GM Designers Actually Created a Corvette Weed Whacker, Just for Fun
GM Designers Actually Created a Corvette Weed Whacker, Just for Fun
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This mockup of a Corvette weed whacker is very real, created by a team of GM designers as an elaborate joke.
While we typically think of automotive design as serious business, designers, as it turns out, also have a sense of humor. We’ve seen this on a number of occasions over the years, of course. But when we came across this picture of a Corvette weed whacker posted by GM Design on Instagram, we were a bit flabbergasted. Could it be true that the major automaker’s designers had actually made such a thing, or was this just an elaborate joke? Turns out, it was a little of both.
This rather hilarious Corvette weed whacker was conjured up by Chevy 3 studio designers back in 1986, replacing the tiny, underpowered engine on a typical trimmer with a proper 5.7-liter tuned-port-injected V8 lifted from a C4 Corvette. Or, at least, it was designed to look that way. Obviously, nobody’s going to be able to lift and hold onto some heavy engine like that while they attempt to create edging lines that’ll be the envy of the neighborhood.
The whole thing was an elaborate joke, albeit a real mockup of a Corvette-powered trimmer, which was presented to then-chief designer Tom Peters. As funny (and cool) as this scene is, the team also staged the shot in front of a large sketch of the Corvette Indy Concept, which debuted at the 1986 Detroit Auto Show. That particular car wasn’t powered by the L98, but rather, the C4 ZR1‘s DOHC 32-valve masterpiece.
It was also yet another Corvette concept that previewed the eventual debut of the production mid-engine C8, too. That doesn’t apply to the Corvette weed whacker concept, however, which features a traditional “rear” mounted powerplant for optimum weight distribution. Though it may not be a feasible idea, we would much rather hear this thing at full bore at 7 am on a Sunday morning, with a white sneakered middle-aged man at the controls, than those high-pitched things they sell at the local big box stores.
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Alas, such a creation will never exist in the real world, but we’re glad that at least a few GM designers had the sense of humor to make it happen, at least in mockup form. Now, we imagine that at least one person out there in the world will try to build a real, working version of some sort.
Photos: GM Design/Instagram, Chevrolet
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