Really Big Block: ’71 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe LS5
The Corvette C3 was patterned after the Larry Shinoda’s Mako Shark Concept Car. It was a mid-engine design that excited everyone who saw it. But concept cars are supposed to be pre-cursors of the future. In this case it was, but the mid-engine was ditched in favor of the existing Sting Ray’s layout. Shinoda’s car was sent to Chevrolet Styling, where Harry Haga’s studio adopted it for production. The C3 also adopted the “sugar scoop” roof treatment with vertical back window from a Duntov design. The C3 was accidentally introduced to the motoring public not at some big hoopla reveal at the Detroit Motor Show like this year’s new Sting Ray. Mattel’s Hot Wheels was given permission to release an authorized model of the C3 called the Custom Corvette. Seems they didn’t get the memo on the release date. Today’s featured Sport Coupe is an LS5 and that means 454ci 365hp. Read More
A prototype was built shortly after an agreement was reached, and the resulting Nash-Healey hit the track. Almost out of the box, the Nash-Healey finished fourth at Le Mans. The string of racing success didn’t help sales mostly because of the complicated production sequence that had the unfinished car traveling almost 8,000 miles between various assembly plants. The best finish the Nash-Healey had been in ’53 when the newly designed Coupe finished 3rd overall behind 2 Gullwings. Today’s beautiful Nash-Healey is represented by Fantasy Junction. 
