163-MPH in a rickety ‘54 Corvette on skinny tires!The next time you blip the throttle of your fire breathing Vette or have some spirited driving fun with an onramp, say a quiet little “Thank you” to the man who made it all possible. Just a few words; “Thanks Zora!” or “Thanks you, Mr. Duntov!” Not that Zora Arkus-Duntov single-handedly worked out every detail of every Corvette ever made, that’s not want I mean. Zora put FIRE into the Corvette.
In what can only be described as a once in a lifetime event, Russian immigrant and big-time car guy, Zora Duntov attended Harley Earl’s 1953 Motorama, when he happened upon what he later described as “… the most beautiful car I had ever seen.” Yes, the stunning good-looks of Harley Earl’s beauty queen, “Corvette” show car stopped the pragmatic engineer dead in his tracks. But Zora was no stranger to beauty, just have a look at the drop-dead gorgeous lady he married – Elfi Duntov. Earl’s Corvette lit a fire in Zora and it wasn’t long before he was hired by GM’s Ed Cole.
This car was completely restored and went up for
auction in May ‘09 at the Mecum annual Spring Classic sale.
This one-of-a-kind piece of Corvette history sold for a modest $328,600.
Zora was a racer first, engineer second. A true corporate misfit if there ever was one. He was brilliant, shrewd, charming, and enthusiastic. Part Da Vinci – part P.T. Barnum, he just got people around him excited about his endeavors. Were it not for this unique combination of qualities and circumstances, the Corvette surely would have been allowed to morph into something else and eventually fade away, like the Ford Thunderbird.
Along the way, Zora built some very cool prototype mule cars. The higher ups must have said, “This guy is crazy, but let him do whatever he wants… to a limit.” And that limit was pretty far out there. So, with that setup, lets have a look at Duntov’s toys. This guy was just having too much fun!
Zora’s first crack at exploring what this baby could do happened in early ‘55. The 265-CID small-block Chevy engine was brand new and an option in the ‘55 Corvette. After personally setting a Pike’s Peak Hill Climb record with a modified ‘55 Chevy, Zora decided to stretch the limits with the little fiberglass flexible flyer. His goal was 150-mph – an outrageous proposal for its day.
Efi Duntov
Officially know as “EX87,” Duntov used a promotion ’54 Corvette as his base. With engineering help from Jim Premo, a short racing windscreen replaced the windshield and a complete belly pan was built. But calculations showed that 30 more horsepower was needed to hit 150 mph. Zora designed an experimental camshaft profile with 60 degrees overlap at DC that eventually became known as the “Duntov Cam.” The new cam profile allowed the engine to run easily to 6,500 rpm with no valve float. With their new engine, Zora packed up his mule Corvette and headed for GM’s test facility in Phoenix, Arizona. Upon arrival, more streamlining was added to the car with a tonneau cover over the passenger side, blocked off front grill openings, and a fin behind the driver’s head. Driving the streamlined body with 3.27:1 gearing and stock tires, Duntov was clocked at 163 mph! The ‘54 mule Corvette was immediately rebodied with the new ’56 design and prepped as part of a 3-car team to go for the ‘56 Daytona Beach Record Runs. The cars performed so well that they were permitted to run in the ’56 race at Sebring. Many more race cars would stem from this effort, but the mule car would not be seen again for a very long time.
Zora at speed! Looks like a gravel track, too!
Now, I invite you to stop for a moment and consider what Zora did. It’s 1955 and the Corvette is as sophisticated as a settlers wagon on skinny bias-ply tires. How’d you like to do 163-mph in a machine like that? It’s a miracle he wasn’t killed. But Zora wasn’t superman, just gutsy and lucky. And sometimes his luck shortchanged him. In April of ‘56 at GM’s Milford proving Ground while suspension testing a prototype ‘56 Corvette, he lost control of the vehicle, rolled the car, and broke his back. By Labor Day, he was back at work. His doctors ordered him to wear a back brace that precluded him from putting on a pare of pants, so he wore a Scottish kilt to work! You can just imagine the talk in the office. “Did you hear that crazy Russian is back to work and he’s wearing a skirt!”
This may have been the last time Zora was seriously hurt on a race track, but it was only the beginning of a long line of very cool mules Duntov built in his quest to make the Corvette the best sports car on the planet.
Is this guy cool or what?
If GM hadn’t gotten him,
Hollywood surely would have.
Paul Newman’s older brother?
Coming next; Duntov goes hunting for speed records on the beach at Daytona.
This article was written by K. Scott Teeters, an editor for Alex Schult of
www.SmokinVette.com and a freelance columnist and artist with VETTE Magazine. His monthly column, “The Illustrated Corvette Series” has been running consecutively in VETTE since 1997 and can be found on the very last page of every issue. You can find reproductions of his Corvette art at:
www.IllustratedCorvetteSeries.com
