Meet the Man Who Ignored an Order to Kill the Corvette

You’re going to want to kiss this man once you’re done reading what role he had in the Corvette’s history. Back in the ’90s, Russ McLean was given control of the storied Corvette platform. According to Hemmings, the Corvette was losing about $1,000 on each car, and McLean was brought in to flip that script.

McLean reportedly isolated the department to get away from the rest of GM and was actually successful in making the necessary changes and reduce costs, all while improving the quality of the car. So much so that the ‘Vette was now making a profit.

That was the C4. But McLean had at this point begun to focus on the already-approved C5. Unfortunately, some trouble was brewing among his top executives. With a change in management came an order to kill the Corvette!

McLean wasn’t having any of that. The Corvette wasn’t a car you just allow to fizzle off, and he knew it. So without telling anyone about the higher-ups’ decision, McLean had his team build a prototype. And it impressed the brass so much that GM decided to build the car after all.

Now McLean has a place in the Corvette Hall of Fame, for good reason. But don’t take my word for it, check out the story from his point of view here.

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Via [Hemmings]