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67HEAVEN

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It's almost Easter. Anyone interested in an Easter Egg Hunt?

Owners of mid-engine, 2020 model Chevrolet Corvette, whose cars’ VINs are 11000 or higher, have something that earlier owners didn’t get. According to the National Corvette Museum, those 11000+ cars include what have become known in the auto industry as “Easter eggs” — delightful once you find them — at the bottom of their windshields.

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Zora’s profile is etched into the windshield | National Corvette Museum photo

On the driver’s side, you’ll find the words “Team Corvette” and the Next-Generation Corvette crossed-flags emblem. And on the passenger’s side, there’s a silhouette of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the legendary sports car guru who turned the fiberglass-bodied roadster into a performance icon.

The museum says that according to Corvette product-planning chief Harlan Charles, the original plan was to add the etchings with the start of the 2021 model year, which would have been near the anniversary of Arkus-Duntov’s famous letter that is said to have saved Corvette back in the 1950s.

“With the 2020 model year extended to help cover the many orders,” Charles told the museum, “the new windshield was ready early so we break pointed it at VIN 11000 last week.” The first car to get the new windshield was VIN 1G1Y72D46L5111000. Several of the early cars were delivered across the road from the Bowling Green, Kentucky, assembly plant to the museum for its customer delivery program.

How's that for legendary?
 

67HEAVEN

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Almost single-handedly, Zora saved Corvette. When launched, General Motors executives had little idea what to do with this new style of car for North America. It was under-powered for a sports car, with only a stovebolt six cylinder and automatic to propel it. Ity had few creature comforts...not even roll-up side windows. To the executives, it was a styling exercise. Only 300 were built in 1953, and few were sold. Many were giveen away to celebrities, like John Wayne, as an attempt to gain public attention.

Along came Zora, with great ideas for quickly evolving the car into what it had to become. A real sports car. The following letter, from October 15, 1954, did the trick. Corvette carried on and eventually, Zora Arkus-Duntov became Corvette's first Chief Engineer, and boy did things change quickly then!!!

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Almost overnight, Corvette got the new small-block Chevy V8, a 4-speed transmission, fuel-injection, dual exhaust, special off-road power and performance options, etc.

When the new Corvette Zora arrives, now you know why.

Rest in Peace....great man.
 
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HotWheelsBurban

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Almost single-handedly, Zora saved Corvette. When launched, General Motors executives had little idea what to do with this new style of car for North America. It was under-powered for a sports car, with only a stovebolt six cylinder and automatic to propel it. Ity had few creature comforts...not even roll-up side windows. To the executives, iot was a styling exercise. Only 300 were built in 1953, and few were sold. Many were giveen away to celebrities, like John Wayne, as an attempt to gain public attention.

Along came Zora, with great ideas for quickly evolving the car into what it had to become. A real sports car. The following letter, from October 15, 1954, did the trick. Corvette carried on and eventually, Zora Arkus-Duntov became Corvette's first Chief Engineer, and boy did things change quickly then!!!

You must be registered for see images attach


You must be registered for see images attach


Almost overnight, Corvette got the new small-block Chevy V8, a 4-speed transmission, fuel-injection, dual exhaust, special off-road power and performance options, etc.

When the new Corvette Zora arrives, now you know why.

Rest in Peace....great man.
He was right! Something as specialized as the Corvette needed a dedicated team. It was what we now would call a "halo car", something for regular Chevrolet buyers to aspire to own. There's a reason why so many Vettes are sold to middle aged men, and it isn't just the expense. People reach a point in their careers and lives where they feel they've earned something like it.
 

67HEAVEN

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By the way, this is how Zora himself characterized his letter to the brass, trying to change their minds on the Corvette. (see his letter a few posts above)

I was walking in the hall of the GM building (before the Technical Center in Warren was built). A man approached (I've since forgotten his name). He button-holed me and announced with glee, "The Corvette is finished--no more will be built."

The man was a high-up member of Chevrolet's sales department and was dressed in "uniform"--a blue suit and yellow shoes."
At that time, Mr. Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief engineer, along with a handful of people like Harry Barr, "Rosie" Rosenberger and Russ Sanders, all former Cadillac employees, were trying to mold Chevrolet with an eye for the future. The Corvette was an important part of changing Chevrolet's image.

The monolithic Chevrolet organization and their 6,000 dealerships all were geared to sell family cars in the millions. Of course, in this regard the Corvette was a flop, and the prevailing attitude of many at Chevy was "good riddance." A Corvette failure would have been a black eye for Ed Cole and the organization. With this in mind, the letter I wrote to Cole and Maurice Olley appears here."


Zora Arkus-Duntov, pg 15, "Duntov: The Man Behind the Corvette" - by the Editors of VETTE Magazine, 1996
 
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67HEAVEN

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Way, way back in this thread, I mentioned that the original stingrays were "hand laid up". Here's a demonstration... (There are some portions of the video where sound is very low)

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