How a Top Secret Corvette Took on the Shelby Cobra

The early 1960s was a time of innovation for the American automotive scene. The fierce competition between automakers in Detroit to see who could push the limits of performance further led to many breakthroughs on and off the track. It was a high-stakes game of cat and mouse between two automotive titans: Ford and General Motors. And when Carroll Shelby introduced a Ford-powered sports car dubbed Cobra, it was a game changer. 

The Shelby Cobra, equipped with a 260-cubic-inch V8, weighed 1,000 pounds less than the upcoming C2 Sting Ray. However, General Motors was secretly developing a Corvette to compete in FIA endurance races, such as the renowned 24 Hours of Le Mans. They recognized that the 3,150-pound Corvette couldn’t take on Ford’s shiny new sports car. So the Corvette Grand Sport was born.