Slideshow: Very Unofficial Mid-Engine Corvette Twin-Turbo

Idle Hands

Let's say you own the Mona Lisa, and maybe it's not in perfect shape, maybe it could use a restoration. So you're looking at it and wondering how it would look if her nose was on upside down. First of all, put down the pipe. Okay, so let's say you go ahead and alter the painting. Does that make it a Picasso? Or is it just a messed up Mona Lisa?

These questions came to mind when we came across the story of architectural and automotive designer Mark Harlan's one-of-a-kind mid-engine '63 split window coupe thought experiment. His thought process started when he saw (and bought) the re-boot of Ford's storied GT40 as the Ford GT in the early-to-mid 2000's. Of course both the original and the later version of that car were designed with an amidships engine from the get-go. Also around that time, there were the usual rumors of the next generation of Corvette (then the upcoming C7) going mid-engine as well. Well, Harlan put 2 and 3 together and that added up to 'what would the Corvette have looked like if GM built a mid-engined one to compete against the GT40 at Le Mans in the '60s?'  

Disclaimer

Harlan needs you to know he's a Corvette lover. He knows that, if there is a most-loved 'Vette it's the '63 split window, and as a designer, he knows it's up near the top of the most-admired automotive shapes of all time list. To salve the irritation possibly caused by rearranging such a sacred object, he volunteered that the Stingray was not numbers-matching, was found in a field in sunny Florida, and "had long since passed the point of practical restoration." 

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Great Minds

At the time Harlan was constructing his mid-engined '63, which he calls the V7, it was not likely he'd seen the recently-unearthed photos of GM's earlier (1959) attempt at a mid-engine, Stingray-style 'Vette. Though GM's version was a convertible, it's interesting to see the differences in the two designs, Harlan having decided to stay closer to a production design than did GM. 

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Moving Time

Harlan worked with Springhill, Florida's American Super Car Inc. to make his idea into driveable reality. ASC built an all-new square-tube frame for the project, along with a belly pan to smooth out under-car aero. Next up was split-window surgery. They relocated the Corvette's cab 24 inches further forward and widened the body by another 10. Other critical dimensions were altered a well, the wheelbase was stretched to 101.5 inches from the original 98 inches, and the 'Vette's length was actually shortened from 175.1 inches to 172 inches. The result looks a little like what Studebaker would have built if Studebaker had built a Corvette. 

>>Join the conversation about this Restomod Mid-engine C2 Corvette right here on LS1Tech.

LS Spec

Harlan departed a bit from his what-if-circa-'63 theme when it came time for engine selection. He went with a 395ci aluminum-block LS1 V8, and to make sure it wouldn't have any problems with pesky Ford GT's, fitted the V7 with twin Turbo Re-Source 77mm turbochargers. The LS also received upgraded internals, including a forged Lunati crankshaft, and puts out an impressive 1,070 horsepower and 915 lb-feet of torque on 18 pounds of boost.

>>Join the conversation about this Restomod Mid-engine C2 Corvette right here on LS1Tech.

Moving Out

The combination of the boosted LS and modern rubber purportedly propels the V7 to a 3-second-flat 0-60mph time—a time undoubtedly aided by the paddle-shifted sequential Mendeola transaxle. Gone is the original console, replaced with a custom unit that conceals a chassis-stiffening central fame section. The Stingray's classic twin-arch dash design was retained, though the original field-find gauges are gone, replaced by new units from Auto Meter. Opening the custom slide-to-enter doors allows one to slide into the supportive Cobra seats, which might make drivers accustomed to C2 Corvettes slightly claustrophobic since they sit so close the V7's rear bulkhead. 

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Perfect Timing

Since the 1963 running of Le Mans concluded about 40 years too early for the V7 to participate, and since, even with 1,000+ hp on tap, it would have a hard time lapping with GM's current endurance racing Corvettes, the V7 ended up where a lot of experiments end up—on the auction block. Harlan's first attempt at a sale, at the Russo and Steele Monterey 2009 auction, failed when the V7 didn't meet its reserve. The second time was a charm and he and the Corvette parted ways at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2011 when the gavel dropped at $170,500, though Harlan reportedly didn't recoup his investment. The V7 sold again, at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach 2012, for $94,600, and subsequently was offered for sale at Auctions America in 2015—failing to meet its reserve and recording a top bid of $70,000. Timing is everything. If Harlan had hit upon the idea for his mid-engined Corvette in 1963, built it, and raced it, the V7 would be a hailed as a part of Corvette, if not automotive, history. As it sits it's a Mona Lisa with plastic surgery. 

>>Join the conversation about this Restomod Mid-engine C2 Corvette right here on LS1Tech.

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