A Very Nasty Looking Corvette... [PIC]

Yeah, that's a brute alright!  😬 😬      It's kind of scary just sitting there!  😳 😳 

I had that one and, indeed, about a dozen other Exoto Grand Sports. Usual Exoto detail - exquisite. But for a second, I looked at the pics I took of the 1/24th DM Penske Sunoco Corvette Coupe. Just a couple for comparo purposes:

@perrone1 That's the one I've got Tony. Wonderful model.

Actually there were no roadsters built, Roger Penske Racing chopped the tops off the first Grand Sport and Second Grand Sport made to create these two roadsters in order to compete with the Cobra's who by then were being equipped with the 427 big blocks. There are five accounted for Grand Sport Corvettes three coupes and the two converted roadsters however John Mechom in an interview said he owned all six Grand Sports at one time and all six were in his shop at the same time at least once. 

When GM stopped the Grand Sport program five of the cars had been built and the sixth one was being built, so it is not hard to believe that the sixth chassis was completed quietly making a total of six Grand Sport Corvettes. John Mecom is convinced Bill Mitchell, the GM design boss who died in 1988, took the sixth Grand Sport Corvette and turned it into a styling exercise. Why would Mecom believe that? Because Mitchell said so. “Bill Mitchell got hold of one and, I’m sure from what he told me, made a styling car out of it,” Mecom said. He went on to describe a walk with Mitchell through one of the buildings in Warren, Michigan, where GM stored styling cars in big racks and where such cars were frequently destroyed

If you accept Mecom’s version of the Grand Sport saga, all the books are incorrect. There’s a reason for that. “No one ever interviewed me for those books,” Mecom said. One author of a book devoted solely to the Grand Sport called Mecom after the book was published. “He told me he didn’t interview me because he’d already talked to the experts.”

A memo in the GM Heritage Center from R. J. Avery, Engineering Department to Duntov, dated January 29, 1963. The memo ordered; “Grand Sports #001 to #004 would be completed, ready to run, and stored at Twelve Mile Warehouse. Grand Sport #005 was incomplete and to be left, “as is” in “body-in-white” condition and stored. Grand Sport #006 was to be stored as a “birdcage assembled, with the majority of metal parts completed, with a few plastic panels completed.” Experimental tools for parts and miscellaneous fixtures were also stored. Body drawings were renamed, “Experimental Build.”

There are published photographs of the first batch of Grand Sports before and after the preparation for the Nassau invasion, as well as the conversion of #001 and #002 into roadsters, but no photographs of the Grand Sport #006.

A statement from Mecom’s friend, automotive artist Bill Neale. “There was a framed photograph of the Hobby Airport shop in John’s trophy room, and you could see, if you looked, six Grand Sports.

Remember that the sixth Grand Sport chassis has not been completed before GM brass ended the Grand Sport program which was never an official approved program in the first place. So again it is not hard to believe that sixth Grand Sport was quietly completed and did end up in the hands of Bill Mitchell and turned into a design exercise and could have long ago been destroyed leaving only five of the six Grand Sport Corvettes to survive. 

The Grand Sport Corvette was not a real success on the track as it had aero dynamic flaws that caused the front end to lift at speed, the 1963 Sebring 1, 2 finish was only because Ken Miles Cobra fell out of the race with 10 minutes left in the race otherwise the two Grand Sport Corvettes would have finished second and third and Ken Miles would have been the winner. 

Another glossed over fact was Ken Miles was driving a 390 C.I. big block at the 1963 Nassau race weekend and in the race he was entered in he qualified behind the Grand Sports but by the end of the first lap he had a full straight away lead on the Grand Sport Corvettes, however the engine did not last long and Miles fell out of that race. This car was a one off Cobra and only raced that one time and was the beginning of the development for the 427 big block. 

While the Grand Sport had the 289 small block Cobras covered, Carrol Shelby and Ken Miles were not sitting still and were developing the big block Cobras. 

If you look closely at the photos above you can see the door posts where they were cut off to remove the roof, the number 12 George Wintersteen Grand Sport Roadster it is even more evident as the windshield is cut down and the two windshield posts are clearly evident along with the door posts. 

 Here is a photo of my Exoto Grand Sport number 12 George Wintersteen car. 

One of my favorite cars - and this coming from a Ford guy! I've got seven in my collection

Here is the #10 Grand Sport as it ran in practice for the Sebring race, there were rules about sponsorship on the cars back then and for the race Penske had to tape over the Roger Penske Chevrolet on the front fenders. 

I have the entire Eagle's Race / Universal Hobbies collection of the Grand Sports in 1/43rd scale:

Tony, that's onehelluva beautiful collection 👍

Posted by: @franklemire

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"I've got seven in my collection." 

Wow, all you guys are "in deep!"    This is one of those rare times when I have NOTHING to contribute; in fact, I only have a handful of Vette models - and certainly no Grand Sports.    ... but all you guys do!  😎 😀 

@chris For me seven is not 'in deep' I would point to my 11 Ferrari 250 GTO's, 25 Cobra roadsters, 32 Ford GT's and 49 Cobra Daytona Coupes as being 'IN DEEP'

Here are my number 67 and number 65 Corvette Grand Sports by Exoto as well:

@john3976 I do believe you have the largest collection of ramp trucks in the world - It is cool to see your cars displayed on them.

Finally found the photos of my favorite GS model