This 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Roadster has a thumping great 701hp V8 under the bonnet
Hard to believe, given its stature now as a pillar of the muscle community, that the Chevrolet Corvette started out life as a two-door family convertible. And for nine years during the original production cycle, it proved a successful decision. Then along came 1963, a more aggressive coupe design, and that immortal ‘Sting Ray’ moniker – a nod to the 1957 concept racing car of the same name – and the Chevrolet Corvette would never look back.
With good reason too. Sporting a new elongated bonnet, hidden headlights, muscular wheel arches and a divided rear window, the Sting Ray’s looks were derived from Chevrolet’s Q-concept and caught the public’s attention quickly. As does this 1967 Atomic Orange number, which goes under the hammer at RKM Auctions in Abu Dhabi on 2 November. Given the other vast sums of dosh being forked over for other examples in our RKM series, a list price of between $300,000 and $400,000 seems remarkably reasonable. Especially when you consider how much work has been put into this Roadster Pro Touring 700 model.
Already more than $500,000 has been sunk into this Corvette. The aggressive fibre glass bodyshell of the original C2 generation Corvette was impressive enough when it rolled out the factory gates in the early 1960s (usually sportingChevy’s traditional white paint scheme). But work has been done by fibreglass guru Bill Thomas to extend the front fenders by 2.5 inches and the rear fenders by 4.5 inches in a process that takes 3000 hours. It’s a bold look, one coupled with a Midnight Black stripe across the hood matching orange detailing on the rims.
The pièce de résistance of this particular model though is the 500cid V8 growling with furious anger under the hood that replaces the original 327 V8 and which now punches out 701bhp and 677lb ft of torque. At the base is a billet aluminium Katech block, onto which Callies forged-steel crank and Katech forged-aluminium pistons have been added (hence the ‘Katech 500’ branding on the bonnet scoop). Off-the-shelf LS7 cylinder heads were upgraded with stronger springs and titanium retainers then dressed with carbon fibre valve covers, the unit mated with an RPM Transmissions-built Tremec T56 six-speed manual. Hit the loud pedal in Abu Dhabi and chances are they’ll hear the noise at the assembly plant in Missouri.
And if you’re worried that some of this work might not be legit, accompanying documentation and photographs should put your mind at ease. There’s even a few magazines included in which the Vette has been featured in the past.
On the inside you’ll find scratch-built seats featuring a mix of orange leather and double-stitched black Alcantara, designed to make the Corvette’s cockpit a cross between a Lamborghini and a fighter jet says creator Paul Atkins. But what’s truly remarkable – and this is a big claim given the above – is that this 1967 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Roadster has just 82 miles (132km) on the clock. A souped up classic that’s barely rolled further than the showroom parking lot the could be yours, and for details on that you can check out the RKMCCA homepage.
via http://www.crankandpiston.com
