1969 Corvette

The 1969 Corvette was inspired by a Mako shark that was netted by Bill Mitchell, the GM designer and stylist during the Golden era of the Corvettes. Originally, 1968 was to see the unveiling of the C3 series. This was delayed due to some production snags. It is not surprising then that in 1969, Corvette enthusiasts were really expecting something "big". The Stingrays were all much loved and well received. But, considering the beating that the Stingrays were customarily taking at the hand of the dreaded Cobras, people expected a mid-engine monster that would simply annihilate the Cobra. But this was not to be.

GM tried very hard to keep the 1969 Corvette a big surprise till its first day in the sun. But Mattel's famous Hot-Wheels line of die cast toy cars came out just weeks before Corvette's unveiling. This gave the general public an inkling of the "Custom Corvette" that GM was trying to hide. Contrary to expectations, what was finally unveiled was a facelift on the existing hardware. A Chevrolet show car named Mako Shark II held in 1965 had showcased the new look that was seen in the 1969 Corvette. The exaggerated lines and cuts of the show car were tamed down in the C3 Corvettes, but the similarities were evident for all to see.

The all-new 1969 Corvette had a fair share of detractors. The design was criticized by many as being "psychedelic". The automotive press and dealers gave the model an ill concealed snort. "Unfit to road test", was what one magazine had to say about the new model. The late 1968 model showed poor quality control. None of the parts worked according to plan, beginning from the wind shield wipers to the new T-tops on the coupe.

A number of internal changes were made in 1969 to ward off all the criticism. A new 350-inch engine replaced the old 327 engine. The all-aluminum version of the car called ZL-1made the 1969 Corvette an even bigger monster. The racing tracks finally saw the dreaded Cobra being beaten by the L88, and sales were never better than in the closing years of the 1960s.

"Not for the faint of Heart" was a song created by Chevrolet in 1967 when its L88 came to the forefront. Though the L88 was given to the public, it was never intended to be driven by just anyone on the streets. These huge beasts had capabilities that could come alive only in expert hands. The 1969 L88s were never listed among available options.

And owning one of these beauties would take off an extra $1,000 from your pockets. The engine power was shown to be a modest 430 to discourage sales of this model. Even so, the publicity of the L88 could not be curbed, and in 1969 the L88 was a "must have". This turn of events much aggrieved Zora Arkus-Duntov, because most people who purchased the L88 were clueless about what these cars were capable of and of how to handle these huge beasts. 1969 was the final year of production of the L88 when the largest number of such models was made -116 in all. The people who could own an L88 at this time simply had to be very rich. But, if you were lucky enough to own one of these beauties, there was nothing to beat you on the streets.

The C3 models that were started off by the 1969 Corvettes finally saw a close in the 1980s. In 1969, the 350-inch engine replaced the small block engine, and this was further replaced by 427 and 454-inch engines. Subsequent models toned down the wildly powerful 1969 Corvette, and the close of the 1980s saw a much tamer version of the car.