And the one that really got to him, even though it was two years old by then, was the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante. It also served as a test bed for a four-speed manual transmission, a de Dion rear suspension, and extensive usage of aluminum. By Ronnie Schreiber on January 2, GM would reacquire the Stingray Racer from Mitchell and it was restored back to its original configuration with a period-correct V8.
Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window) GM’s styling chief Bill Mitchell purchased the chassis and then directed and funded the design of the car in Chevrolet’s secretive Studio X. Last year was the 50th anniversary of the Elvis movie “Clambake” which came out in 1967. He drives to Florida in his red 1959 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Racer to find himself. This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. Corvette Timeline Tales: 10.18.67 – United Artists premieres Elvis Presley’s new film, “Clambake” featuring Elvis, pretty girls, awful songs, and the 1959 Sting Ray Racer October 18, 2015 October 18, 2015 Scott C1 Corvettes , Corvette History , Corvette Timeline Tales
Riding on a 92-inch wheelbase and the tube-frame chassis from Mitchell—heir apparent to GM’s industry-dominating Styling section, which was still under the leadership of its founder, Harley Earl—had just returned from the October 1957 auto show in Turin, Italy, and was thinking how great a second-generation Corvette could look using themes borrowed from some streamlined Italian sports cars he had seen there. GM’s styling chief Bill Mitchell purchased the chassis and then directed and funded the design of the car in Chevrolet’s secretive Studio X. After ordering your meal at our registers, you may choose a seat in any of our air-conditioned dining rooms; enjoy a cocktail or … Expertly piloted by Dr. Dick “the Flying Dentist” Thompson, Mitchell’s Stingray scored a fourth-place finish in its Marlboro, Maryland, Raceway debut on April 18, 1959, and an SCCA national championship the following year. The clambake or clam bake, also known as the New England clambake, is a traditional method of cooking seafood, such as lobster, mussels, crabs, soft-shell clams, and quahogs. Oct 13th Medina Corvette Halloween Rallye. Thank you…thank you very much! He said, ‘Okay, guys, give me your best. In the cockpit, he placed Fiberfab lettering on the passenger side and fitted '65 Corvette blue-leather upholstery to racing seats he made out of aluminum. Elvis played the son of a wealthy oil tycoon who only wants people to like him for who he is and not for his wealth. “The ’59 Stingray Racer has its own unique history.
Elvis would have been 83 years old today!Senior Editor and founder of "Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle". After the Sting Ray’s debut, the car did some light show car duty. And when Mitchell, a strong performance and racing enthusiast, was told that the ban would kill Chevrolet’s still struggling Corvette two-seater, he reportedly said, “I’m not going to let that happen.”So he gave this project to a group of young designers in Styling’s basement Research B studio, away from the prying eyes of GM executives, accountants, divisional managers, and everyone else not directly involved. In the film Clambake, which came out in 1967, Presley played the role of the son of a wealthy oil tycoon. It was initially a styling exercise; secondarily, it was an exploration of Corvette performance and handling capabilities. Oct 12th Clambake. And I went down in the hammer room and designed this Corvette Stingray in clay. Clambake (film) – Wikipedia. Early in 1959, shortly after Mitchell succeeded Earl as a GM vice president, it was moved again and finished in Mitchell’s new secret Studio X, in the basement of the Styling Administration building. A chance remark by Tom gives Scott the idea to switch identities with Tom so he can find out how people react to him as an ordinary person rath… The Stingray Racer was raced in 1960 SCCA competition by The Flying Dentist, Dr. Dick Thompson, who would bring home the C-Modified class championship in the car. It was then modified with the addition of a passenger seat and made the rounds of the auto show circuit. Once completed, Mitchell took the car racing as a privateer. 1967 Corvette 427/435 winner of several awards and the coveted NCRS Duntov Mark of Excellence.
“Clambake” had a song titled, “Do the Clam.” (no joke!) Clambake – 1959 Corvette XP-87 Stingray Racer “Hey buddy, where’s the gas cap on this thing?” Built in 1959 “to test handling ease and performance,” the Corvette XP-87 racer won an SCCA National Championship in 1960. Clambake (1967) cast and crew credits, including actors, actresses, directors, writers and more. I’ll be back in a few days to check it out.’ ” Brock’s theme won that competition, and with Mitchell coaching this youthful team (which also included Gene Garfinkle, Chuck Pohlman, and Norm Neumann, under studio head Bob Veryzer), they took it from sketches to a one-fifth-scale model, then a full-size clay that would fit on the Mercedes-Benz 300SL–derived Corvette SS chassis that Mitchell had purchased from Chevrolet engineering.