Shark Research... [PIC]

FM's 1961 Mako Shark (later branded Mako Shark l) always intrigued me when I tried to a bit of research on the actual car. One interesting tidbit lies in those two panels on the deck. If you look at the trunk open pic, you'll two corresponding gadgets on the underside that contain G-force sensors and electric motors that will raise the panels under strong braking to act as air brakes. Considering the relatively small surface areas involved, it's hard to imagine they would be very effective. Oddly that set up was later incorporated into the Mako Shark ll AKA Manta Ray. In its initial configuration, it ran on spidery wire wheels as opposed to the later replacements modeled here. The final original engine (perhaps the racing 327) had twin 4 bbls as does this model, but the badged ZL1, modeled here, was installed in 1968 with a single 4 bbl. The roundel "Corvette Shark" with crossed flags on the center of the grill was also a later addition. For a correct 1968 upgrade, the bubble top had already been eliminated. It seems that no single year iteration of the car was definitively modeled. but different additions were cherry-picked for reasons of aesthetics, or in the case of the original wheels, ease of replication. The one famous anecdote about the blue to white fade finish, had chief designer Bill Mitchell order an absolute colors match to the mounted Mako Shark hanging in his office that he had recently caught on a Caribbean vacation.

Here's the actual 1961 release. Note those beautiful wheels: