Over the past 50 years, Chevy has created some incredible Corvette concepts that inspired future generations of the famous sportscar. The all-new C7 Corvette is finally here in all of its sharp-edged styling glory. It’s a striking design and a nice departure from the more conservatively-styled C6. However, Corvette designers over the years have penned some dramatically styled concepts of the iconic American sports car that often ended up inspiring designs of future production versions.
The original Stingray Concept premiered way back in 1959 and formed the styling basis for the C2 Corvette. Penned by legendary designers Bill Mitchell, Pete Brock and Larry Shinoda, it was based on the chassis of the 1957 Corvette SS, a racing project that never got off the ground. The Stingray was also originally developed as a racer and it did compete for a couple of years. One still exists today in GM’s official collection and is now estimated to be worth in excess of $10 million. It was even driven by Elvis Presley, in case the eight-figure value needs a little star power, too.
Designed once again under the direction of Bill Mitchell, the first Mako Shark concept premiered in 1963 as a design study for future Corvettes. Like its name suggests, the car features a pointed snout and a streamlined design that gave it an aggressive, predatory look. GM followed up with this shark-like styling theme two years later with the Mako Shark II. It’s evidently clear how that car was a major styling influence for the C3, which began production in 1968. Both concepts were received extremely well by the public and their designers clearly listened when it came time to style the C3 Corvette.