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Corvette DNA: Sports Cars You Never Knew Were Based On The Vette

Vukasin Herbez July 11, 2023

The iconic Chevrolet Corvette turns 70 this year. Over the years, Chevrolet produced eight distinct generations of the Vette, and all eight left big marks on the auto industry. Also, since the Corvette featured engines and components from Chevrolet’s general lineup, it was also often used as the basis for numerous conversions and aftermarket versions. The list of companies that produced special body parts for Corvette is endless. Yet in some cases, those companies went a step further and produced their own creations based on the Corvette platform.

From the early 1960s until today, the Corvette was used as a platform for creations that went beyond only cosmetic change. Innovative car builders made the Corvette faster, cooler, more interesting, or just different, and today, we pay our respects to those industry mavericks. We found the most prominent sports cars that used the Corvette chassis and engines as a basis, so check out these cars right here.

Italdesign Moray

In the early 2000s, the famous Italian design house Italdesign presented the Moray. It was a fully-functional Corvette with a unique design and a strange canopy-style opening roof. Inspired by the Mako Shark concepts of the ’60s, Italian designers wanted to make a new Corvette resembling a sea predator (via Italdesign).

Even though there were rumors of the limited production run, only two cars left the factory. The Moray was the C5 model with a 400 hp V8 engine and automatic transmission. Some say that Chevrolet stopped the development of the Moray not to interfere with the presentation of the all-new C6 Corvette a year later.

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Cadillac XLR

In the early 2000s, Cadillac needed a new model to break its image of being senior citizens’ favorite mode of transport. What could be better than a new and exciting sports car? The problem was the fact that Cadillac needed the platform for such a model. Chevrolet provided that in the form of a brand-new Corvette C6. So, in 2004, Cadillac borrowed the C6 platform and introduced the XLR (via Car and Driver).

The XLR was a top-of-the-line sports two-seater with a folding hard-top and sharp, angular design, similar to the other models in the Cadillac range. It aimed at Mercedes SL and other prestigious European convertibles. However, the Cadillac engineers made a big mistake. They utilized the C6 chassis, which was a great one. Then, instead of using LS V8 engines, they installed the Northstar V8, which was supposedly more suitable for sedans. The problem was addressed with the introduction of a 4.4-liter Northstar supercharged V8 in the XLR-V model, but it was too late. The XLR died in 2009, and the high prices and its lack of sports feel killed this model.

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Chevrolet Corvette Rondine

Back in 1963, the Corvette Stingray stunned the global automotive audience with its fantastic design, sharp edges, split windows, and brutal performance. It was the epitome of an American sports car at its finest. However, in Turin, Italy, the talented designers at Pininfarina thought that they could do it better. And in cooperation with Chevrolet, they got the chance to prove themselves (via Autoweek).

The result was the Corvette Rondine, a fully usable concept car from 1963 that debuted at the Paris Motor Show. Since Chevrolet commissioned the car, it graced General Motors’ stand. It had a 327/360 V8 engine, four-speed manual transmission, and disc brakes. Despite the pleas for production, this gorgeous car remained a unique example of one of the most beautiful American cars with Italian design.

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Callaway Sledgehammer

Rives Callaway established Callaway Cars in 1977, long after the muscle car craze wound down. At that time, high-horsepower performance machines were a thing of the past. He specialized in producing turbocharger kits to be installed chiefly on European cars. His knowledge and the start of the turbo era perfectly lined up, making the company take off (via IMSA).

To show the real potential of the twin-turbo C4, Callaway produced the legendary Sledgehammer Corvette. A highly modified and heavily turbocharged 1988 Corvette that had 898 hp and could go over 250 mph. Only two cars were built and tested. Even though it was a road-legal vehicle, it was essentially a prototype.

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Kellison J6

In the late ’50s and early ’60s, fiberglass body construction stopped being high-tech processes exclusive to established manufacturers and became something drivers could complete in their garages. This influenced numerous small companies to start offering their plastic bodies to be mounted on a regular car chassis, creating a unique and interesting design. Most of those companies produced only the body, often with crude designs and poor fit and finish, but not Kellison (via Top Speed).

Established in the early ’50s, Kellison produced several successful kits for installation on popular models. But in the early ’60s, the company introduced the J6. The J6 could be bought as a kit or a fully built car, making Kellison a boutique manufacturer. The J6 used the Corvette frame, but Kellison didn’t just re-body the Vette. They moved the engine further back in the chassis, changed the suspension, and installed larger brakes and different interiors. That made the J6 handle better since the J6’s body was somewhat lighter than the stock Corvette. This conversion was popular and over 500 bodies or cars were built. The J6 was also successful in the hands of private racing teams since it offered Corvette power in a better handling package.

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Cheetah

The global success of the Shelby Cobra inspired many American race car builders to build a similar car that could compete on an international level. From this perspective, nobody came close to beating the Cobra. But Bill Thomas, a famous Chevrolet tuner and race car builder, was a serious candidate. Unfortunately, the Cheetah was never given a proper chance due to several circumstances (via Car and Driver).

As you know, Chevrolet and GM pulled out of racing in 1963, but several independent race shops worked for GM’s backdoor programs where the company supported private racing teams with racing know-how and/or special racing parts. Bill Thomas’ shop was one of those outfits and he decided to build a Cobra competitor with Corvette power. That’s how the Cheetah was born. Built on a unique lightweight chassis with a small-block V8 moved as far back as possible, the Cheetah looked and performed like a race car. It had Corvette suspension and components and about 20 left the factory before fire ravaged Bill Thomas’ shop.

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Iso Grifo 90

The legendary Iso Grifo from the ’60s and early ’70s left an everlasting mark on the industry. So in 1990, Pietro Rivolta, son of the founder, presented the Grifo 90 concept. It used a Corvette C4 chassis with a special new body designed by renowned stylist Marcello Gandini. Unfortunately, financial problems forced the cancelation of the project and the Grifo 90 was forgotten (via Supercar Nostalgia).

Fast-forward two decades and a group of young Italian engineers decided to revive the project, but this time using Corvette C5 as a basis and dressing it up in a gorgeous yellow Grifo 90 body style. You can spec your Grifo 90 with a 490 hp engine and a Corvette Z06 chassis, which makes it an extremely quick and capable sports car.

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Bertone Mantide

Italians love the Corvette, and over the years, various Italian design houses produced numerous versions of America’s favorite sports car. One of the latest is the strange but very fast Bertone Mantide (via Petrolicious).

Introduced in 2009, Mantide is a total redesign of the Corvette ZR1, which retains all the mechanics, drivetrain, and engine but puts on a new, lighter, and more aerodynamically efficient body. This means the Mantide has a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 with 647 hp and slightly better performance. Its planned production was 10 examples, but there is no official clarification on exactly how many exist.

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Scaglietti Corvette

Only a few people know that Scaglietti, a famous design house that worked with Ferrari, built Corvettes. Indeed, Scaglietti produced three Corvettes in 1959 for Texas millionaire and car enthusiast Gary Laughlin. Jim Hall and Carroll Shelby, both notable racing drivers and constructors from Texas, saw the potential in the 1959 Corvette’s engine and power. Although the Corvette had a light fiberglass body. Two of the constructors wanted better aerodynamics, a longer nose, and more luxurious appointments (via Supercars).

So they contacted Scaglietti to design and produce a bespoke body on the 1959 Vette chassis. Scaglietti delivered three cars in different colors with exquisite designs. They looked more like a Ferrari than a Corvette. There were plans to start regular production. But after careful consideration and cost projection, they abandoned their plans and the cars remained prototypes.

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Equus Throwback

A brand-new and very sophisticated Equus Throwback is one of the newest and most exclusive sports cars based on the Corvette. You might remember the story about the Equus brand. Which concentrates on producing restomoded muscle cars with unbelievable power and performance. Now, the company decided to go a step further into the sports car market with the Throwback (via Equus Automotive).

Under the highly stylized body lies the Corvette C7 chassis and components. But Equus decided to improve every aspect of the car, from suspension to brakes, engine, and gearbox. According to the press release, the Throwback is available with an optional 1000 hp engine. That gives the car a 0 to 60 mph time of just 2.5 seconds and a top speed of over 220 mph.

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Guldstrand GS90

Dick Guldstrand was a household name to all Corvette fans as one of the best-known Corvette racers and tuners. In the early ’90s, Chevrolet introduced the mighty ZR1 Vette, but Guldstrand felt more was needed. So his shop presented the Guldstrand GS 90 with 475 hp and a host of other upgrades. The GS 90’s production was very limited, with some sources stating that only around 25 cars left the shop. However, they are easily recognizable due to custom bodywork and paint job (via Motor Trend).

This Corvette and its insane power well over that of the stock ZR1, showed how good the Corvette C4 chassis is. The engineers who made it engineered it to withstand much more power than in-stock models.

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Baldwin-Motion Corvette

If you were on East Coast in the early ’60s and needed the ultimate Chevrolet Camaro, Chevelle, Nova, Impala, or Corvette, there was only one place to go – the Baldwin Motion dealership in Long Island, New York. It was established in 1967 when Baldwin Chevrolet dealership teamed up with Joel Rosen’s Motion Performance. The dealership soon turned into the go-to place for all your performance needs (via Motor Trend).

In contrast to other performance dealerships and tuning houses, Baldwin-Motion did very precise tuning of their cars. They put out written guarantees that the car would perform in a certain way. Baldwin-Motion also produced bodywork kits, performance parts that were so sought after that they were exported to Europe and the Middle East. The best period for this performance outfit was in the early ’70s when Baldwin Motion produced limited numbers of highly customized big-block Corvettes, which were brutally fast and powerful.

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Callaway Aerowagen

As previously mentioned, Rives Callaway established Callaway Cars in 1977 and specialized in producing turbocharger kits for installation in European cars. Callaway’s knowledge and expertise at the start of the turbo era perfectly lined up, so the company took off (via Callaway Cars).

Based on the new C7 Corvette and available on all trim levels including the Grand Sport and Z06, the Aerowagon is a conversion kit you can get directly from Callaway or an authorized dealer. The kit includes a special rear hatch assembly that transforms the C7 Corvette into a fully functional shooting brake without affecting its design or aerodynamics. There were several other shooting brake/wagon conversions based on the Corvette before. However, the Callaway is the most advanced with the best design and testing, making it more practical and cooler.

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Bertone Ramarro

Italian design house Berton was in full swing in the early ’80s. Since the name was so popular in America, Bertone wanted to present something that was based on a famous US model, and what better than the Corvette? The Corvette C4 was all-new for 1984 and Bertone used the opportunity to show its version (via Motor1).

Called the Bertone Ramarro, it was an angular and strange-looking sports car with several unique features. It was a standard C4 with the same 5.7-liter TPI V8 engine but with a completely new exterior, interior, and unique wheels. The best design feature was the special sliding doors which proved practical but complicated to put in serial production.

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RJD Tempest

Even though the RJD Tempest looks like a classic tuner job C4, the engineering and amazing power levels make it a cherished part of Corvette history. Built in the UK, the Tempest was a supremely re-engineered car with supercharged or turbocharged engines, a special drivetrain, and amazing performance. The RJD Tempest was considerably faster than anything Chevrolet made in that day (via Classic and Sports Car).

It had a different front and rear end, but the most significant difference was under the hood as it could be had with a 6.3-liter V8 and up to 538 hp! The 0 to 60 mph time was under four seconds, making the Tempest a proper supercar in the late ’80s and early ’90. Unfortunately, with such performance came an outlandish price and only 35 cars left the factory.

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Iso Rivolta GTZ

The Italians and the Corvette have a long and beautiful history. And the latest in the long lineup of cars is the gorgeous Iso Rivolta GTZ. Using the C7 Z06 platform and its 6.2-liter supercharged V8 with 650 hp, the Zagato design house completely modified the body and created one of the best-looking restomods of all time (via Iso Rivolta Offical).

This car is an homage to Isos and Bizzarinnis of the ’60s, which used Corvette engines to fight Ferraris and Lamborghinis. Fast forward several decades, and we now have its modern interpretation. Only 19 cars will see the light of the day.

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Anteros XTM

The Anteros XTM, unfortunately, never fulfilled its potential. But it will be remembered as one of the coolest attempts at building a limited-run Corvette-based sports car. Underneath the retro-futuristic body lies a C6 Corvette with several performance upgrades, components, and a 550 hp V8 engine (via Ultimatecar).

On top of the standard chassis is a cool-looking roadster body with cues from classic Ferrari and other legendary convertibles. The body was computer-designed and made out of composite materials superb to standard Corvette body. However, the recession stopped the Anteros’s ambitions.

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Callaway Super Speedster LM

The Callaway Company had much success in the ’80s with its versions of the Corvette C4 with heavily turbocharged engines and ridiculous performance. However, Reeves Callaway wanted to go racing and, in the early ’90s, introduced Super Speedster LM. This was the ultimate version of the race-prepared Corvette C4 with a turbocharged LT5 V8 engine and 766 hp on tap (via Supercars).

However, this was much more than just a tuned Corvette since the Super Speedster LM had numerous body modifications, totally revised suspension, race brakes, and much more. The Super Speedster showed just how powerful a new model with the Corvette as its base could be.

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Corvette DNA: Sports Cars You Never Knew Were Based On The Vette

Italdesign Moray

Cadillac XLR

Chevrolet Corvette Rondine

Callaway Sledgehammer

Kellison J6

Cheetah

Iso Grifo 90

Bertone Mantide

Scaglietti Corvette

Equus Throwback

Guldstrand GS90

Baldwin-Motion Corvette

Callaway Aerowagen

Bertone Ramarro

RJD Tempest

Iso Rivolta GTZ

Anteros XTM

Callaway Super Speedster LM

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