Got a radical idea for a concept car that's totally unfeasible in real life? No problem, just make it into a Gran Turismo Vision car. We've seen some pretty wild ones so far, but rather than just do a wild Corvette Stingray from 2050, Chevrolet is reviving a famous name from racing history — Chaparral. And that's awesome.
To celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Gran Tursimo franchise, Chevy is unveiling the Chaparral 2X VGT concept race car for GT6 at next week's LA Auto Show. The car will be available as downloadable content soon after, and while no details were released, they said it's an example of "what our designers are capable of when they are cut loose, no holds barred."
Which is kind of a fair way to describe the original Chaparral racers, too. Founded in 1962 by racers Jim Hall and Hap Sharp, the racers built by Chaparral Cars ran and won regularly in a variety of series for decades including SCCA Can-Am, Trans-Am, USAC, CART and more.
Partnering with engineers at GM, the Chaparral team pioneered numerous advancements in aerodynamics and lightweight materials. Their cars were also notable for the talent behind the wheel, which included famous names like Phil Hill and Al Unser Sr.
It's great to see the Chaparral name make a comeback, even if it's in digital form. I look forward to seeing the Gran Turismo tribute to these cars.