Chevrolet has taken its Corvette to a new level of racing: today the manufacturer of America’s oldest and most iconic sports car introduced a Daytona Prototype version of the Corvette to race in Grand Am’s Rolex Sports Car Series.
“Racing and performance are the founding principles of Chevrolet, and bringing the Corvette Daytona Prototype to Grand Am is a tremendous opportunity,” said Jim Campbell, Chevrolet Vice President, Performance Vehicles and Motorsports in a company press release. “Sports car and endurance racing is an outstanding platform for manufacturers like us to test and learn.
“The design of this race car incorporates iconic Corvette styling cues and will be immediately recognized by sports car enthusiasts and fans of Grand Am road racing.
Corvette has traditionally competed against both U.S. challengers and fabled foreign factories like Ferrari, Aston Martin, BMW and Porsche in GT-class racing, using modified road cars. The New Corvette DP is a purpose-built race car, with a carbon-fiber and fiberglass body and steel tube frame, with the bespoke 5-liter V8 engine behind the driver for better balance.
This is not the first mid-engined racing Corvette. Chevrolet supported a Corvette Prototype in the IMSA GTP series from 1984–1989. As with that car, the Corvette DP was designed and built mostly by a racing factory for Chevrolet, and like that car, the new Corvette DP shares very little but shape with the street version.
