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Corvette From the Inside
Corvette From the Inside

by David R. McLellan
Price: $49.95

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: In 1989 the ZR-1 was introduced on winding and twisting French roads.
Chapter 3: The 1963 Corvette was designed as both a coupe and convertible.
Chapter 5: Replacing the two-speed Powerglide transmission with the three-speed Turbo Hydramatic caused a dramatic shift in buyer preference.
Chapter 5: The 1982 Collector"s Edition was the first production Corvette to have a hatchback.
Prologue
1 The Corvette is Born
The Corvette grows out of the European tradition of sports and racing cars and is reinterpreted for the American market
2 Duntov Develops the Corvette
Zora Arkus-Duntov had one thing in mind when he sought work with General Motors-to develop the Corvette into a world-class performance sports car.
3 The Second Generation Corvette-C2 1963-1967
An all new chassis with independent rear suspension would provide the foundation for all production Corvettes from 1963 through 1982.
4 The Mid-Engine Corvette
The mid-engine Corvette was the still-born dream of Zora Arkus-Duntov, who wanted to push Corvette to higher levels of performance, while GM management just wanted greater sales.
5 The Corvette Ages Through the 1970s
In the 1970s, major changes to the Corvette were restricted to those required to meet ever more-stringent government safety and emissions requirements.
6 The Next Generation Corvette
Finally given the green light to explore development of a totally new car, the Corvette Engineering group started considering all of its options.
7 Hammering Out the Details of an All New Corvette
With a basic concept in hand for a new Corvette, the engineering team now had to develop all the components and fit them together in the first all-new Corvette for 20 years.
8 The C4 Matures and Spawns a Raodster
As soon as the 1984 Corvette was ready for production, the Corvette Engineering Group went to work to improve its performance and safety. They also brought out a convertible version.
9 The Crucible of Showroom Stock Racing
With its Showroom Stock and Corvette Challenge racing programs, Chevrolet was able to test and implement changes to production Corvettes faster than would have been possible otherwise.
Chapter 10: A Corvette tire being tested in colored water over a glass road.
Chapter 10: Yaw control combines electronic control of the individual wheel brakes and the throttle to improve stability.
Chapter 12: The Lotus 4.0 liter V-8 Etna engine was the precursor to the LT5.
Chapter 17: The Mosler MT900 is currently being developed as a road car.
10 Handling Dynamics and Active Safety in the Corvette
As Chevrolet"s flagship, the Corvette was the perfect vehicle for introducing such safety and performance features as ABS and traction control.
11 Balancing Performance with Economy and Emission Control
The basic dilemma facing the Corvette"s engineers was how to dramatically increase performance while at the same time making a clean-burning and more fuel-efficient sports car.
12 The ZR-1: How the LT5 Came About
In its constant search for greater performance, the Corvette group opted to develop an exotic and powerful new double-overhead camshaft V-8 engine.
13 Chevrolet Introduces the ZR-1
The world-wide introduction of the potent ZR-1 version of the Corvette was an exciting and gratifying time for Dave McLellan and his engineers.
14 Making the Chevrolet V-8 a Modern Engine
By the late 1980s, many thought that the small-block Chevy had reached its limit of development. However, a small band of dedicated engine men proved that the engine had potential they had never before imagined.
15 Breaking the Paradigm with the C5
In order to produce a faster, lighter and more efficient Corvette, the engineering group had to abandon conventional practices; the backbone chassis of the C5 was the result.
16 Understanding the Past to Build a Future
Without a solid history of American sports cars to draw upon, the Corvette"s designers and engineers had to look to Europe"s motoring past to plot the Corvette"s future.
17 The Corvette"s Future
Dave McLellen may not be Corvette"s Cheif Engineer anymore, but he never stops thinking about how the Corvette should be developed using new technology for greater performance.
Epilogue
Bibliography
Index
About the Author