| Corvette Sting Ray Prototype
While GM was technically out of racing,
Vice-President of Styling William
Mitchell created (with help from Pete Brock, Larry Shinoda, and Tony
Lapine) the striking "Stingray" prototype and campaigned it in SCCA Nationals
and pro events in 1959-60.
The chassis of the car came from the
Corvette SS "Mule" used for testing
at Sebring in March, 1957.
(Read John Lamm's excellent "Salon" article
on this car in the July,
2001 issue of "Road and Track".)
| Dr. Dick Thompson raced the "Sting Ray"
at Laguna Seca in the first Pacific Grand Prix, held in October, 1960.
He DNF'd after ramming the back of Walt
Hansgen's Cunningham-entered Maserati Type 60 in Turn 9.
General Motors brought the "Sting Ray"
to the Monterey Historics in 1987. |
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This photo shows the beautifully sculpted
form of the car. The aerodynamics, though, were questionable and
the car tended to "lift".
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| The body design of the production "Stingrays"
of 1963-67 owed much to this car.
Not a pampered showcar,
Dr.
Dick Thompson drove the "Sting Ray" hard against top competition.
His evenly-matched battles with Augie
Pabst in the "Meister Brauser" Scarab
are
legendary. The two faced off at SCCA Nationals in the midwest and on
the east coast in 1960.
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Corvette was featured again at the "2002
Monterey Historics". Again, the original Sting Ray ran demonstration
laps at Laguna Seca.
The Corvette, and the Stingray in particular, is one of the great muscle cars. Corvette owners can click here for Corvette accessories online catalog at Parts Geek.
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