CORVETTE CHIEFS: ZORA ARKUS-DUNTOV

Posted on August 14, 2020August 14, 2020 by MartynL

Corvette historian and illustrator Scott Teeters blogs about the men who made the Corvette America’s Sports Car. This is part 1 of a series: CORVETTE CHIEFS: ZORA ARKUS-DUNTOV. Duntov carried the heart and soul of the Corvette into racing and created an American legend. Arguably, there had never been a chief engineer of an American car the likes of Zora Arkus-Duntov. When Duntov was hired to work at Chevrolet on May 1, 1953, the 43-year-old European-trained engineer brought a background...

ZORA ARKUS-DUNTOV: GODFATHER OF THE CORVETTE

Posted on June 25, 2020June 25, 2020 by MartynL

Our friends at MID AMERICA MOTORWORKS pay tribute to ZORA ARKUS-DUNTOV: GODFATHER OF THE CORVETTE, the man responsible for America’s first real sports car. Zora Arkus-Duntov was a brilliant engineer who transformed the Corvette from a stylish sports car into a legendary high-performance machine. Arkus-Duntov was born in 1909 and raised in Saint Petersburg, Russia. After the Russian Revolution, the family immigrated to Berlin, Germany where he earned an engineering degree from Charlottenburg Tec...

DUNTOV’S DREAM: MID-ENGINE CORVETTES

Posted on March 19, 2020March 19, 2020 by MartynL

Chevrolet has come a long way – actually 67 years - since Zora Arkus-Duntov built the first mid/rear-engine Corvette. That was in 1953 when #856 EX-54’s stock Six was removed and the body and chassis modified to accommodate a prototype Cadet II engine and transaxle. Unfortunately that car is long gone, but the Matunes showcase the modern Corvette transformation from front to mid-engine, culminating with the incredible C8. Zora saw the future in the past. Recalling the pre-war Auto Union GP cars,...

CORVETTE: CHASSIS THAT ZORA BUILT

Posted on February 22, 2020February 22, 2020 by MartynL

Part 2 of Scott Teeters’ excellent Corvette history series dives deep into Zora Arkus-Duntov’s finest moments, starting with the iconic split-window Sting Ray. When the ‘63 Sting Ray made its public debut in September 1962, it was a total, “WOW!” And it wasn’t just the Corvette’s stunning new looks; it was the all-new CORVETTE: CHASSIS THAT ZORA BUILT. By late 1959, Zora Arkus-Duntov, http://www.corvettereport.com/founding-fathers-pt-4-corvette-godfather-zora-arkus-duntov/ was in charge of Corve...

ZORA DUNTOV & MID-ENGINE CORVETTE MYSTIQUE!

Posted on June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 by MartynL

Ken Kayser’s latest tome - Corvette Legend Or Myth & Zora’s Marque of Excellence, Volume II, Zora’s Fabulous Mid-Ship Corvette History - is actually a 750-page, portable Corvette research library. If you consider yourself a Corvette aficionado and/or a student of American automotive history, your bookshelf should have Corvette-centric published works penned by Kenneth W. Kayser. A retired GM engineer, Kayser spent years at the Tonawanda Engine Plant (think big-blocks, L88, ZL1, etc) and la...

LEGEND OR MYTH: ZORA’S MARQUE OF EXCELLENCE!

Posted on March 17, 2018March 17, 2018 by MartynL

VOLUME 1 of Kenneth W. Kayser’s CORVETTE, Legend Or Myth & Zora’s Marque Of Excellence series reveals everything you have always wanted to know about the creation of the first Corvette plus Zora Arkus-Duntov’s unique sports car passion. Since the first Corvette broke cover more than six decades ago, there have been dozens of books, thousands of newspaper and magazine articles and many single marque magazines focusing exclusively on America’s Sports Car. And, Corvette Godfather Zora Arkus Du...

’17 STINGRAY GRAND SPORT: CORVETTE RACING HERITAGE!

Posted on March 1, 2016May 15, 2017 by MartynL

A snapshot of the new Corvette Grand Sport, plus Corvette's international racing legacy on and off the track. Chevrolet is bringing back the Corvette Grand Sport, leveraging more than 50 years of technology transfer from the track, while incorporating the distinctive styling attributes and special-edition aura. It is also the first production model to incorporate the chassis and suspension elements of the high-performance supercharged model in addition to its wider tires and fenders. It was...

LINGENFELTER COLLECTION: FAST CARS FOR A GOOD CAUSE!

Posted on May 10, 2014May 15, 2017 by MartynL

Ken Lingenfelter has an ulterior motive – supporting great causes - for amassing an incredible collection of high-performance cars. The Lingenfelter name has been linked to fast cars and the high-performance automotive community based primarily on the late John Lingenfelter’s reputation as a Corvette tuner, driver, championship drag racer, manufacturer of specialty performance parts and owner of LPE, Lingenfelter Performance Engineering. He was the builder-tuner-driver of the legendary Calla...

RARE L88 CORVETTES: STING RAY & STINGRAY!

Posted on January 9, 2014May 15, 2017 by MartynL

It’s a rare day when two important super-high-performance L88 Corvettes cross the block. It doesn’t get better than these prime examples. Chevrolet tried everything to discourage people from buying L88 Corvettes in 1967 to 1969. The 427 engine with aluminum heads and ultra-high-compression was really a single four-barrel track engine, not engineered to run with mufflered exhausts and on pump gas. Initially dealers were discouraged from selling them and Chevrolet rated the L88 at five horsepo...

ZR1 & ZR2 CORVETTES: THE MARK OF ZORA!

Posted on January 7, 2014May 15, 2017 by MartynL

If you wanted to race a 1970-'72 Corvette, all you had to do was check off ZR1 or ZR2 on the order sheet. Very few did, so they have become rare collectibles. At the upcoming Barrett-Jackson Auction in Scottsdale, AZ, a pair of rare Corvettes, optioned with Chevrolet’s ready-to-race ZR options will cross the block. In 1970, just 25 Corvettes were equipped with the ZR1 option which included solid-lifter 350/370 small-block engines, M22 four-speeds, J56 dual-pin brakes, K66 Transistorized igni...