The boys at Badboy Vettes inform us that 50 years ago today, the Corvette SS XP-64 made its debut at Sebring. What was the SS XP-64 you beckon? It was a super-light 'Vette with a body of magnesium alloy, a tubular frame and a worked-over 283 ci V8 producing upward of 300 hp. The prototype was built under the guidance of the Corvette's patriarch, Zora Arkus-Duntov. The 12-hour race was to serve as a proving ground of sorts for the SS before it would be fielded at Le Mans later that year. But despite its high-tech derivation, the SS didn't last more than 23 laps before technical problems shut it down. Soon after, manufacturer-sponsored racing was banned by the American Manufacturers' Association, dooming the SS to live in test-kitchen limbo. Nonetheless, its development paid dividends on the street, if not on the tarmac of la Sarthe. The chassis from the SS eventually underpinned the iconic 1959 Stingray.
Corvette SS Debuts at Sebring [Badboy Vettes]
Related:
Maximum Corvette: Lutz Confirms Blue Devil Is Nigh [internal]