Summary
Just about anybody in the world who knows a little about cars knows that the Corvette was the first American sports car and is now one of the most popular, fastest, and most recognizable American sports cars to date. But what a lot of people may not know is that this was not always true. In fact, by 1955, the Corvette almost saw its extinction.
Rumors about the move to drop the Corvette flooded out of Chevrolet's top offices, with very sad sales numbers to back up what seemed to be a good idea. Their competition, the two-seater Ford Thunderbird, sold an astonishing 16,000 units in 1955. The Corvette? A depressing 700 units.
Unfortunately for Ford, the same car that was taking so many sales away from the Corvette would actually be the inspiration for keeping the Corvette in the product lineup. The idea behind keeping the Vette and spending more money on a car that was obviously tanking was pushed by a few Chevrolet bigwigs, including former Corvette chief engineer Dave McLellan.
McLellan released a statement concurring that if the Ford Thunderbird was doing so well, there was obviously a market for a two-seater sports car. With a solid change for the better and the right amount of marketing, the Corvette should be able to become a moneymaker.
In an ironic twist, the very car that Corvette planned to piggyback off of—the Ford Thunderbird—had already made future plans to market the car differently by doing away with the two-seater style and making it a four-seater touring car. That left the American sports car market wide open for Chevrolet and its Corvette.
"The Real McCoy"
As wide open as the market was, the Corvette needed some changes for success, ideally in the form of performance and a new body style. When Zora Arkus Duntov took the reins as Corvette Chief Engineer, he was ready to make those changes, but he knew first that the chassis had to be redesigned to handle any horsepower upgrades.
Once engineers updated and strengthened the chassis, Chevrolet engineers went performance and horsepower hunting. First, they ditched the boring and heavy two-speed Powerglide transmission and replaced it with an upgraded four-speed. They also took the original 265-cu.-in. motor and bored it out to a 307 that sported dual Carter carbs and a now-famous "Duntov High-Performance Cam."
Other upgrades were also included on the Real McCoy, like a very rare set of Halibrand magnesium knock-off wheels, special heavy-duty brakes with cooling scoops, heavy-duty shocks and sway bars, an upgraded high-capacity fuel tank, and more—all newly implemented to help achieve the Corvette performance desired.
After all of those upgrades, top engineers slapped a new SR Prototype body on what was now known as Project Corvette #6901. The engineers called it "The Real McCoy" and decided it was ready to head to the racetrack.
Daytona Speedway Record
The first stop for the "Real McCoy" was the Daytona Speed Week for a two-way flying mile. This is where the Corvette would make its first milestone. At the time, the record for the Corvette class was 127 mph. With Duntov as the driver, the 255-horsepower Corvette sped to an average speed of 150.58 mph to crush the record.
This was an extremely significant record because it occurred just weeks before the New York Motorama, where the Corvette would be on display to many potential buyers, most of whom had already heard the news of the record-breaking performance.
12-Hour Sebring Race
A few months after Daytona, the groundbreaking Corvette made its way to the famous 12-Hour Sebring Race. This race was designed only for the toughest of the tough—the fastest of the fast. Only cars like Jaguars, Bentleys, and Aston Martins graced the racetracks for these events.
But with a chance to prove that the Corvette had changed and deserved respect alongside the other powerful sports cars, Chevrolet did not shy away. Instead, they joined in on the action.
Race car drivers John Fitch and Walter Hansgen were brought on board to take on the challenging race. When the green flag dropped, the race was on. But early in the race, the Corvette experienced mechanical problems, so much so that they didn't think it would finish.
In the end, not only did the Real McCoy Corvette finish, but it also finished first in its class and ninth overall. This was an incredible accomplishment, especially considering 60 cars entered the event, but only 24 crossed the finish line.
With another huge milestone under Corvette's belt, Chevrolet exploited it by printing ads like "A Tough, Road-Gripping Torpedo On Wheels" and "The Most Remarkable Car Made In America Today."
Those ads were meant to send a message: Corvette had finally arrived as a force in international sports car racing, and they proudly called this particular Vette "The Real McCoy."
Between all of its accomplishments and Chevrolet's ad campaigns, the '56 Corvette sold 3,467 units, and in '57, they nearly doubled that with 6,339 sold.
One of the main reasons the Corvette saw such selling success was that if Chevrolet raced the Vette in its respective class at the 12-Hour Sebring race, every part that was changed or modified for the race had to be documented and later made available to the public. This process made potential buyers very excited about being able to buy a Corvette and beef it up to run and look just like "The Real McCoy."
Auctioned Away For $2.3 Million
In any event, if it weren't for the #6901 '56 PJ Prototype "Real McCoy" Corvette, and possibly the success of the Thunderbird, Chevrolet may have never gone forward with the Corvette. And the automobile industry would definitely not be the same today.
