MYSTERY: The 1975 Turbovette Pace Car?!?
MYSTERY: The 1975 Turbovette Pace Car?!?
BACKGROUND:DISCOVERY: Recently, I was searching the new home of the Revs Digital Library and came across these six Corvette images from the Karl Ludvigsen Photograph Collection1978 Pace Car colors on a 1975 Corvette! How can that be? At first, I brushed this off as a clone... perhaps a typical 70's custom car. The more I researched this and studied the images, the more I thought this could be REAL.Putting aside the supposed dates of the photographs, this Corvette seemed to possess many characteristics of a true 1975 Vette. So, you may ask, what makes me think the images were taken in 1975, but not 1978, 1979, or later... where is the proof? I began by contemplating the following:
1) If the single focus was about the development of a turbocharged engine, what reason would a 'tuner shop' have in painting a 3-5 year old car with the Pace Car colors?
2) If they truly wanted to mimic the '78 Pace Car, why didn't they bother to change the older style C3 interior seats, include the spoilers, or add the silver hood stripe?
3) If journalists were evaluating the driving dynamics in a test track/road session, why not use the newer Pace Car tires... after all, those were much wider and radial (compared to the bias ply Goodyear Polyglass)?
4) If this was some backyard tuning shop vehicle, what is the Vette doing at GM's Milford Proving Ground (more on this later)?
5) Was this a Michigan license plate only issued from 1973-75?
(see 'right angle' corner lines in this zoomed image)
RESEARCH: Web inquiries were dreadfully limited, somewhat conflicting, and ultimately inconclusive. However, they yielded a few surprising tidbits of information to feed on. One such statement claimed:
In addition, Gib Hufstader (GM Engineer and NCM Hall of Fame) is quoted in Vette magazine as explaining his first known turbo tests (circa 1976) resulted in a mass of melted fiberglass: (often reported as a '79, but notice the unique 25th Anniversary nose emblem)
Next, we had the 1979 Turbo Vette "Phase II"... now sporting wilder paint & interior, turbine wheels, and two hood vents.
(currently owned by Darrel Springer)
Chevrolet also showcased the 1981 Turbo Vette 3 (Phase III) to the public.
Returning to the 1975 images, Karl Ludvigsen is a well known photo journalist from Michigan. Looking at hundreds of his other Corvette images at the Revs Digital LibraryeGarage (NCRS event at the 'Black Lake'), and a satellite image, I was reasonably certain the '75 Turbovette images were also taken here, at the Proving Ground. Though time has changed some aspects, my guesstimate was based on reviewing several elements in common:
a) The darker color of the long/straight strip of asphalt used for skid/traction testing is similar in both images.
b) The tree line (with the dips and 'opening') seemed to be in common.
c) Both photos show a grassy area in front of the skid/traction strip.
d) Moving to the satellite image, if the Turbovette was parked near the X-marked location, once again, you have the grassy area near the skid/traction strip.
e) The satellite image also showed the 'gaps' in the wooded area... consistent with the tree line in the 1975 photo.
As for the '78 Pace Car, historical observations remind us that this vehicle was not even mentioned in the July 1977 printing of the 1978 Corvette showroom brochureVette VuesTHEORY: Since the first turbo Corvette was not shown to the public and eventually burnt to a crisp, perhaps people outside of GM would be totally unfamiliar with this vehicle. Although much is supposition, I believed this 1975 TurbovetteRESOLVED: Inquiries to many NCRS members (some with encyclopedic C3 knowledge) yielded high skepticism, and absolutely no one had ever seen or heard of the 1975 Turbovette before. Throwing caution to the wind, I was fortunate to touch base with retired Corvette Chief Engineer and NCM Hall of Fame inductee, Dave McLellan. Subsequently, he was kind enough to put me in contact with Test Engineer and fellow NCM Hall of Fame recipient, Jim Ingle.
Via email, Jim verified that this was indeed the missing link Turbovette he once tested. In part, he wrote:
Probing whether the source of the fire may have been related to a carb leak, Jim responded with more clarification:
SUMMARY:Turbovette(NOTE: Turbovette images with Revs logo were posted with written permission for forum research.)
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