- October 15, 1954: Zora Arkus Duntov writes
a memo to Ed Cole and Maurice Olley, noting that the Corvette appeared
to be a failure. He suggests that to drop the Corvette would be
an admission of failure. He urges General Motors not to cancel
the car, but to create a separate department within Chevrolet to oversee
Corvette Development.
- October 7, 1960: The CBS TV show, "Route 66"
debuts with two young men driving a 1960 Corvette around the US in search
of adventure.
- October 13, 1962: 1963 model production Corvettes
make their racing debut at the Los Angeles Times Three-Hour Invitational
Grand Prix in Riverside, California. The Ford-powered Shelby Cobra
also makes its debut. Four Z06-equipped Corvettes enter, but only
one finished, driven by Doug Hooper. The lone Cobra breaks its
rear axle one hour into the race. Hooper's Corvette wins the race.
- October 5, 1965: The second Mako shark II car
debuts at the Paris Auto Show in France. This version is fully
drivable, with a 427ci engine.
- October 4, 1973: General Motors premiers the
390ci mid-engined Corvette Four-Rotor prototype at the Paris Automobile
Salon in France. The Corvette Two Rotor is also shown. Both
use rotary engines based on Wankel technology.
- October 26, 1988; The Callaway Sledgehammer
Corvette reaches a top speed of 254.76 mph at the Transportation Research
Center in Ohio.
- October 18, 1989: The final 1989 SCCA Corvette
Challenge race is run, in St. Petersburg, Florida at the St. Petersburg
Grand Prix circuit. The Texas American Racing Team, with driver
Scott Lagase, wins the race.&nbs; Overall, Bill Cooper of the Valley
Chevrolet team wins the series.
- October 1992: General Motors executives approve
the design of the next-generation Corvette, with a target release year
of 1997.
- October 19, 1995: GM names Dave Hill, Corvette's
vehicle line executive, a new title in General Motors' ongoing restructuring.
- October 1, 1996: The first production 1997 model
Corvette is completed.
- October 19, 1992: Corvette program manager,
Russ McLean informs his staff that the GM Strategy Board has placed
all projects after 1996 on hold or canceled, including the 1997 Corvette
and later projects.
- October 1992: The last (number 10) Callaway
Twin Turbo Speedster Corvette is completed.
Corvette history compiled
by Ken Pollson.