A Dozen Dazzling Cutting-Edge Corvettes Over The Decades

Before it become a nostalgia model, the Chevrolet Corvette was a technical pioneer.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

December 17, 2019

11 Slides
1960 CERV I, 1990 CERV III and 1964 CERV II (left to right). Image source: General Motors Co.

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1960 CERV I, 1990 CERV III and 1964 CERV II (left to right). Image source: General Motors Co.

While Chevrolet launched the Corvette in 1953 using an assemblage of uninspiring off-the-shelf parts, including the old standby Stovebolt Six engine (rebranded with sidedraft carburetors as the Blue Flame Six), the car quickly became General Motors’ technology leader.

Zora Arkus-Duntov, Corvette’s first true chief engineer, pushed the application of the original small block V8 in 1955 and added Rochester Ramjet mechanical fuel injection in 1957. He developed the production Corvette into a legitimate Le Mans racer while GM design boss Bill Mitchell created the one-off Sting Ray Racer prototype in 1959.

Under Duntov, Chevy engineers produced testbeds like the mid-engine, open-wheel 1960 Chevrolet Experimental Research Vehicle (CERV) I, which looked like a mid-engine Indy Car a year before such a car debuted at The Brickyard. Duntov described CERV I as “a design without limit” and an “admirable tool” to instruct Chevy on “what to put in Corvette.”

The closed-wheel, open-cockpit CERV II of 1964 featured front and rear torque converters in a patented mid-engine all-wheel drive layout.

The 1990 CERV III was designed as more of a high-performance road car than as a racer, with the aim of developing mid-engine structures for a production model that never arrived. The twin-turbocharged double-overhead cam V8 in CERV III produced 650 horsepower, forecasting the muscle of forced-induction Corvettes like the supercharged 638-hp 2009 Corvette ZR1.

Finally, with the eighth-generation 2020 Corvette Stingray, Corvette fulfills Duntov’s dream of a mid-engine layout. Just as importantly, Corvette reclaims its mantle as a contemporary technology leader.

Dan Carney is a Design News senior editor, covering automotive technology, engineering and design, especially emerging electric vehicle and autonomous technologies.

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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