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At the dawn of what would become Corvette Racing, there are names and models that stand out as the large, foundational stones that have helped build Corvette into the impressive auto that it is, both on the street and the track.
One such nameplate that still resonates from those early years when Corvette was working out its existence as a performance sportscar, is the 1957 Corvette SS. Deemed as a full-on attempt at beating the likes of Ferrari and Maserati under the watchful eye of the world during the 24-hour race at Le Mans, the Corvette SS was a clean-sheet endeavor with the highly capable Zora Duntov wielding the pen.
A clean-sheet design, Zora and company decidedly built the car to compete with the likes of Ferrari and Maserati on race tracks around the globe. Had it not been for a short-lived career at Sebring and the AMA ban that year, the car may have been sorted out to become a fierce competitor.
Convinced that Corvette could win on the world stage, the Belgian-born engineer’s enthusiasm ran rampant throughout the halls of Chevrolet. Beginning with the infusion of two additional cylinders to Corvette’s six-cylinder engine, the drive to go faster flowed throughout the car’s design, and possibly reached maturity in 1957, with the advent of the Chevrolet Corvette SS.
The car was hand-assembled by the team of engineers with the purpose of winning at Le Mans. Sadly, the car never saw the famed racetrack.
Bradley Iger did a story a while ago that gives the history of the car, but our focus today is this interesting video posted on YouTube that goes under that wafer-thin magnesium shell to show the car as it came together way back when.
Feel free to check out the video and then head over to Bradley’s story to get chapter and verse of this magnificent car’s history and creation. You’ll be glad you did!
