The Corvette SS Runs Into A Brick Wall... [PIC]

Zora Arkus-Duntov always wanted the Corvette to be a world class race car. Project XP-64, the Corvette SS. He and John Fitch had been racing modified Corvettes in 1955 and 1956, with some success but it became evident that a dedicated racing Corvette would have to be built for international competition. In 1957, this magnesium body race car with a light weight tubular frame that weighed only 1850 lbs debuted powered by Zora's 310 HP fuel injected 283 V8 linked to a 4 speed manual and Hallibrand quick change differential. The car was first shown in the December 1956 New York Auto Show and was ready for the rack the following year. As to the body, Harley Earl bought a Jaguar D-Type and hoped to do a quick conversion to impress Zora but the ran into too many problems and had to start from scratch. The final body has styling cue from both the Jaguar and production Corvettes. Two were built with the goal of racing at Le Mans with a shake-down run at Sebring. They first practiced with a fiberglass test mule and then found the magnesium body conducted the engine heat right through to the driver, so they swapped out fiberglass components from the test mule to provide more insulation. John Fitch wound up as one of the two drivers when Fangio and Shelby both backed out. At the actual race, the SS achieved some impressive lap times, but multiple problems caused Fitch to retire after 23 laps. Then the hammer fell. The AMA banned American built cars from racing and, soon after, the FIA limited engine displacement to 3 liters and ended the racing possibilities for the Corvette SS at European events. The car wasn't quite done and, with the bugs worked out, Duntov took the car out on the track at Daytona Speedway in 1959 and set the fastest lap at 155 mph. One of the two cars still exists today at the Indianapolis Speedway Museum.

Here it is in the Indy museum: