Being inducted into the National Corvette Museum’s Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed upon an individual for their contributions to the Corvette community. Every year, the NCM singles out three individuals and welcomes them into the hallowed halls of Corvette greatness. Here are this year’s official inductees as part of the 22nd Annual Corvette Hall of Fame Ceremony for 2019: Dollie Cole in the category of Enthusiast; Briggs Cunningham in the category of Racing; and Tom Peters in the category of GM/Chevrolet.
Dollie Cole
Being married to the President of General Motors, Ed Cole, Dollie was involved in many aspects of the automotive industry. She was particularly interested, and took a specific interest in all things Corvette, including the NCM. She held leadership roles on various boards and within numerous organizations that served to make the world we all live in a better place. She ultimately served on the NCM board, where she presided as its Chair in 2000 and 2001.
Briggs Cunningham
Corvette enjoys a long, rich history of winning at the Le Mans 24-hour race in France. Briggs Swift Cunningham is one of the forefathers of that Corvette racing heritage. Briggs bought three 1960 Corvettes and prepared them for the daunting, day-long race through the French countryside. Originally dismissed as being too heavy for any chance of competing, fellow competitors soon learned how Corvette’s torquey engine complimented the larger cars. Two of the cars did not finish, but car number three, driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman was nursed across the line first in class, to the cheers and adoration of the crowd. Corvette’s accomplishment in its first showing cemented the marque’s world-wide status as a performance car and the rich heritage, along with the team’s “never-give-up” attitude continue on today.
Tom Peters
In 1980, Tom was offered a position by then head of GM’s design studio, Chuck Jordan. Tom’s work soon stood out among many others within GM and he found himself working on the up-coming C4 ZR-1 team. Tom would go on to foster designs for both prototypes and production vehicles for the C5, C6 and C7 Corvette generations. In the end, Tom would find himself rising through the ranks and serving as the Director of Design for Performance Car Exteriors for Corvette and Camaro. His forward-thinking and keen eye for design has forged some of the most amazing automotive designs that we can look back upon today.
Since its inception in 1997, 71 individuals have been inducted into the Corvette Hall of Fame. Bios, photos and in many case videos of each are available on the Museum’s website.