The Evolution of the Corvette: Innovative Design from the C1 to the C7 StingRay. We hitch a ride in a 57 Corvette to the Petersen Automotive Museum to catch the debut of the new 2014 C7 StingRay. At the museum we meet up with StingRay designer
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00:00 Today on Hot Rod Unlimited, we're going to talk about evolution.
00:03 Specifically, we're going to talk about the evolution of the Corvette
00:06 and how it developed from just a concept in 1953
00:09 into one of the few cars that thrills fans of racing and luxury, sports cars and hot rods.
00:13 I've hitched a ride in a '57 Corvette to meet up with some other Corvette enthusiasts
00:17 at the Peterson Automotive Museum in Los Angeles to celebrate something special.
00:21 You never want to forget an anniversary.
00:28 We're not going to forget Corvettes. It's the big six-oh.
00:30 There's Corvettes here from every generation, so let's go check them out.
00:33 The Peterson is having a special exhibit to debut the brand new C7 Corvette,
00:43 which is here in Los Angeles for the very first time.
00:45 And along with the C7, they've got Corvettes from all the different generations going back to the C1.
00:55 The Corvette was introduced as a show car in 1953 at the New York Motorama,
00:59 and it was so popular it was produced for sale the very same year.
01:02 It was an innovative car.
01:03 Its fiberglass construction and European styling cues made it a real departure from all GM's previous offerings.
01:09 For an inside perspective, we're meeting up with Kirk Benion, exterior design manager for Corvette.
01:14 This car that we're standing next to is a 1953 Corvette.
01:17 This is the EX-122 prototype, and it is one of the very first Corvettes.
01:23 I believe it's one of the first that was later fitted with a V8 engine for study.
01:28 Some of the things that we've learned through the years on Corvette
01:31 and that are still applicable to the modern performance car
01:35 are the fact that the car, for instance, has very short front overhangs,
01:40 integrated headlamps, and those are still qualities that we try to embellish and embrace in the newer car.
01:46 I would also tell you for the front end of this car, the forward-facing grille.
01:50 We've watched Corvette evolve from a forward-facing grille to a bottom breather.
01:55 Now it's back to the prominent grille, and that's really been, as we've learned from our race team,
02:00 that's been very beneficial to the car in achieving lower lift in the front.
02:04 Also, what was key on this car was its fiberglass construction, which was very new for its day.
02:09 Corvettes in that time were all convertibles.
02:11 It's just whether you had a soft top or you had a hard top, but the hard tops you had did have a quarter glass,
02:16 an additional glass that was behind the side glass.
02:20 This is something that we looked at for the C7.
02:23 We had the basket handle for many years, but we felt that we needed to push the car further.
02:28 We really felt that having a quarter glass was part of our lineage with Corvette,
02:33 so that was something that we felt we could leverage but in a new, modern way.
02:37 The second-generation Corvette in '63 was the first year of a coupe and also of the Stingray name.
02:42 It was a car that was designed to be a true C2.
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04:54 The C3, I think, is the very best as far as drag coefficient and pitch moment.
04:58 That's like your best combination to get for that era.
05:01 In the 80s, Corvette designers experimented with new technology,
05:04 including rack and pinion steering, larger brakes and tires, and tune port injection.
05:08 The C4 also revisited the Grand Sport name with a special edition in 1996.
05:13 The C4 Corvette really represents Corvette's biggest leap in aerodynamics.
05:17 A new revised platform, things like the clamshell hood, state-of-the-art lighting.
05:22 That was a very compelling car and very right for its time.
05:25 We're clearly in our bottom breather mode.
05:28 The radiator is actually tipped back.
05:30 The air is coming up under the face and then back out through the engine.
05:32 The C5 in 1997 was one of the most radical changes to the Corvette since its introduction.
05:37 The frame was redesigned, the transmission became a transaxle,
05:40 and the engine was a completely redesigned all-aluminum V8.
05:43 The C5 Corvette had the challenge of having to better C4's aerodynamics.
05:48 When you start getting down to these really low CD targets, it requires a lot of time in the wind tunnel.
05:53 And for C5, that had probably the most hours in the wind tunnel,
05:57 getting it to surpass the C4's aerodynamic portion.
06:00 It got the wider track. It got basically the track of a ZR1,
06:04 enabled 17 and 18 inch wheels, which were real big for those days.
06:08 The C5 was a great car, but the C6 has been amazing.
06:11 Better looking, better performing, and one of the most sophisticated American cars ever built,
06:15 with copious amounts of high-tech materials and aerodynamic design elements,
06:18 not to mention absolutely outrageous amounts of horsepower.
06:21 When you get into C6, now it's evolving a little bit more where we're becoming more lift conscious.
06:32 You know, it isn't just taking drag off the vehicle.
06:35 Much like our 53, it's taking in air in the front,
06:39 but much like our C4, it's taking a little bit of air in the bottom.
06:42 So it's kind of a hybrid bottom breather, forward facing breather.
06:46 Once we went to a projector, an HID projector, you can't move or rotate a projector headlamp.
06:52 To get that brighter lamp technology, you had to go to a fixed lamp position, so that was very significant.
06:58 It was an interesting controversy for us internally to watch.
07:01 Wait a minute, it's not a real Corvette unless I have hidden headlamps.
07:05 And all of a sudden you had an uprising with your C1 camp that said,
07:08 "Wait a minute, you mean we're not a real Corvette because we have exposed headlamps?"
07:12 ZR1 ended up being our fastest, most aerodynamic car for that time.
07:17 With that said, we'll move on now to the C7.
07:26 Every new generation of Corvette has pushed the boundaries of American design and performance.
07:30 The 2014 Corvette has been eagerly awaited,
07:33 not only because it's been eight years since we've seen a totally new one,
07:36 but also because Chevrolet is bringing back the Stingray name.
07:39 The reuse of the Stingray name was very important to us.
07:42 This idea we've kind of had on the shelf in the studio,
07:45 but we really felt that the car had to have a compelling, unique aesthetic to deserve that name.
07:54 We've talked about some of the performance qualities, aesthetic qualities of Corvettes through the years.
07:59 We've embraced some of those same qualities.
08:02 For instance, here we are, we have short overhangs, integrated headlamps,
08:06 something we saw in '53, still very key to Corvette's formula.
08:10 Forward-facing grille, raised hood, functional hood scoop,
08:14 we talked about that in the early Grand Sports.
08:17 '57 was a key year, I think, and it really ignited Corvette's performance.
08:22 Having the small block available in fuel injection, we still have that same small block.
08:27 It's totally revamped, totally modern in every way.
08:30 Active fuel management, direct injection, variable valve timing, 6.2 liters, 450 horsepower.
08:37 This is the best starting point for horsepower that Corvette has ever had.
08:42 So, GM seems to have given us an impressive new car,
08:45 styling nods to previous generations and plenty of horsepower.
08:48 It's certainly interesting from the outside, but we can't wait to get behind the wheel.
08:51 Hint, hint, GM? Come on, let us drive it.
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