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111-459: The C4 Corvette represented a clean break from the Zora Arkus-Duntov -designed C3 , with a completely new chassis and sleeker, more modern but still evolutionary styling. It was the work of a team under chief Corvette designer Dave McLellan , who'd taken over from Duntov in 1975 — under the design direction of Irv Rybicki . In a departure from the fiberglass panels of its forebears,

222-605: A serial number , used by the automotive industry to identify individual motor vehicles , towed vehicles , motorcycles , scooters and mopeds , as defined by the International Organization for Standardization in ISO 3779 (content and structure) and ISO 4030 (location and attachment). There are vehicle history services in several countries that help potential car owners use VINs to find vehicles that are defective or have been written off . VINs were first used in 1954 in

333-550: A 17-character VIN, which does not include the letters O (o), I (i), and Q (q) (to avoid confusion with numerals 0, 1, and 9). After the introduction of the ISO norm, the manufacturers which produced vehicles for the American market very quickly adjusted to this standard. The ISO introduced recommendations for applying the VIN standard and its structure, and the VIN was also used in Europe. However,

444-421: A VIN with a check digit , first either (a) remove the check digit for the purpose of calculation or (b) use a weight of zero (see below ) to cancel it out. The original value of the check digit is then compared with the calculated value. If the calculated value is 0–9, the check digit must match the calculated value. If the calculated value is 10, the check digit must be X. If the two values do not match (and there

555-422: A cast-aluminum oil sump. The crankcase has integral four- and six-bolt cast-iron main bearing caps which secure the forged steel crankshaft into place. The four camshafts of the engine are driven by a roller chain and actuate hydraulic lifters that eliminate valve lash adjustment. The four-valve combustion chambers feature centrally-located spark plugs which act in combination with dished aluminum pistons enabling for

666-574: A compression ratio of 11.0:1. The engine held 12 quarts of oil, 7 more than the L98 engine. The LT5 also came with a unique two valve induction system along with 16 tuned-length intake runners and a specially designed intake manifold using three throttle bodies. The small primary throttle body was for responsive low speed operation while the two large secondary throttle bodies enabled for full-power usage. The engine used direct-fire ignition: Four coils ignite two spark plugs simultaneously, upon receiving their cue from

777-477: A crankshaft sensor acting in combination with the ECM. Spark advance and retardation are electronically controlled by the ECM, which gets an additional information from a knock sensor. A distinctive cooling system incorporating a 15% larger radiator ensured that the operating temperature of the engine remained the same as the L98 despite the differences in construction and operation. In order to transfer power efficiently to

888-483: A digital liquid crystal display instrument cluster. It displayed a combination of graphics for speed and RPM, fuel level, and used digital displays for other important engine functions. For the first time since 1957, the Corvette used single headlights instead of dual units, but they were still retractable. Since emissions regulations were still changing and electronic engine management was in its infancy, engine power output

999-595: A final rule amending 49 CFR Part 565, "so that the current 17 character vehicle identification number (VIN) system, which has been in place for almost 30 years, can continue in use for at least another 30 years", in the process making several changes to the VIN requirements applicable to all motor vehicles manufactured for sale in the United States. There were three notable changes to the VIN structure that affect VIN deciphering systems: Compulsory in North America and China

1110-487: A hard coated acrylic roof panel, and seven additional exterior colors. The interior came standard with leather sports seats and a Delco/Bose sound system. Tested performance figures by Road & Track magazine include a 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) acceleration time of 4.9 seconds, a quarter mile time of 13.4 seconds, braking distance of 132 ft from 60 mph and 233 ft from 80 mph along with skidpad acceleration of 0.94 g. The car's tested top speed by

1221-566: A medium blue interior), fitted with a 350 cu in (5.7 L) L83 205 hp (153 kW) V8 engine and a 4-speed automatic transmission. It was displayed above the factory entrance for years until it was restored and is now displayed in the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The 1983 model delay was due to problems with parts supplier quality issues and production line changeover issues. GM decided to cancel

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1332-400: A microprocessor governed the vehicle's speed and adjusted the suspension system accordingly. The 5.7-litre DOHC 32-valve LT5 engine unique to the car had a central bore spacing of 4.40 inches. The distance was maintained by reducing the bore from 4.00 to 3.90 inches while the stroke was increased from 3.48 to 3.66 inches. The aluminum cylinder liners were Nikasil-coated and the engine block has

1443-566: A mid-1990s onsite design review of the then upcoming 5th generation Corvette to which the retired Arkus-Duntov had been invited. After reviewing the extensive changes in the new design, Arkus-Duntov notably observed: "The engine is still in the front". Six weeks before his death, Arkus-Duntov was guest speaker at "Corvette: A Celebration of an American Dream", an evening held at the showrooms of Jack Cauley Chevrolet Detroit. Arkus-Duntov died in Detroit on April 21, 1996, and his ashes were entombed at

1554-560: A name as revered as Offenhauser , but the company later went out of business after some questionable financial decisions by a partner the Arkus-Duntov brothers had taken on. Arkus-Duntov attempted to qualify a Talbot-Lago for the Indianapolis 500 in 1946 and 1947 , but failed to make the race both years. At this time Zora Arkus-Duntov got an invitation from a British company, while his brother decided to go into finances. Soon he left

1665-546: A new exhaust gas recirculation system improved emissions control . The model remained nearly unchanged into the 1995 model year, after which the ZR1 was discontinued as the result of waning interest, development of the LS series engines, manufacturing cost and the forthcoming introduction of the C5 generation. A total of 6,939 ZR1 models were manufactured over the six-year period. Not until the debut of

1776-459: A project orchestrated by former Corvette Cup driver Doug Rippie. The car, based on the ZR1 trim C4, competed in the popular GT1 class in 1995 at Le Mans and Sebring, where it momentarily led. Zora Arkus-Duntov Zachary "Zora" Arkus-Duntov (born Zachar Arkus ; December 25, 1909 – April 21, 1996) was a Russian and American engineer whose work on the Chevrolet Corvette earned him

1887-469: A prototype closer to a production-ready vehicle. It was not approved for production due to its high cost. Also called the 'Big Doggie', the ZR2 is a concept model based on a C4 Corvette, but with a much larger 7.4 L (454 cu in) big block OHV V8 engine with multi-port fuel injection similar to the tuned port injection found on the 1985-1991 base model and a 6-speed manual transmission . The vehicle

1998-410: A result, the door sills were quite deep, with entry and exit likened by contemporary auto journals to a "fall in and climb out" experience. The targa top bolted into place, becoming a structural component, rather than simply latching on like T-tops. The parking brake, located between the door sill and the drivers seat, was moved lower and toward the rear of the car in 1987 for easier entry and exit. From

2109-439: A special red ZR1 badge in between. In 1990, the 1991 ZR1 and 1991 base model received updates to bodywork, interior, and wheels. The rear convex fascia and square taillights that set the 1990 ZR1 apart from the base model found their way to all 1991 models, making the high-priced ZR1 less distinguishable; however the ZR1's center high mount stop lamp remained above the rear window while those on base Corvettes were integrated into

2220-622: A test track in Fort Stockton, Texas , on March 1, 1990, verified by the FIA ( Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile ) for the group II, class 11 category: These records were later broken by the Volkswagen W12 , a one-off concept car that never went into production. The Active Suspension prototype was based on the ZR1, but it includes active hydraulic suspension found in GTP Corvette race car. It

2331-412: Is 2, and not 1. There is no left-alignment linearity. The following is the weight factor for each position in the VIN. The 9th position is that of the check digit. It has been substituted with a 0, which will cancel it out in the multiplication step. Consider the hypothetical VIN 1M8GDM9A_KP042788 , where the underscore will be the check digit. With a check digit of X , the VIN 1M8GDM9A_KP042788

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2442-461: Is a nod to the original Grand Sport model produced in 1963. A total of 1,000 GS Corvettes were produced, 810 coupes and 190 convertibles. The 1996 GS came with the high-performance LT4 V8 engine , producing 330 hp (246 kW) and 340 lb⋅ft (461 N⋅m) of torque. The Grand Sport came only in Admiral Blue with a white stripe down the middle, 5-spoke black wheels, two red "hash marks" on

2553-497: Is a simple sequential number. The North American implementation of the VIS uses the 10th digit to encode the model year of the vehicle. Besides the three letters that are not allowed in the VIN itself (I, O and Q), the letters U and Z and the digit 0 are not used for the model year code. Outside North America the 10th digit is usually 0. The year 1980 was encoded by some manufacturers, especially General Motors and Chrysler , as "A" (since

2664-504: Is fitted with Goodyear Eagle Gatorback tires having size of P315/ 35ZR-17 specially made for the car along with bigger ventilated disc brakes. Due to the heavier engine and body work along with wide tires, the ZR1 is 200 lb (91 kg) heavier than the standard C4 Corvette. The ZR1 came standard with the UJ6 Low-Tire-Pressure Warning System along with an ABS system manufactured by Bosch . The FX3 suspension system

2775-518: Is important to note that the winners were the invincible Ferrari (6 places), Aston Martin (2 places) and Porsche (1 place), which did not have official development restrictions. In 1962, GM Corporate, under serious pressure from the US government, decided to discontinue support for motorsport. It was exactly the same contract as the AMA, concluded in 1957, but now GM had made policies mandatory for its brands. The reason

2886-667: Is named after the Italian word for "green lizard". In June 1985, Chevrolet Chief Engineer Don Runkle and Lotus' Tony Rudd discussed creating a new show car to show off their engineering expertise. It was first unveiled at the Detroit Auto Show in January 1986 as the Corvette Indy concept car. By 1990, the project evolved into the CERV III (Corporate Engineering Research Vehicle III), which was

2997-487: Is the 2nd Serialized Corvette in the production history of the C4 Corvette, with each car receiving an engraved number plaque on the console. 2,050 cars were built and a quoted 180 of these were manual transmission cars, making this a rare and collectible model. The 1993 40th Anniversary package was available on all models. It included Ruby Red metallic paint and Ruby Red leather sport seats, along with Ruby Red Center Caps on

3108-452: Is the use of the 11th character to identify the assembly plant at which the vehicle was built. Each manufacturer has its own set of plant codes. In the United States and China, the 12th to 17th digits are the vehicle's serial or production number. This is unique to each vehicle, and every manufacturer uses its own sequence. A check-digit validation is used for all road vehicles sold in the United States and Canada. When trying to validate

3219-528: Is unknown how many of these cars still exist in "full dress" since many dealers just removed the graphics when they received the cars after the race. In 1995, a C4 convertible was again the pace car for the Indianapolis 500, and a special pace car edition was offered; 527 were built. Chevrolet released the Grand Sport (GS) version in 1995 to mark the end of production of the C4 Corvette. The Grand Sport moniker

3330-530: Is why the American Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA) issued a recommendation to refuse to participate in races. However, several accidents over the next couple of years and, according to unconfirmed reports, the intervention of the US government led to the signing of the "Gentleman's Agreement" in 1957. By joining AMA, GM, Ford and Chrysler refused to participate in organized car racing and motorsport of any kind, which led to

3441-432: Is written 1M8GDM9A X KP042788 . A VIN with straight-ones (seventeen consecutive 1 s) has the nice feature that its check digit 1 matches the calculated value 1 . This is because a value of one multiplied by 89 (sum of weights) is 89, and 89 divided by 11 is 8 with remainder 1 ⁄ 11 ; thus 1 is the check digit. This is a way to test a VIN-check algorithm. The VIN is marked in multiple locations; normally in

Chevrolet Corvette (C4) - Misplaced Pages Continue

3552-583: The Automobile Competition Committee for the United States (ACCUS), but the sanctioning body balked at homologating a car with only 5 of the required 100 copies having been built. The car showed controversial results, but after some adjustments and improvements it won first place in the ACC championship in 1963. Driving chassis #004 was Dick Thompson, who earned the nickname "Flying Dentist," because of his original work. The victory in ACC became known to

3663-550: The Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle II (CERV II) project. Duntov was made Chief Engineer for Corvette in 1967. " (Bill) Mitchell hated him (Duntov), because he felt that Duntov was getting all of the praise for the Corvette, consequently, Mitchell never allowed Duntov into the Styling Center." - Roy Vernon Lonberger Arkus-Duntov retired in 1975, and Dave McLellan became Chief Engineer of

3774-693: The Motorama Corvette on display in New York City . He found the car visually superb, but was disappointed with what was underneath. He wrote Chevrolet chief engineer Ed Cole that it would be a pleasure to work on such a beautiful car; he also included a technical paper which proposed an analytical method of determining a car's top speed. Chevrolet was so impressed, engineer Maurice Olley invited him to come to Detroit. On May 1, 1953, Arkus-Duntov started at Chevrolet as an assistant staff engineer. Shortly after going to work for Chevrolet, Arkus-Duntov set

3885-466: The accident at the race at Le Mans in 1955 , which claimed the lives of 83 people, the attitude toward motor racing changed dramatically. Numerous protests forced many companies to withdraw from the race, the organizers to review the safety rules, and Mercedes, who was accused of causing an accident and decided not to participate in car racing until the 70s. Dissatisfaction gradually increased in America, which

3996-474: The "Wette Vette". The engine was modified to be used in the boat and had an increased output of 420 hp (313 kW). The ZR1 was introduced at the 1989 Geneva Motor Show and went on sale later that year and was available only as a fastback coupé bodystyle with a removable roof panel. It was distinguishable from other Corvette coupes by its wider tail section, 11-inch wide rear wheels and its new convex rear fascia with four square shaped taillights along with

4107-687: The 'aero' developments (such as the short tail design) being used in later production C4s. The Peerless GTP Corvette also went back to the V8 small block engine from the turbocharged V6. This final GTP Corvette (Peerless) was driven by Hobbs, Baldwin, Villeneuve and Goodyear in IMSA before having the BBC-based Eagle (10.2) engine installed to take to attempt to race at the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1990 . The C4 also made an appearance in international sports car endurance racing in

4218-593: The 17-digit VIN was not mandatory until 1981, and the "A" or zero was in the manufacturer's pre-1981 placement in the VIN), yet Ford and AMC still used a zero for 1980. Subsequent years increment through the allowed letters, so that "Y" represents the year 2000. 2001 to 2009 are encoded as the digits 1 to 9, and subsequent years are encoded as "A", "B", "C", etc. On April 30, 2008, the US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration adopted

4329-454: The 1983 model year production and started the 1984 model year Corvettes early. Regular 1984 model year production began on January 3, 1983, and delivery to customers began in March 1983. The 1984 models were produced for 17 months. General Motors acquired Group Lotus , a UK based engineering consultant and performance car manufacturing firm, during 1986. The Corvette division approached Lotus with

4440-425: The 1984 model year (available January 1984) through the 1988 model year, the Corvette was available with a Doug Nash "4+3" transmission - a 4-speed manual coupled to an automatic overdrive on the top three gears. This unusual transmission was a synergy that allowed the Corvette to keep a stout 4 speed, but add an overdrive. As technology progressed, it was replaced by a modern ZF 6-speed manual transmission. However,

4551-596: The 23rd lap, the Corvette SS was forced to leave the track due to suspension and other mechanical problems. Despite the development setbacks of the SS, the new development of the Corvette attracted a lot of public attention, including setting a new lap record. But for Chevrolet, it became clear that with Le Mans would have to wait. Shortly after the race in Sebring, the situation for Duntov and his entire unit became more complicated. After

Chevrolet Corvette (C4) - Misplaced Pages Continue

4662-459: The 43 NASCAR drivers in a parade lap prior to the start of the race during driver introductions. There were thirteen Red and twelve Black convertibles used, and most carried two drivers on the lap, with their names displayed on the hoods. They also carried civil, NASCAR, and Manufacturer dignitaries on other parade laps, such as "the King" Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Mayor Goldsmith of Indianapolis. It

4773-649: The 6-speed manual came with the LT-4 V8, those with the 4-speed automatic kept the LT-1. Of the 5,412 built, 4,031 were coupes and 1,381 were convertibles. It cost $ 1,250 more than the base model Corvette. The Ramarro is a restyled version of the C4 Corvette built by Italian design house Gruppo Bertone . The concept was unveiled in 1984 at the Los Angeles Auto Show , going on to win Auto&;Design 's Car Design Award in 1985. It

4884-518: The AMA racing ban and soon after launched their "Total Performance" program, increasing factory participation in almost all major forms of motor racing. Right after Ford's declaration, Arkus-Duntov's Grand Sport program was approved. The intent was to create a special lightweight Corvette to race on international tracks against not only the Shelby Cobra and other GT cars, but also against racing prototypes from Ferrari, Ford and Porsche. The winning strategy

4995-549: The C4's performance was hampered by its L98 250 hp (186 kW) engine until 1992, when the second-generation Chevy small block, the 300 hp (224 kW) LT1, was introduced, markedly improving the C4's performance. 1996 was a high point of small block engines development and the 330 hp (246 kW) LT4 was introduced in all six-speed manual transmission equipped cars. The LT4 produced maximum power output at 5,800 rpm and 340 lb⋅ft (461 N⋅m) of torque at 4,500 rpm. While

5106-447: The C4's rear bumpers and panels used a sheet molding compound . The C4 fastback coupé was the first general production Corvette to have a glass hatchback (the limited edition 1982 Collector Edition being the first Corvette equipped with this feature) for better storage access. The roof panel, which was made from fiberglass or optionally from clear acrylic, was removable. The Corvette C4 came standard with an electronic dashboard with

5217-453: The C5 based Z06 in 2001 would Chevrolet have another production Corvette capable of matching the ZR1's performance. Although the ZR1 was extremely quick for its time (0-60 mph (97 km/h) in 4.4 seconds, and onto over 180 mph (290 km/h)), the huge performance of the LT5 engine was matched by its robustness. As evidence of this, a stock ZR1 set seven international and world records at

5328-532: The Corvette factory in Bowling Green where the ZR1s were being assembled. The engine assembly involved 95% drilling and boring completed at the Mercury Marine plant. The engine was largely assembled by hand and was tested on an engine stand before being sent to Chevrolet. Mercury Marine secured two LT5 V8 engines for itself. These engines were used in the ZR1 owned by the company president and a custom made speedboat called

5439-415: The Corvette in 1957. He is credited with introducing the first mass-produced American car with four-wheel disc brakes . A conflict arose between Duntov and Chevrolet chief designer Bill Mitchell over the design of the new C2 Corvette "Sting Ray" model. Mitchell designed the car with a long hood and a raised windsplit that ran the length of the roof and continued down the back on a pillar that bisected

5550-466: The Corvette lineup since 1975. All 7,315 1986 convertible Corvettes (all exterior colors) had "Indy 500 Pace Car" console identification. The 1988 35th Anniversary edition, also known as the "Triple White Corvette" is a white Corvette fastback coupe with white wheels and white interior (including seats & steering wheel). It also features a removable black top and came equipped with everything, including its own unique emblems. The 35th Anniversary car

5661-475: The Corvette racing team being accepted with his promotion to the post of director of the high-performance car department in 1957. Duntov's new project was the Corvette SS with a magnesium body for the 24-hour Le Mans race. For preliminary testing of the car, the American counterpart, "12 hours of Sebring" was chosen. The difficulty was in the timing, since before the annual Sebring there were only 6 months left. According to rumors, in order to be in time, Duntov copied

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5772-615: The Corvette. Following his retirement Arkus-Duntov remained active in the Corvette community. A member of the Drag Racing Hall of Fame, the Chevrolet Legends of Performance, and the Automotive Hall of Fame, he took part in the rollout of the one millionth Corvette at Bowling Green in 1992. He drove the bulldozer at the ground breaking ceremonies for the National Corvette Museum in 1994. In a 2024 interview, Tadge Juechter recalled

5883-490: The GM bosses, who asked Duntov to return all the cars and not participate in races. Having received the cars back, Duntov improved the cars with chassis #003, #004 and #005, adding air vents and installing wider 9.5 inch wheels. Due to these changes, traction has increased, and lateral acceleration has decreased from 1.9G to the optimal 1.1G. After all the changes, Arkus-Duntov decided to send the Grand Sport to compete with Shelby Cobra at

5994-578: The GM-T body image, KLATF08Y1VB363636 , do not pass the North American check-digit verification. Transliteration consists of removing all of the letters, and replacing them with their appropriate numerical counterparts. These numerical alternatives (based on IBM's EBCDIC ) are in the following chart. I , O , and Q are not allowed in a valid VIN; for this chart, they have been filled in with N/A ( not applicable ). Numerical digits use their own values. S

6105-591: The LT4 was available in any Corvette, it was highlighted in the 1996 Grand Sport package. The 1986 Corvette saw the return of the convertible and was named as the Pace Car for the Indianapolis 500 . 1986 also saw the introduction of the Pass Key I passive anti-theft system, wherein each key contained a special pellet that could be detected and identified by the car's computer system by detecting electrical resistance. Being early in

6216-600: The Nassau Trophy race (1954-1966) in the Bahamas. Officially, all three of the improved Grand Sports were on behalf of tycoon John Mecom Jr. They beat all competitors by 10 seconds. Both the Shelby Cobra, and even the Ferrari GTO were left behind. However, this was not the end of the Grand Sport program. Taking the previously unimproved chassis #001 and #002, Duntov removed the roofs making them roadsters to improve aerodynamics, and

6327-517: The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Pulitzer Prize winning columnist George Will wrote in his obituary that "if... you do not mourn his passing, you are not a good American." Despite Duntov's work on the CERV I and CERV II and many mid-engine design studies, the idea of a mid-engine Corvette was not approved by GM management until 2019 with the announcement of the release of

6438-705: The Spanish consulate in Marseilles, not only for Elfi and himself, but for his brother and parents as well. Elfi, who was still living in Paris at the time, made a dramatic dash to Bordeaux in her MG just ahead of the advancing Nazi troops. In the meantime, Duntov and Yura hid in a bordello. Five days later, Elfi met up with Duntov and his family and later they boarded a ship in Portugal bound for New York . Settling in Manhattan, in 1942

6549-495: The United States for England to do development work on the Allard sports car, co-driving it at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1952 and in 1953 . His goal was to improve and prepare the company's cars for the race "24 hours of Le Mans." It is noteworthy that some of them were Ford V8, on which Duntov applied, among other things, his old achievements. The owners and at the same time Allard racers Sydney Allard and his wife Eleanor noticed

6660-607: The United States in 2021. In practice, each is assigned to a country of manufacture, although in Europe the country where the continental headquarters is located can assign the WMI to all vehicles produced in that region (Example: Opel/Vauxhall cars whether produced in Germany, Spain, the United Kingdom or Poland carry a WMI of W0L because Adam Opel AG is based in Rüsselsheim, Germany). In

6771-465: The United States), 1G1 represents Chevrolet passenger cars; 1G2 , Pontiac passenger cars; and 1GC , Chevrolet trucks . The Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) in the US assigns WMIs to countries and manufacturers. The first character of the WMI is typically the region in which the manufacturer is located although there are exceptions e.g. the WMI 7SA was assigned to Tesla Inc. in

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6882-533: The United States. From 1954 to 1981, there was no accepted standard for these numbers, so different manufacturers and even divisions within a manufacturer used different formats. By 1966, GM had settled on a 13-digit VIN, and standardized its VIN format across its divisions in 1972. In 1981, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration of the United States standardized the format. It required all on-road vehicles sold to contain

6993-422: The VIN are the vehicle descriptor section or VDS. This is used, according to local regulations, to identify the vehicle type, and may include information on the automobile platform used, the model, and the body style . Each manufacturer has a unique system for using this field. Most manufacturers since the 1980s have used the eighth digit to identify the engine type whenever there is more than one engine choice for

7104-609: The VIN. Modern VINs are based on two related standards, originally issued by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1979 and 1980: ISO 3779 and ISO 3780, respectively. Compatible but different implementations of these ISO standards have been adopted by the European Union and the United States. The VIN comprises the following sections: more than 500 vehicles/year 500 or fewer vehicles/year more than 2,000 vehicles/year 2,000 or fewer vehicles/year The first three characters uniquely identify

7215-571: The achievements of the engineer. In 1952–53, Duntov acted as a Le Mans racer on the Allard J2X Le Mans and Allard JR models. In the same years, Carroll Shelby raced in Allard machines. Soon, Duntov was invited to join the Porsche team. He drove an 1100 cc Porsche 550 RS Spyder at Le Mans in 1954 and 1955 , taking class wins both years. Arkus-Duntov joined General Motors in 1953 after seeing

7326-558: The board of General Motors, and Duntov was ordered to close the project and destroy all the cars. The board feared that the antimonopoly department would require the company to be broken up. Duntov agreed to stop work, but handed over three cars to Texas tycoon John Mecom and hid the remaining two in a Chevrolet research garage. Before sending the cars with chassis numbers #003 and #004 to Texas, he handed them over for testing to two private racers: Chicago Chevrolet dealer Dick Doane and Grady Davis from Gulf Oil. Homologation papers were filed with

7437-426: The brakes. Also behind the rear window was an air intake. Lightening was further facilitated by the use of organic aviation glass. The wheels also became lighter, thanks to the magnesium alloy material employed. The result of all the work was a reduction in weight from the 3,199 lb (1,451 kg) of the standard model to 1,900 lb (862 kg) for the Grand Sport. News of the Grand Sport's development reached

7548-522: The cessation of all explicit support for racing in Chevrolet. At the same time, almost none of the automakers stopped the development of sports cars. Many found loopholes: from the establishment of third-party engineering companies (SEDCO Co.), which issued instructions for improving production cars with detailed indication of the part numbers of the automaker and step-by-step instructions for the support of “individual enthusiasts” of individual racers, as well as

7659-480: The conversion. A derivative of the Twin Turbo Corvette, the 880 hp (656 kW) Callaway SledgeHammer, recorded a speed of 254.76 mph (410.00 km/h) on Ohio's Transportation Research Center track in 1988, making it the fastest road-going car at the time. A yellow convertible was the pace car for the 1986 Indianapolis 500 race. This marked the return of the convertible body style, absent from

7770-629: The cycle in for an automobile, Duntov bought a cycle-fendered model from a short-lived German manufacturer called Bob  [ de ] . The Bob was set up for oval track racing. It had no front brakes and weak rear brakes. In 1934, Duntov graduated from Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg (known today as the Technische Universität Berlin ). He also began writing engineering papers in German motor publications. While in Berlin Duntov met

7881-408: The eighth generation C8 Corvette. Rumors circulated that a high-performance version of the C8 could be named the "Zora". On a pre-production camouflaged version, observers noted small stickers that resembled the profile of Zora Arkus-Duntov. Vehicle Identification Number A vehicle identification number ( VIN ; also called a chassis number or frame number ) is a unique code, including

7992-458: The engine to provide a wider power band by shutting off 8 of the 16 intake runners and fuel injectors when the engine was at part-throttle, while still giving the ZR1 a power output of 375 hp (280 kW) when at wide open throttle . In addition to the engine, Lotus helped GM design the ZR1's (which in prototype version was called "King of the Hill") upgraded braking and steering systems. The ZR1

8103-642: The fourteen year old Elfriede "Elfi" Wolff, who was in the city to study ballet and acrobatic dance. The two kept in touch over several years while Elfi toured with dance troupes. She eventually settled in Paris as a dancer with the Folies Bergère . The two married in February 1939, just before the outbreak of World War II. Following the outbreak of the war first Yura, then Zora, joined the French Air Force . When France surrendered, Duntov obtained exit visas from

8214-458: The frame for the new Corvette from the Mercedes 300SLR. To test the joint work of all the components, Duntov built a second car with a fiberglass body as a test mule. The results shown were positive, the team gained confidence in the victory. Later, the mule more than once proved its usefulness during the development and testing of new, improved versions. However, there was not enough time to fully test

8325-593: The front driver's side wheel arch and special seat trim providing a distinctive look. The Grand Sport also has wider tires and the coupes were outfitted with small rear fender flares. The C4 Grand Sport also had a unique VIN compared with the standard C4. The 1996 Collector Edition was the last of the C4 Corvettes, just as the 1982 Collector Edition was the last of the C3s. It included Sebring Silver paint, silver 5-spoke alloy wheels, special emblems and seat trim. Cars equipped with

8436-486: The front. The price of the emphasis on handling was ride comfort, especially with the Z51 performance and handling package. Spring rates were sequentially softened for the 1985 model year. The C4 did not use separate body-on-frame construction like its predecessors. Instead, it used what GM termed a "uniframe", which consisted of a traditional perimeter frame, with the door posts, windshield frame, halo U-shaped frame overhead behind

8547-501: The headlights were introduced. According to the terms of the FIA GT races of those years, the wheels had to be "within the body", so the wheel arches were expanded, but barely passed according to the standards, since they also served to remove air from under the belly of the car, which gave its special shape. In order to use the oncoming airflow even more efficiently, near the rear window there were two air intakes (one from each side) that cooled

8658-412: The hyphenated last name of Arkus-Duntov. In 1927, the family moved to Berlin. While Duntov's early boyhood ambition was to become a streetcar driver, streetcars later gave way to motorcycles and automobiles . His first motorized vehicle was a 350 cc motorcycle, which he rode at nearby racetracks as well as through the streets of Berlin. When his parents, fearing for his safety, insisted he trade

8769-472: The idea of developing the world's fastest production car, to be based on the C4 generation of the Corvette. With input from GM, Lotus designed a new engine to fit in place of the L98 V8 that was powering the standard C4. The result was what GM dubbed the LT5, an aluminum-block V8 with the same bore centers as the L98, but with four overhead camshafts and 32 valves. Lotus also designed a unique air management system for

8880-407: The lower corner of the windshield on the driver's side, under the bonnet (North America: "hood") next to the latch, at the front end of the vehicle frame, and inside the door pillar on the driver's side. On newer vehicles VINs may be optically read with barcode scanners or digital cameras, or digitally read via OBD-II . There are smartphone applications that can pass the VIN to websites to decode

8991-443: The magazine amounted to 179 mph (288 km/h). GM found that the engine required special assembly, and that neither the Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, nor any of their normal production facilities could handle the workload, so Mercury Marine corporation of Stillwater, Oklahoma , was contracted to assemble the engines under their MerCruiser division, due to their experience in working with aluminum, and ship them to

9102-463: The manufacturer of the vehicle using the world manufacturer identifier or WMI code. A manufacturer who builds fewer than 1,000 vehicles per year uses a 9 as the third digit, and the 12th, 13th and 14th position of the VIN for a second part of the identification. Some manufacturers use the third character as a code for a vehicle category (e.g., bus or truck), a division within a manufacturer, or both. For example, within 1G (assigned to General Motors in

9213-644: The new C4 Corvette, the company funded a program in the IMSA GT Championship to run a GTP-class prototype under the Corvette name, mostly run by Hendrick Motorsports . Although the Corvette GTP actually shared very little with the production C4 Corvette, including the lack of a V8* engine in some races, it did use some styling cues. The project lasted until 1988 with mixed success. Note: The final Corvette GTP built (HU8811.01), as raced by Peerless Racing, underwent extensive wind tunnel testing by GM, with many of

9324-475: The nickname "Father of the Corvette." He is sometimes erroneously referred to as the inventor of the Corvette; that title belongs to Harley Earl . He was also a racing driver , appearing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans four times and taking class wins in 1954 and 1955 . Arkus-Duntov was born Zachar Arkus in Brussels , Belgium, on December 25, 1909, into a Jewish Russian family. His father, Yakov “Jacques” Arkus,

9435-3181: The notation below, assume that letters precede numbers and that zero is the last number. For example, 8X–82 denotes the range 8X, 8Y, 8Z, 81, 82, excluding 80. AA-AH South Africa AJ-AK Côte d'Ivoire AL-AM Lesotho AN-AP Botswana AR-AS Namibia AT-AU Madagascar AV-AW Mauritius AX-AY Tunisia AZ-A1 Cyprus A2-A3 Zimbabwe A4-A5 Mozambique A6-A0 unassigned BA-BB Angola BC Ethiopia BD-BE unassigned BF-BG Kenya BH Rwanda BJ-BK unassigned BL Nigeria BM-BP unassigned BR Algeria BS unassigned BT Swaziland BU Uganda BV-B2 unassigned B3-B4 Libya B5-B0 unassigned CA-CB Egypt CC-CE unassigned CF-CG Morocco CH-CK unassigned CL-CM Zambia CN-C0 unassigned J Japan KA-KE Sri Lanka KF-KK Israel KL-KR Korea (South) KS-KT Jordan L China MA-ME,MH,MY-M0 India MF-MK Indonesia ML-MR Thailand MS Myanmar MU Mongolia MX Kazakhstan NA-NE Iran NF-NK Pakistan NL-NR Turkey NS-NT Uzbekistan NU-N0 unassigned PA-PE Philippines PF-PK Singapore PL-PR Malaysia PS-PT Bangladesh PU-P0 unassigned RA-RE United Arab Emirates RF-RK Taiwan RL-RP Vietnam RS-RT Saudi Arabia R1-R7 Hong Kong SA-SM United Kingdom SN-ST Germany (former East Germany) SU-SZ Poland S1-S2 Latvia S3 Georgia S4 Iceland S5-S0 unassigned TA-TH Switzerland TJ-TP Czech Republic TR-TV Hungary TW-T2 Portugal T3-T5 Serbia T6 Andorra T7-T8 Netherlands T9-T0 unassigned UA-UC Spain UD-UG unassigned UH-UM Denmark UN-UR Ireland US-UT unassigned UU-UX Romania UY-UZ unassigned U1-U2 North Macedonia U3-U4 unassigned U5-U7 Slovakia U8-U0 Bosnia and Herzegovina VA-VE Austria VF-VR France VS-VW Spain VX-V2 France V3-V5 Croatia V6-V8 Estonia V9-V0 unassigned W Germany (former West Germany) XA-XC Bulgaria XD-XE Russia XF-XH Greece XJ-XK Russia XL-XR Netherlands XS-XW Russia (former USSR) XX-XY Luxembourg XZ-X0 Russia YA-YE Belgium YF-YK Finland YL-YM unassigned YN Malta YP-YR unassigned YS-YW Sweden YX-Y2 Norway Y3-Y5 Belarus Y6-Y8 Ukraine Y9-Y0 unassigned ZA-ZU Italy ZV-ZW unassigned ZX-ZZ Slovenia Z1 San Marino Z2 unassigned Z3-Z5 Lithuania Z6-Z0 Russia 1, 4, 5 or 7 United States 2 Canada 3A-3X Mexico 34 Nicaragua 35 Dominican Republic 36 Honduras 37 Panama 38-39 Puerto Rico 30 unassigned 6 Australia 6Y-61 New Zealand 8A-8E Argentina 8F-8K Chile 8L-8R Ecuador 8S-8W Peru 8X-82 Venezuela 82-82 Bolivia 83-80 unassigned 9A-9E Brazil 9F-9K Colombia 9L-9R Paraguay 9S-9W Uruguay 9X-92 Trinidad & Tobago 93–99 Brazil 90 unassigned The fourth to ninth positions in

9546-473: The overhead valve design was to cure the persistent overheating of the valve-in-block flathead V8. The flathead 'siamesed' the two center exhaust ports into a single tube, creating a large heat transfer from the hot gases to the coolant that was eliminated in the overhead valve design. The Ardun heads allowed significant increases in power output from the Ford V8. Ardun grew into a 300 employee engineering company with

9657-468: The price of a base model Corvette. The conversion consisted of taking the engine out of the car and performing a thorough set of modifications along with installing two turbochargers. The result was the engine rated at a reportedly conservative 382 hp (285 kW). The car was classified as a standard Corvette by the EPA, so it wasn't subject to additional registration requirements. Over 500 cars were subject to

9768-452: The production of “especially durable / long-life parts” Ideal for turning production cars into sports cars (Pontiac). Arkus-Duntov could not stop the new agreement. At his insistence, the driver Briggs Cunningham changed the three main Corvettes within 24 hours of Le Mans, each of which was equipped with an innovative 283-horsepower V8 fuel injected engine. Despite only achieving 10th place, it

9879-421: The racing Corvette. Therefore, having arrived in Sebring and joining the Corvette core team, SS pilot John Fitch still could not figure out the brake lock problem. The start of the race looked positive for the SS, but the problem with the brakes only intensified. By the end of the third lap, the pilot could no longer control the front axle of his car. After a quick tire change, Fitch continued to race, but already on

9990-486: The rear fascia. Further changes were made the following year in 1991, including extra ZR1 badges on the fenders and the introduction of Acceleration Slip Regulation (ASR) or traction control. For model year 1993, modifications which were designed by Lotus were made to the cylinder heads, exhaust system and valvetrain of the LT5 bringing power output up from 375 to 405 hp (280 to 302 kW) at 5,800 rpm and 385 lb⋅ft (522 N⋅m) of torque at 5,200 rpm. In addition,

10101-409: The rear wheels, a unique 6-speed manual transmission manufactured by ZF was installed with a code name of ML9. The transmission used Computer Aided Gear Selection (CAGS) which forced the driver to shift from first to fourth under low power urban driving conditions. The transmission has a tweaked ring and pinion ratio of 3.54:1 and a lower final drive ratio of 3.33:1. Other exterior modifications include

10212-496: The rear window into right and left halves. Duntov felt that the elongated hood interfered with the driver's view of the road ahead, and the rear pillar obscured the driver's view rearwards. The split rear window was widely criticized, and a one-piece backlite was put in its place the next year. The first sports Corvette was designed and constructed by Duntov in 1956, who built 3 copies. The SR1 and SR2 projects met with Harley Earl's approval, which led to Duntov's proposal to establish

10323-450: The rollout of this new technology, there were only 15 different resistance values available. Once thieves discovered this weakness, it markedly reduced the value of this early system. Only a total of 43 prototype and pre-production Corvettes were manufactured with a 1983 Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). None were made available to the public as official production vehicles. All were destroyed except one, VIN 1G1AY0783D5100023 (white with

10434-467: The seats and the rear portion of the floor pan integrated into one welded assembly. This was not a unibody assembly, as none of the exterior body panels were structural members. Due to a styling decision to use a targa top instead of T-tops , there was no structural member tying the windshield frame to the halo as on the C3. This required extremely tall side rails on the frame to maintain chassis rigidity, and as

10545-525: The sets of information contained in it were introduced gradually. For example, Volkswagen started to encode bigger chunks of information during 1995–1997, and the control digit during 2009–2015 for selected models from the group. The VIN control digit is also used, although not in all brand-models. In the European vehicles, it can be found e.g. in Audi A1. There are at least four competing standards used to calculate

10656-466: The small-block V8 engine to the Corvette in 1955, providing the car with much-needed power, he set about showcasing the engine by ascending Pike's Peak in 1956 in a pre-production car (a 1956 Bel Air 4-door hardtop), setting a stock car record. He took a Corvette to Daytona Beach the same year and hit a record-setting 150 mph (240 km/h) over the flying mile. He also developed the famous Duntov high-lift camshaft and helped bring fuel injection to

10767-496: The tone for what he was about to accomplish in a memo to his bosses. The document, "Thoughts Pertaining to Youth, Hot Rodders and Chevrolet", laid out Duntov's views on overcoming Ford's lead in use by customizers and racers, and how to increase both the acceptance and the likelihood of success of the Chevrolet V8 in this market. In 1957 Arkus-Duntov became Director of High Performance Vehicles at Chevrolet. After helping to introduce

10878-507: The two brothers established the Ardun Mechanical Corporation, the name a portmanteau of Arkus and Duntov. Ardun initially produced dies and punches for ammunition and later produced parts for aircraft. In 1947 the company introduced their own aluminum, overhead valve, hemispherical combustion chamber cylinder heads for the flathead Ford V8 engine . Conceived by Duntov, the heads were designed by George Kudasch. The purpose of

10989-525: The vehicle. Example: for the 2007 Chevrolet Corvette, U is for a 6.0-liter V8 engine , and E is for a 7.0-liter V8. One element that is inconsistent is the use of position nine as a check digit , compulsory for vehicles in North America and China, but not Europe. The 10th to 17th positions are used as the vehicle identifier section or VIS. This is used by the manufacturer to identify the individual vehicle in question. This may include information on options installed or engine and transmission choices, but often

11100-543: The wheels, special trim and 40th anniversary side emblems. 6,749 were sold at an additional cost of US$ 1,455. All leather seats have the 40th emblem embroidered due to an error on the drawings sent to the seat supplier. In 1994 twenty five (25) Corvette Convertibles were delivered to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for use in the inaugural running of the Brickyard 400. The Corvettes were primarily used to introduce

11211-493: Was a mining engineer on contract in Belgium, and his mother, Rachel Kogan, was a medical student. After the family returned to their hometown of Saint Petersburg – then Petrograd – Duntov's parents divorced and his mother's new partner, Josef Duntov, an electrical engineer, moved into the household. Even after the divorce, Jacques continued to live with the family, and out of respect for both men, Zora and younger brother Yura took on

11322-468: Was available at Chevrolet dealers if the customer selected the "RPO B2K" option on the order specification sheet. Chevrolet approached Callaway to offer such an option after seeing the power output the tuning company was able to extract reliably from modified twin-turbocharged Alfa Romeo V6 engines. The car came with normal Chevrolet warranty as well as an additional one year 12,000-mile warranty from Callaway Cars. The conversion cost an extra US$ 26,995 over

11433-477: Was based on firstly making an aluminum version of the "small block" V8, equipped with special spark plugs (At 377 °C, its power was 550 hp. at 6400 rpm.) and secondly, an unprecedented decrease in vehicle weight. A new ladder chassis with large diameter (4.5 in (114 mm)) tubular main rails was built. All body panels were of thin fiberglass with no gel coat, and the aluminum door handles were taken from an old Chevrolet pickup truck. Special attention

11544-526: Was built in 1989 by Corvette Development Engineering as a development car to study the possibility of achieving the performance of the ZR1 while reducing cost by utilizing a big block engine. The engine was rated at 400 hp (406 PS; 298 kW). The prototype vehicle, orange with black interior, was sold in 2009 at the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction for US$ 71,500 (~$ 98,716 in 2023). As part of GM's initiative to promote

11655-556: Was developed as a prototype for a limited edition run in the 1990 model year. 25 active suspension vehicles were built at the Bowling Green Plant. A prototype was sold in 2009 at the Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction for $ 60,000 (~$ 82,839 in 2023) (before buyer premium). The B2K was a high-performance alternative to the standard Corvette offered by Callaway Cars under license from Chevrolet from 1987 to 1991. It

11766-580: Was engineered by Bilstein and was similar to the system used in the Porsche 959 albeit with modifications from the Lotus Formula 1 division. The system used a gas-over-oil shock absorber whose hollow center shaft came fitted with an adjustable orifice which controls the flow of oil in the shock absorber. The system allowed for six damping settings in each of the three driving modes namely Touring, Sport, and Performance and had 14 total steps. Servomotors coupled with

11877-442: Was low compared to earlier generations. The primary design emphasis at launch was therefore focused on handling and braking, with an all-independent light-weight suspension and wheels and all new brakes with aluminum calipers. The front suspension saw the C3's coil springs replaced by a transverse fiberglass mono-leaf spring , which was only 1/3 of the weight of the coil springs while also introducing an anti-roll bar -like effect on

11988-416: Was no error in the calculation), then there is a mistake in the VIN. However, a match does not prove the VIN is correct, because there is still a 1/11 chance that any two distinct VINs have a matching check digit: for example, the valid VINs 5GZCZ43D13S812715 (correct with leading five) and SGZCZ43D13S812715 (incorrect with leading character "S"). The VINs in the Porsche image, WP0ZZZ99ZTS392124 , and

12099-425: Was paid to aerodynamics. The door handles were lightened and recessed into the body, and the headlights were hidden behind transparent plastic. However, aerodynamic lift tended to cause the Grand Sport's front axle to come off the ground at high speeds. To help alleviate windage, ventilation holes were added throughout the body: "gills" on the hood, openings behind the front and rear wheels, and even multiple openings at

12210-542: Was preparing to send them to the race in Daytona. But General Motors entered into an agreement with Duntov on the termination of any races, since the risks of the division of the company reached a maximum level. All 5 cars were handed out to private individuals and could no longer continue the competition due to the stop of design work. In 2009, the last surviving #002 chassis was auctioned off for $ 4.9M. The end of Grand Sport project did not stop Duntov, and in 1964 he began work on

12321-486: Was that by 1961, about 53% of the entire US car market belonged to General Motors, which greatly interested the Department of Justice. In the event that the company's market were to grow to 60%, the antimonopoly department had promised to break up General Motors. Fearing this, management hoped to reduce auto racing revenues. But the most famous achievement of Arkus-Duntov was yet to come. In 1962 Ford officially withdrew from

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