The Daytona Prototype class already hosts the quickest, hottest cars in the Grand-Am series, and Chevrolet’s new 2012 Corvette Daytona Prototype looks to amp things up even more when it takes to the track at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in January. For those unfamiliar, the Daytona Prototype class is comprised of purpose-built, mid-engine racers that are far less related to street cars than, say, the ZR1-based Corvette C6.R, which races in ALMS.
Chevrolet’s DP entry wasn’t an entirely home-grown effort, and the Corvette Prototype was developed with help from chassis specialists Riley, Coyote, and Dallara along with Pratt & Miller, Corvette Designers, and Grand-Am itself. Other than a few Corvette styling cues—including a split rear window!—littered about the carbon-fiber bodywork, the prototype car shares nothing with a roadgoing Corvette. (To the Corvette speculators, the DP car may have that throwback rear window and a mid-engine configuration, but that does not mean the C7 Corvette will, too.) Among the vast array of specifics left out of the release were engine layout and size; a 500-horse, 5.0-liter Chevrolet V-8 was campaigned last year, however, so we have a sneaking suspicion that’s what lives under the Lexan window out back.
Four teams have been announced as running the new Corvette: Spirit of Daytona Racing, SunTrust Racing, GAINSCO/Bob Stallings Racing, and Action Express Racing. Given the Corvette nameplate’s long and storied history in road racing—and its huge pile of trophies—we’re excited to see how the car does next year.
