. No damage was done, as she barely touched it, and we quickly moved away and pretended like we did not know what was going on.
As I recall they really were the only cars they had, they did have a bunch of old gas station pumps, signs etc. It is after all The Petroleum museum. I wonder how it has changed.
If you like the Chaparrals, it is well worth the visit. Jim Hall is an under-celebrated designer.
EDIT: my memory was bad or they got more cars to display, so it is even better, and apparently there were a few more chassis made. Edits in italics.
Was looking at the Mosler picture thought if you are a builder & want to DIY mid engine car this Factory Five ME Corvette/Porsche is an absolute rocket ship. Corvette engine with ECU, wiring harness, suspension bits, brakes, fuel tanks etc, Porsche G50 Transaxle. Built on a FFR space frame. At 2435lbs with 505BHP Chevy tested quicker by Car & Driver then the Molser, Viper ARC, Porsche GT, Saleen S7 & FORD GT. 0-60 in 3.0, 0-100 in 6.6, 1/4 mile 11.0 at 132mph.
Last edited by BEAR-AvHistory; 06-24-2019 at 09:40 PM.
06-16-2019, 08:09 PM
Why no mention of the chaparral connection
