. That meant finding other ways to support privateers. Arkus-Duntov convinced team driver and owner Briggs Cunningham to take three Corvettes to Le Mans in 1960. Car #1 crashed out, Car #2 blew an engine, Car #3 finished first in its GT class on the way to eighth overall. Now the racing world knew the name Corvette. But Cunningham, upset at not winning the race overall, sold all three cars. Car #2 is on show at the Petersen.
And then there's the beauty above, Arkus-Duntov's secret project to create a car that would win Sebring and Le Mans — and just as important, beat Carroll Shelby's Cobra in the GT World Championship — the 1963 Corvette Grand Sport. Each was built with a single-layer fiberglass body over a lightweight chassis that went big on aluminum. The final coupe weighed 1,000 pounds less than a stock Corvette, and got a 485-hp, 6.2-liter V8 for motivation.