Stinging Sensation

The Stingray was always the ultimate Corvette, right back to the original Corvette Stingray Racer, designed by Bill Mitchell, then GM vice-president of Styling, and Larry Shinoda. That car was based on the 1957 Corvette SS, an engineering test mule chassis intended as the basis of a Chevrolet endurance racing effort aimed at Le Mans.

Fast forward to the 2009 Dubai Motor Show, and we have the Corvette Stingray Concept 50th Anniversary, produced to celebrate that original 1959 Stingray race car. Designed under the guidance of current VP of GM Global Design Ed Welburn, the concept first saw light of day as Sideswipe in Transformers II. "Sideswipe represented an exercise in exploration for the Corvette," said Ed. "By giving my creative team the freedom to design no-holds-barred vision concepts, it helps them push boundaries and look at projects from totally different perspectives."

And this is the result, in the metal. It's an imposing car, deeply sculptural and fantastically futuristic, yet bristling with design cues from its forerunners. The designers' brief was to deliver a futuristic vision of technology and design, and the 50th Anniversary Corvette Stingray both celebrates the iconic legacy of the brand, and points to an exciting future for the Corvette. The Concept celebrates 50 years since the very first Stingray rolled off the production line.

The design is influenced by the original Stingray race car, introduced in 1959, but also draws on Corvette heritage cues from other generations — the boat tail and split rear window come straight from the 1963 Corvette Stingray coupé. It brings all these elements together in a futuristic shape that seems to be equal parts race car and spaceship.

It's all there — clamshell bonnet, powered scissor-style doors, carbon fibre racing seats, rear-view camera with night vision enhancement, and a high performance hybrid drive (though GM is being surprisingly coy about exactly what such a drive might comprise).

Interactive touch controls allow the driver to customise the power and efficiency of his or her ride and share it with friends via the in-car camera system and advanced telemetrics. You'll find lap timers, g-meters, sat-nav and more gizmos than in your average space shuttle, and it's all there for one reason. There's a big clue to their intent in the dashboard display — on the LCD display is a circuit map, of the Nürburgring no less, and in big, bold numbers, a lap time of 7.22.07. That's four seconds faster than the time set by the Corvette ZR1. A target? Go figure…

Although GM is adamant this is strictly a one-off concept, the buzz is the Stingray will in fact form the base of the next generation über-Corvette. This high-performance hybrid 'Vette will be built in limited numbers and slot above the current flagship ZR1. Another theory is that several of the design elements, except the strictly concept slim wing mirror and split rear-windscreen, will be incorporated in the 2012 C7. Whatever the case, the good news is the next Corvette will be faster and nimbler than the already bonkers ZR1.

Like many concepts (and GM keeps insisting this is only a concept, not destined for production) there's a lot of detail that simply won't make it into the real world. Which is a shame, because the Corvette Stingray Concept is one of those cars that absolutely, definitely needs to be built as is. Come on, GM!