Video: Vintage Corvette Racing

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The Corvette was born from GM’s desire to tap into the emerging market for European roadsters. When it first appeared, the Corvette was underpowered and underwhelming, and it was almost discontinued until Zora Arkus-Duntov saw the potential for performance in the lightweight roadster. Thus began Corvette’s long and proud history of racing. This YouTube video found by Bad Boy ‘Vettes highlights many of these past races and victories with a little music video.



The Corvette’s racing history didn’t really get under way until 1957, when Duntov built his mechanical tour de force, the Corvette SS. After setting numerous speed records with this roadster, Duntov set about campaigning the Corvette in every event he could. This included running the 12 hours of Sebring, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and many other races where the Corvette would become known as a competitor.

The video has pictures from many of these races spanning the first three generations of the Corvette. You won’t see any C6.R’s in this video, but you will see some Stingrays, split-windows, and possibly even the fabled Corvette SS. What really impresses us is the photography; back then these guys were working with clunky old cameras and actual film, yet still managed to take some amazing pictures. We’ve been spoiled by digital camera technology…we can take amazing pictures of Corvettes a thousand times over. So enjoy some vintage cars and vintage photography and check this video out.




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