Ref 39
1966 Chevrolet Corvette Sting Ray Cabriolet by Lingenfelter
EU registered Chassis No. 194676S127152
The Chevrolet Corvette is one of the greatest lines of sports car ever built with a history covering more than 40 years. It very nearly did not make it however, because the early cars were too American to appeal to American sports car buyers. Things improved in 1955, however, with the introduction of Ed Cole's 4.3 litre V8, one of the 'milestone' engines of the American motor industry. Ex-Porsche works driver Zorn Arkus-Duntov made chassis and suspension adjustments which greatly improved road holding and Chevrolet embarked on a competition programme. A very promising sports racing version, the Corvette SS, appeared at Sebring in 1957 but then the Detroit Big Three agreed to boycott motor racing. Still, the lessons learned from that programme were applied to production cars and by 1961 they had taken charge of their class in SCCA racing and had achieved class wins at Sebring and Le Mans.
The '61 'Vette had its body updated by William L. Matched who had become G.M.'s styling chief. There was a styling reference to 'SS' racing 'Vettes and the body was a pleasing balance between American and European taste. The fabulous V8 engine (which had a great career in Can-Am and F5000) meant that even the least powerful option gave it 0-60mph acceleration on a par with a Jaguar E-Type while, with top options, it could leave a Jaguar XK-SS for dead.
Styled in General Motors’ Art and Colour Studio under Bill Mitchell, the new Corvette Sting Ray featured radical styling pioneered on Mitchell’s successful Stingray sports-racer. The Sting Ray customer could take his pick from an extensive range of factory options, with the result that seldom are two cars exactly alike. Indeed, the car offered here is unique, being the only 1966 Convertible delivered with optional 427ci (7.0-litre) 425bhp ‘Big Block’ V8 engine (code: L72) and Powerglide automatic transmission (code: M35).
1966 was the first year a Corvette could be ordered with the optional 427ci ‘Big Block’ engine, which gained notoriety as one of the most powerful ever offered for public sale when in 1967 it became available in ‘L88’ configuration with 560bhp on tap.
Although the L88 was listed for a few more years (latterly with ‘only’ 430 claimed horsepower but almost certainly more) only 20 cars were ever delivered with this stupendous engine, probably because it increased the list price by almost 25%!
Inspired by the mythical L88, this car’s already mighty power unit has been stretched to 500ci (8,197cc), using technology developed by Corvette specialists Lingenfelter Performance Engineering Inc, of Decatur, Indiana, and rebuilt by Speed Shop Racing in December 2006.
The induction demands of this enlarged and more powerful engine, coupled with the requirement that the Corvette’s external appearance should remain unaltered, necessitated modifying the air ducting to the Holley carburettor, while keeping it cool meant using a boxed-in competition radiator served by multiple electric fans.
Power is transmitted via a Powerglide three-speed automatic transmission, freshly overhauled, while other noteworthy features include power brakes, ‘knock-off’ alloy wheels, AM/FM radio and rare auxiliary hardtop.
Relatively discreet at low revs, the V8’s rage becomes total when all four throttles are fully open!
Powerful beyond the dreams of most mortals, the Corvette is nevertheless reported to be no less usable as a result, despite claimed performance figures of 0-100km/h (62mph) in 4.2 seconds, the standing 400 metres in 12.4 seconds and a top speed of 245km/h (152mph).
The car is UK registered ‘PBY 94D’ and comes with UK V5 registration document.
Mit einem enorm starken 8,2 Liter V-8 Motor vom amerikanischen Corvette-Spezialisten Lingenfelter ausgestattet, der ca. 500 PS an die Hinterräder überträgt, ist diese Corvette aus dem Jahre 1966 sicherlich nichts für schwache Nerven. Vom Einlieferer als in gutem bis exzellentem Zustand beschrieben, wird diese Corvette mit englischen Papieren angeboten.
No Reserve
