Earl’s initial idea was to
Earl’s initial idea was to design a racy body, drop it onto a Jaguar D-Type chassis, and swap the Jag’s six for a Chevy V8.
But that notion wouldn’t do for Corvette engineering guru, diehard racing fan Zora Arkus-Duntov. When he heard of the plan, he pushed for an all-new chassis design that would incorporate ambitious engineering concepts. Duntov’s arguments won out, if for no other reason than the fact that the D-Type’s main structure was a monocoque configuration and therefore had no separate frame to drop any sort of body onto.
To save time, Duntov purchased a Mercedes-Benz 300SL frame and from that drew much of the inspiration — if not verbatim design elements — for the Corvette SS’s structure. To this platform, he added a race-prepared 283-cid Chevy V8, a de Dion rear axle, and an experimental braking system.
The car’s hasty debut was the 12 Hours of Sebring, in early 1957. Juan Fangio and Stirling Moss had initially agreed to pilot the car in the race, but development delays plagued the car, giving the superstar drivers second thoughts. These misgivings proved well founded — replacements John Fitch and Piero Taruffi battled a number of gremlins from the very beginning of the event, and were forced out after just 23 laps.
The SS nonetheless showed considerable promise when it was running well, and the team looked forward to trying the car at Le Mans that year.
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