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.
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.
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!