![]() ![]() Inspiration: Heinricy wanted a project that could inspire and be a team-builder for his development engineers.Īs these programs had some common goals, it made sense to use a single car. Heinricy wanted to study a lighter ZR-1 in case Chevrolet needed to “skin that snake.”ģ. Viper response: Dodge’s reboot of the 1960s Cobra idea-light weight, brutal power and technological simplicity-was coming in about a year. The first project explored lightening the Vette to improve both its speed and efficiency.Ģ. Without weight reduction, the Corvette’s only way around the tax was reduced performance, and that wasn’t going to happen. At the time, GM policy was firm: no guzzlers. Light-weighting: In the mid-’90s, due to decreased fuel economy from weight added to meet new safety regulations, the gas-guzzler tax was a real threat. “Heinrocket,” as he’s known for his motorsports accomplishments, detailed three projects his engineers had going that might affect future Corvettes.ġ. ![]() In December 1990, I was at GM’s enormous Milford Proving Ground ( MPG), 35 miles northwest of Detroit, to interview then-Corvette Development Manager John Heinricy for Corvette Quarterly magazine.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |