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Chevrolet Corvette SS from 1957 - The beautiful but unsuccessful racing Corvette XP-64

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Created on July 6, 2012

Reading time 3min

Written by:

Stefan Fritschi

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Archiv

12

Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - mit Taruffi bei den 12 Stunden von Sebring 1957

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Sebring 1957 - Fangio macht sich mit den Bedienungselementen vertraut

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Sebring 1957 - Fangio beim Probesitzen im Prototypen

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - prüfende Blicke gelten dem Motor

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Vorbereitungen vor dem Start

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - das Cockpit der Renn-Corvette

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - leichtgewichtige Karosserie gut sichtbar

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Aufhängung der Motorhaube

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Blick auf die Rohrrahmenkonstruktion und die Aufhängung

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Blick in den Motorraum

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Differential, Bremsen innenliegend, Kunststofftank

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Chevrolet Corvette SS (1957) - Versuchs-Aluminum-Zylinderkopf, in Rennen nicht verwendet

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Summary

When Zora Arkus-Duntov suggested to GM in 1956 that they build a racing Corvette that could compete with the fastest sports prototypes of the time, he found an open ear. In just six months, the Corvette SS was built according to the standards for racing cars at the time. Fast lap times, including under Juan Manuel Fangio in Sebring, were the reward for the effort, but the vehicle proved to be unreliable in the race. As a result, the XP-64 project was stopped before success was achieved. This report describes the background to the XP-64 project and shows the 1957 Corvette SS in words and pictures, supplemented by two documentaries from the time.

This article contains the following chapters

Promising lap times from Moss and Fangio
Failure in the first and only race
Further information

Estimated reading time: 3min

Preview (beginning of the article)

"Win on Sunday - Sell on Monday" was an important sales success for sporty vehicles at the time. But a racing car based on the standard Corvette C1 was no match for Ferrari or Maserati at Sebring. Ex-racing driver Zora Arkus-Duntov therefore suggested creating a lightweight pure racing car in the style of a Jaguar D-Type, which could compete in the prototype class , while production-based Corvettes tried their luck in the production class. The prototype XP-64 SS ("Super Spyder" or "Sebring Spyder") was completed in just six months and was "ready to race" in December 1956. It had a standard cast iron 4.6-liter V8 engine (283 cu in), which was boosted to 307 hp with the usual tricks and gimmicks of the racing department.

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