Zora's Scuttled Fleet... [PIC]

While I normally don't collect race car models, I do have this one. Love the pictures and writeup.

@bob-jackman Maybe this Grand Sport phantom would be more to your liking. I love it.

Thanks Rich. I've always thought these were very cool (and aggressive ) looking but didn't know the history. Nice pics!

I love these models...especially the Coupes.  I have #50, driven by Roger Penske to 3rd place at Speed Week in Nassau.  

The Simeone Foundation Museum in Philadelphia has one of the 5 on display.  I saw it a number of years ago.  Definitely worth checking out, if you're in the area.

The history of these 1963 Corvette Grand Sport cars is hard to follow. The story is only 5 Grand Sport corvettes were ever made, but that is disputed by none other than John Mecom (Mecom Racing Team) a Texas oilman and race team owner. John Mecom told Autoweek in an interview that Duntov built half-a-dozen Grand Sports and sold them all to Mecom Racing, to "make it legal." Mecom also claimed that he had all six cars in his Houston shop at least once. He said, "I'd swear on a stack of Bibles there were six." This totally files against every Corvette history book. Mecom went on to say that he believes that Senior VP of Design, Bill Mitchell took the sixth. Why? Mecom said, "Bill Mitchell got hold of one and I'm sure he made a styling car out of it." No such car has been accounted for. Are all of the Corvette history books wrong? 

Mecom said he was never interviewed because those people already talked to the "experts". The Autoweek story closes with a statement from Mecom's friend Bill Neale. "There was a framed photograph of the Hobby Airport shop in Mecom's trophy room, and you could, if you looked, see six Grand Sports." 

As for the sixth Grand Sport there is evidence it was in fact being built before GM said stop. The question is did they quietly finish number six as John Mecom says there were six built. Also if Bill Mitchell got ahold of one and used it as a styling exercise that would also explain whey it is not accounted for today. Further as the Autoweek writer said who is he to dispute John Mecom who was involved with the Corvette Grand Sports. People need to remember that back when they were produced they were just race cars at that point and they were not the sought after cars they are today. The same can be said of the Shelby Cobras and the Daytona Coupe as well. Today Cobras and Daytona Coupes are worth a small fortune but back when they raced them they sold for next to nothing when they were done with them. It was no different with the Corvette Grand Sports. 

The Corvette Grand Sports racing record was not really that impressive, the car had serious flaws and suffered from major front end lift at speed. While the Corvette Grand Sport was billed as the Cobra killer it failed at that mission as well. What is rarely reported is Carrol Shelby was introducing the big block Cobra at the time as well. The Cobra Killer myth comes from the Bahama Speed Week race and this is were the facts get a little skewed, you see Shelby brought a 390 big block Cobra to that same race and Ken Miles drove it. It is said that Ken Miles was playing with the Corvette Grand Sports and qualified behind the Grand Sports. When the race started Ken Miles shot past the Grand Sport Corvettes in this race and by the end of the first lap had a straight-a-way lead on the vaulted Corvette Grand Sports, Miles did not finish the race due to an engine issue ending his race but Carrol Shelby and Ken Miles picked up the gauntlet that the Corvette teams threw down. 

The Corvette Grand Sports were faster than the small block Cobras but in the end were no match for the big block Cobras. 

As for the sixth Grand Sport Corvette it was in fact documented as being in the process of being built with a good portion of the car was finished so it would not have taken much for Duntov to quietly finish the car, and it is not beyond reason that Bill Mitchell got ahold of one and turned it into a styling car and would no longer be accounted for today. 

I think you also might be confusing Mecum Auctions with Mecom Racing. The Corvette Grand Sports are now 60 years old and the best I can find on Mecum Auctions is they have been in business for over 30 years, that is from Mecum Auction. 

@john3976 There are so many stories, so many different specs for the cars, you wind up aiming for the middle so to never be too wrong.

@gavin I picked the #14 car because I thought the hood scoops and vents looked really cool.

@rich-sufficool The vents were an attempt to stop the front end lift that the cars design resulted in. You will find multiple variations on vents and no vents on these cars. They were sold back and forth between teams, it was Rodger Penske who chopped the tops off of two of the cars which ended up being the first two chassis that were made in order to try and keep up with the Cobras. You will also find them listed under different model years as well all the way up to 1966 even though they are all 1963 models in reality.

If you look most of these cars will have Goodyear tires on them but in the trunk they had a Firestone tire, researching this I found that the cars came with Firestone tires but the teams used Goodyears in the races of many of these cars but back then the cars had to have a spare tire so they just left the Firestone in the trunk to save money from having to buy another Goodyear to replace it. 

More of the 1963 Corvette Grand Sport cars Number 67 1964 Road America 500 driver Roger Penske: 

1963 Corvette Grand Sport number 65 1963 Nassau Speed week drivers Augie Pabst and John Cannon:

1963 Corvette Grand Sport 1966 Watkins Glen USRRC driver George Wintersteen, Wintersteen Roadster:

Posted by: @rich-sufficool

@gavin I picked the #14 car because I thought the hood scoops and vents looked really cool.

@rich-sufficool...they do indeed look cool.  Props to Exoto for making all the different hoods/vents etc.  I would assume they're correct, though don't know the GS history well enough to know.