The National Corvette Museum Announces 2022 Corvette Hall of Fame Members Elect
BOWLING GREEN, KY, April 29, 2022 – At a ceremony hosted last Friday, the National Corvette Museum announced its 2022 Corvette Hall of Fame Members-Elect.
The Corvette Hall of Fame was established by the National Corvette Museum in 1998 to recognize and commemorate influential members of the Corvette community. The intent of the inductions is to confer official recognition upon the most influential individuals in one of three categories related to the Corvette: GM-Chevrolet, Racing, and Enthusiast.
Nominees for the Corvette Hall of Fame are selected by an anonymous panel of Corvette experts. The candidates are then presented to a second group of 100 anonymous Corvette experts, where the final inductees are selected. Since its inception in 1998, the NCM has only inducted 75 people into its Hall of Fame.
The 2022 Hall of Fame Inductees are:
GM-Chevrolet – Ed Welburn, Retired VP, GM Global Design
Mr. Welburn joined General Motors in 1972 as an associate designer and worked thru the ranks to become GM’s first-ever Global VP of Design. In that role, he managed a team of 2,500 people in design studios around the world. To help foster a sense of teamwork and cooperation between studios, Ed invited all design staff members around the globe to submit their own designs for the seventh-generation Corvette. He set a high bar, encouraging his team to design a Corvette that could wear the “Stingray” moniker once again.
Racing – Gary Pratt & Jim Miller, Founders of Pratt & Miller Engineering
In 1989, race car builder Gary Pratt joined forces with successful businessman Jim Miller to form the company “Pratt & Miller Engineering.” Bearing witness to the company’s incredible successes from its inception, Chevrolet approached the duo about building/campaigning a factory-backed race program beginning with the fifth-generation Corvette.
Since its debut in 1999, the Corvette Racing program has had eight wins at Le Mans and secured 15 championships. Moreover, the Pratt & Miller race program has worked closely with Chevrolet to advance the technologies incorporated in the production-model Corvette. The result of their efforts has led to the creation of some truly remarkable Corvettes – including the 2023 Z06 due out later this year. They’ve also established a global fanbase thru their successes on-and-off the racetrack.
Enthusiast – Elfi Arkus-Duntov, The First Lady of Corvette
Celebrated the world over as the “First Lady of Corvette,” Elfriede “Elfi” Wolff was Zora Arkus-Duntov’s wife and an incredible part of the Corvette’s rich history. Elfi married Zora in February 1939, just months before the start of World War II. After narrowly escaping Europe at the height of the NAZI occupation in Europe, the couple fled to the United States. Years later, as Corvette’s Chief Engineer, Elfi traveled the world with Zora, helping him advance the reputation of America’s Sportscar on and off the racetrack.
In addition to being Zora’s constant companion, Elfi was also a major advocate of the Corvette in her own right. She shared her husband’s passion for the Corvette and proved to be incredibly knowledgable about the car. Her grace, enthusiasm, and passion for both the Corvette and her husband’s work made her an inseparable part of Zora’s legacy.
After Zora’s retirement from General Motors in 1975, he and Elfi would travel the country, attending many Corvette shows together, often sitting for hours to sign autographs and take pictures with fans. After Zora passed in 1996, Elfi became the principal source of information on her husband’s life, allowing for the creation of his definitive biography.
Each Corvette Hall of Fame inductee has distinguished himself/herself through their contributions to the Corvette in the category they represent, as well as modeling a consistently high standard of integrity and character that reflects and enhances the reputation of the Corvette and the National Corvette Museum.
“This year’s inductees are simply remarkable,” said Sharon Brawner, President, and CEO of the National Corvette Museum. “The Corvette has long engendered a very passionate following, and we are thrilled that these deserving individuals have been recognized for their own extraordinary Corvette stories.”
For anyone interested in attending this year’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony can purchase tickets in June when registration opens for the Museum’s anniversary event. Nominations for 2023 Corvette Hall of Fame Inductees will be open from May 2nd-August 5th, 2022. Learn more at corvettehalloffame.org.
