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From the car files: General Motors press release photo of engineer, Zora Arkus-Duntov, in an experimental magnesium-body Chevrolet Corvette - 1957.

Lighter Than C1 Corvette

The second-generation ’63 Corvette improved on the C1 Corvette in many ways. It was roomer inside, despite a smaller footprint. It handled better. It was even lighter than the preceding Corvette, despite using more steel in its construction and running the same drivetrain. The C2 saved weight by having thinner fiberglass in its body panels.

Duntov Wanted a Mid-Engine Corvette

If you’re familiar with the current eighth-generation Corvette, you’ll know it’s unique to it the preceding seven generations by dint of being the first to go mid-engine. It may have taken the Corvette over sixty years to finally get there, but mid-engine designs had been increasingly common, especially in racing cars by the early 1960s. Duntov, the man today known as the Father of the Corvette, had initially wanted the second-generation Corvette’s engine in the rear. The plans were for a very 911-esqe air-cooled flat-six to replace the V8 using the Corvair’s existing architecture. In the end, an ambitious move to a midship engine just wasn’t feasible financially for the Corvette and it would take decades before it finally happened.

#C1 Corvette #car #cars #Duntov #Corvette #chevrolet #classic car #sports cars #chevy

1959 Chevrolet Biscayne 348 “Duntov”

The special 1959 police pursuit Biscayne developed by Zora Arkus Duntov was first revealed in Motor Trend in December 1958, when correspondent D.M. Bartley compared it to “the fastest road car we can think of,” the Ferrari 250GT. The praise came in large part thanks to the car’s Duntov-massaged 348 CI W-head big block, whose 305 horsepower gave it a potential top speed of 135 MPH. The matching numbers example offered here, which has completed a three-year restoration, is one of 40 police pursuit Biscaynes built to Duntov’s specs, and was delivered new to the Oregon State Patrol.

Image 1: Duntov with the Biscayne 348;

Image 2 : In the sectional drawing, the wedge shape of the chamber, just above the piston on the right.

#chevrolet #biscayne #duntov #cars