By 1962, when this car emerged, Chevrolet had another problem. It was selling too many cars. Bizarre though that might seem, a combination of competitive pricing, a huge array of brands under its wing and a lack of credible import sedans capable of cruising American highways meant that Chevrolet parent company General Motors supplied a whopping 53 percent of cars sold in the US in 1961.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n GM came under intense scrutiny from Washington. If its sales took 60 per cent of the market \u2013 and they were headed in that direction \u2013 US government anti-monopoly legislation would apply and GM would be forcibly broken up, its brands sold off. Realising that paradoxically, drawing attention to racing successes might potentially bring customers flooding into GM dealerships and tip sales over that 60 per cent mark, consciously stepping back from motor sport to concentrate on developing ordinary sedans seemed logical. However, the loss-leading Corvette had always been a passion project, with one-off racing specials developed by creator Zora Arkos-Duntov regardless of GM corporate pressure. And GM\u2019s RPO (Regular Production Option) system gave Duntov a way to subvert the racing ban.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0161-scaled.jpg” alt=”Chevy Corvette race car on a race track” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_016%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n On the surface of it, this was merely Chevrolet\u2019s options list, with RPOs including automatic transmission and whitewall tyres. However, within this vast list were RPOs termed \u2018special equipment for sports car meets,\u2019 which customers needed to \u2018demonstrate racing credentials\u2019 in order to buy.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n George Robertson\u2019s order for this 1962 Corvette included RPO-582 for a 360bhp fuel-injected V8, RPO-488 for a large capacity 24-gallon fuel tank complete with a protruding racing filler cap, installed behind the seats where most Corvettes stashed their canvas tops. It necessitated a special hardtop with a remodelled rear windscreen to clear it; and most notably, RPO-687. Officially noted in the catalogue as \u2018Heavy Duty Brakes and Special Steering\u2019. These brakes, developed by John Fitch, featured aircraft-derived sintered and riveted metallic liners and 24-blade centrifugal cooling fans. The official title of the package disguised the fact that it also came with heavy-duty dampers, a Positraction rear axle, and a quick box reducing steering speed to three turns lock-to-lock. RPO-687 could only be ordered in combination with RPO-582, so \u2018RPO-687\u2019 has since become shorthand for the car\u2019s entire specification in Corvette circles. As a result it\u2019s looked upon as a predecessor to the better-known Sixties Grand Sport and Eighties ZR-1. Only 246 were made.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0041.jpg” alt=”Wheel of the Chevy Corvette race car with tyres taken off” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_004%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n They may boast aircraft tech, but drums are RPO-687\u2019s weakness<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Knowledge of these racing modifications is reassuring me. It\u2019s hot in here, thanks to a combination of Spring sunshine and the V8 soaking heat through the thin glassfibre floors. That fuel-injected V8 can be temperamental, requiring regular throttle blips when stationary to keep it idling. Shifting through the gears on the four-speed \u2019box requires practice and patience \u2013 they\u2019re very closely-spaced in the gate.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Soaring into Madgwick is surprisingly easy. There\u2019s so much torque from the rumbling 5358cc V8, not much gear-shifting is needed, so it\u2019s easy to concentrate on throttle modulation. Low-down thump is such that, once up into fourth for Fordwater\u2019s long, fast, sweeping right-hander on the out-lap, it\u2019s possible to complete the rest of Goodwood using only the top two ratios.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0101-scaled.jpg” alt=”Chevy Corvette race car engine” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_010%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine bay dominated by RPO-582 Rochester fuel injection system<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The Corvette\u2019s feeling friendly now. The three-four gearshift pattern is easy and linear. Steering is heavy but tactile. Crucially though, the drum brakes I initially had misgivings about are turning out to be a great ally. I can lean on them hard without worrying about them locking. Handy \u2013 St Mary\u2019s looms larger within the glinting windscreen frame.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n So if the thoroughbred RPO-687 was only available to the likes of Briggs Cunningham \u2013 who campaigned them at Le Mans \u2013 who was George Robertson, this owner with sufficient stature to field a Corvette at Daytona and Sebring? A Georgia businessman with a passion for motor sport, Robertson competed in SCCA sprint events in Corvettes, having started out in a Lotus Elite in 1961 aged 45. He also owned a NASCAR Pontiac. And it\u2019s this NASCAR connection that brought this Corvette into contention.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0401.jpg” alt=”Chevy Corvette race car” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_040%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Cockpit is spacious but quickly bakes in the V8\u2019s heat-soak <\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Robertson\u2019s money largely provided a platform for Louis Jerome \u2018Red\u2019 Vogt to work mechanical magic. Former Miller Indianapolis engine designer Vogt organised a stock car race series in 1929, the National Stock Car Racing Association, later absorbed into the new National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing for 1948, effectively making Vogt NASCAR\u2019s co-founder. His partnership with driver Robert Nold Byron secured the first two NASCAR titles, 1948 and 1949. Smokey Yunick always cited \u2018Red\u2019 as an inspiration, a man who would successfully modify engine internals with hand tools using his fingers for measurement to check clearances and alter the sizes of elements like oil channels and water jackets.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-quote-bold” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”center” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018Vogt prepared this to take on the might of Ferrari and Jaguar\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n As well as running Robertson\u2019s NASCAR Pontiac, Vogt prepared this Corvette to take on the might of Ferrari and Jaguar. What he did precisely to this RPO-687 is lost to time \u2013 Vogt didn\u2019t keep notes and it\u2019s been rebuilt and restored several times since. But for the inaugural three-hour Daytona Continental Race in 1962, with Vogt on the pit wall, the car was driven by Robertson and former NASCAR star Marvin Panch, fresh from his victory in the 1961 Daytona 500. Vogt, Panch and Robertson made for a NASCAR-flavoured, Daytona-specialist dream-team, embodied further by their all-American sports car. And they were about to take on the very first international endurance race to be held at Daytona, the then three-year-old crucible of NASCAR.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_048_preview.jpg” alt=”Chevy Corvette race car” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_048_preview” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Hurst shifter is tough and precise but easily mis-slotted if rushed<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Daytona\u2019s 1962-configuration tri-oval is rapid and sweeping, but it doesn\u2019t have a complex of corners quite like St Mary\u2019s followed by Lavant. From a spectator\u2019s perspective Goodwood looks fairly simple, flat and fast. But the track dips down coming out of Fordwater, disguising the abrupt sharpness of the St. Mary\u2019s right-hander until it\u2019s nearly too late. I stab the brakes with my right toe and double-declutch down into third, hugging the inside line and aiming for the apex of the left-bending exit. The track rises suddenly at this point, the Corvette bouncing upwards in response, but the dampers\u2019 stiction limits excessive rebound. It\u2019s only at this point that I get my first proper at-speed glance at Lavant. It\u2019s a square right-hander that looks more hairpin-like the faster you approach it.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Still in third gear, I lift off the throttle while still going straight, and pitch the Corvette into Lavant. The suspension itself is very stiff, the car\u2019s slight roll angles largely because of the tyres\u2019 sidewall compression, and the steering feels impressively neutral mid-corner. It\u2019s a relatively heavy car, but that weight is well-contained even with cornering forces slinging it sideways.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0471.jpg” alt=”Chevy Corvette race car” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_047%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Modern extinguishers \u2013 but Marvin Panch had no such luxury in 1962<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n But the angle Lavant demands is such that most cars will slide unless they potter round it at parking speeds. Although the communicative steering does point the Corvette\u2019s nose precisely through the apex, the live-axled rear squeals away towards the scenery. The quick steering helps me balance the oversteer as I feed the power back smoothly onto Lavant Straight. Again, it\u2019s progressive in its application. There\u2019s no sudden jolt or awkward clutch bite as I change into fourth, just a mighty surge of torque, an angry roar, and a tacho needle flicking past 5000rpm.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Fear of disaster overcome, both Corvette and Goodwood get more familiar with each ensuing lap. I soon learn that there\u2019s simply no route through Lavant that doesn\u2019t make the tyres scream, and that if anything the prospect of slamming into the looming Super Shell barriers at Woodcote seem more likely given the speed the Corvette can get up to down the Lavant Straight. Not least because braking for this soon takes its toll on the drums and, aircraft technology or not, they start to judder and fade. I find myself braking softer and earlier in order to negotiate the tighter corners, a way to drive around the car\u2019s weaknesses but hopeless in a race situation.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0421-1.jpg” alt=”Chevy Corvette race car dash board” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_042%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Corvette\u2019s flamboyant jet-inspired dash still retained on the racer<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” custom_padding=”10px|||||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Fear of disaster overcome, both Corvette and Goodwood get more familiar with each ensuing lap. I soon learn that there\u2019s simply no route through Lavant that doesn\u2019t make the tyres scream, and that if anything the prospect of slamming into the looming Super Shell barriers at Woodcote seem more likely given the speed the Corvette can get up to down the Lavant Straight. Not least because braking for this soon takes its toll on the drums and, aircraft technology or not, they start to judder and fade. I find myself braking softer and earlier in order to negotiate the tighter corners, a way to drive around the car\u2019s weaknesses but hopeless in a race situation.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n But what of the race this car was built to take on, at Daytona, a circuit perhaps less demanding of the middle pedal? Early signs were ominous. Three of the four Nichells Engineering Pontiac Tempests were out of the race by the 14th lap with running gear issues, and by the 30th the engines of the works-backed Corvettes started to fail. Four dropped out in the space of just ten laps.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0281.jpg” alt=”Driver driving the Chevy Corvette race car” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_028%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n RPO-687 steering rack is fast and wieldy for European-style corners<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n This Corvette, however, was one of a trio that stayed in the game. Eventually crossing the line 20th overall and third in the GT over-5.0-litre class, it beat the works Lotus Elites and Alfa Romeo Giulietta SZs, and kept pace with the likes of Olivier Gendebien in his Ferrari 250GT SWB, Briggs Cunningham\u2019s Jaguar E-type and Doug Thiem\u2019s NART 250GT. The podium was a Lotus-Ferrari-Chaparral sports-prototype lockout. Dan Gurney\u2019s Lotus 19B engine blew on the last lap, but his lead was such that he used the banked oval to allow gravity and the car\u2019s starter motor to carry him through half a lap and over the line to victory and thunderous applause. The sole GT in the top ten was Moss\u2019s 250GT SWB. The only GTs to beat the surviving Corvettes were Ferraris, and Cunningham\u2019s lone Jaguar \u2013 but only just.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The Corvette\u2019s performance at Daytona was sufficient to convince Robertson to enter something even more gruelling \u2013 the imminent Sebring 12 Hours. However, that fateful weekend in March 1962 was especially fraught for the Robertson team.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_015_preview-2-scaled.jpg” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_015_preview” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Built for Daytona and Sebring, but how does it fare at Goodwood?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Panch had since signed up to drive a works-backed Ford for Wood Brothers \u2013 the NASCAR team credited with inventing the high-speed pit stop \u2013 who later worked for Lotus at Indianapolis. His replacement in Robertson\u2019s new-for-\u201962 NASCAR Pontiac, promising youngster Johnny Allen, agreed to drive the Corvette at Sebring, but the race clashed with the Atlanta 500. No matter, said Allen \u2013 he\u2019d contest both, flying 1800 miles back-and-forth between the two venues to complete practice, qualifying and driving stints over 900 track miles. The lure of Atlanta\u2019s $16,000 prize money was too great to resist.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The exhausted Allen\u2019s feat was luckless. Vogt\u2019s untested Pontiac qualified 17th and succumbed to transmission failure on the 130th lap in the driving Atlanta rain. Jetting down to Florida with the bad weather following him, he took over from Robertson, who had driven the first hour carefully to conserve the car. With its grid position negligible but with 11 hours to make it up, Allen worked the Corvette hard, soon matching the pace of Don Yenko\u2019s RPO-687, but a valve broke and ruined the engine on the 59th lap. Vogt had been thinly-stretched that weekend, concentrating mainly on practice with Robertson\u2019s new Pontiac up in Atlanta. Had he been able to give the \u2019Vette one last check over, perhaps things might have been different. Gulf-sponsored Corvettes came home 18th and 19th, winning the over-4.0-litre GT class, but Robertson was unable to share that triumph.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0341-scaled.jpg” alt=”Back of Chevy Corvette race car” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_034%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-caption” _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”12px” custom_margin=”-15px||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Tail-happy in tight corners, but easily brought under contro<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n The RPO-687s had made their mark though, losing out to the Italian and German exotica but certainly outlasting and outsprinting the British garagistes. No-one could accuse the Americans of being unable to build credible sports cars. The following year, the Ford-backed Shelby Cobra went head-to-head with Duntov\u2019s new independent-rear-suspension-equipped Corvette Sting Ray. The post-1955 gentlemen\u2019s agreement remained but was no longer worth any paper it may have been written on. The muscle car era had begun; GM couldn\u2019t help but compete.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n As for the monopoly legislation, it soon found itself selling more than 60 percent of America\u2019s cars and ended up in court in 1967. But against ballooning inflation and the cost of the Vietnam War, merely reminding Washington that it was America\u2019s biggest taxpayer saved GM, and with it the Corvette, from oblivion.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/flatplan-plus-content.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/11\/2025\/12\/Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_0651.jpg” alt=”Peter James ” title_text=”Corvette_Goodwood_1950s_Jonathan_Fleetwood_2021_com_jpg_065%911%93″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Bestselling author Peter James \u2013 known for his Roy Grace series of Brighton-set detective novels \u2013 owns and races this Corvette. \u2018I\u2019d been involved in historic racing for a while, mainly with touring cars \u2013 a BMW 2000TI\/SA and an Austin A35 \u2013 but I always wanted to get involved in GT racing and I love American muscle cars,\u2019 he says.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Things like 250-series Ferraris are ludicrously expensive, and E-types are relatively common, complicating matters if you want to get invited to events like the Goodwood Revival, and not cheap if you want to be competitive. And then this came up for sale \u2013 perfect for racing, unusual in Europe, and with a great history, sold new as a racer and prepared by Red Vogt. The Goodwood office said they\u2019d consider it for the Revival so long as it was returned to its original livery \u2013 it had been resprayed in maroon. This current one is a wrap, but it\u2019ll be properly resprayed in due course.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n \u2018Its drum brakes hold it back, but so long as the class structure is favourable it\u2019s competitive \u2013 it won its class at the Brands Hatch Grand Prix circuit in May 2021.\u2019<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text module_class=”fp-h4″ _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” header_4_font=”Poppins|700|||||||” header_4_font_size=”16px” custom_margin=”||0px||false|false” custom_padding=”||||false|false” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.20.4″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Engine<\/strong> 5358cc V8, ohv, Rochester mechanical fuel injection [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" GOOD OL’ BOYSThis racing Corvette RPO-687 saw NASCAR royalty take on European sports-car sophistication. Did it triumph? We find out, on track at GoodwoodWords SAM DAWSON Photography JONATHAN FLEETWOODIs it the car that\u2019s intimidating me here, or the circumstances? This 1962 Chevrolet Corvette I\u2019m driving today is heavy for a GT racer of the early […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":959,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-939","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"acf":[],"modified_by":"kschwarz","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=939"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1050,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/939\/revisions\/1050"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/959"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flatplanplus.io\/classic-cars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}OWNING A CORVETTE RPO-687<\/h4>\n
1962 Chevrolet Corvette RPO-687<\/h4>\n
Power and torque<\/strong> 360bhp @ 6000rpm; 352lb ft @ 4000rpm
Transmission<\/strong> Four-speed manual, rear-wheel drive
Steering<\/strong> Recirculating ball
Suspension<\/strong> Front: independent, unequal-length double wishbones, coil springs, telescopic dampers, anti-roll bar. Rear: live axle, leaf springs, telescopic dampers
Brakes<\/strong> Drums front and rear
Weight<\/strong> 1318kg Performance 0-60mph: 5.9sec. Top speed: 132mph
Cost new<\/strong> $4371 (\u00a31375)
Value now<\/strong> \u00a3250,000 approx.<\/p>\n