Five Facts to Know About the First Corvette Grand Sport

The debut of the new C7 Corvette Grand Sport has sparked some interesting discussions about the car. They’ve included everything from whether it’s a better buy than the Z06, to reports that Chevy will only be making 1,000 units of the limited edition model. But one of the things that’s gotten lost in the discussions is the deeper history surrounding the original Grand Sport, as highlighted in a recent Road & Track report.

The story is definitely worth a full read, but we’ve pulled five of the most interesting facts about the first Grand Sport’s illustrious history here:

1. The first Grand Sport was the brainchild of Zora Arkus-Duntov and started as a secret project in the late ‘50s that was dubbed the “Lightweight” because of the car’s lightweight body. It had one primary goal: win at Le Mans as a major competitor to the Cobra.

2. While the initial plan was to build 125 of the first Grand Sports, the project was axed by GM after just five of the cars due to a 1957 agreement to ban all factory backed motorsports.

3. The Grand Sport was powered by a 377 cubic inch small block V8 with around 550 horsepower.

4. The first five Grand Sports went to Roger Penske, A.J. Foyt, Jim Hall, and Dick Thompson – but the Corvette never raced with full factory support.

5. In 1963 the Grand Sport totally dominated the Cobra at Nassau speed week with the support of a few GM engineers who happened to be vacationing in Nassau at the time.

Check out the full Road & Track report, then let us know what you think!

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Via [Road & Track]