By Matt Nelson
These days, it's hard to find someone who doesn't know about the Corvette. Forget gearheads, you can ask anyone, even a little old lady, if she's heard of the Corvette and the answer is most likely "yes". However, before it became an industry leader, it needed to make a name for itself. One of the ways the Corvette managed to do this was through avenues such as clever, one-size-fits-all marketing.
However, Chevrolet has also been able to generate a good bit of buzz around the Corvette throughout the decades. One of the most popular ways to do this was through the use of wild, Corvette-based concept cars. Just before the C2 Corvette Stingray debuted, Chevrolet decided to show the automotive world what it was in for. Enter the 1961 "Mako Shark" Corvette concept: a decidedly marine-inspired model complete with everything that reminds one of an actual shark... gills and all.
The Beginning Of An Era
| Chevrolet Corvette Mako Shark Concept | |
| Introduced | 1961 |
| AKA | Working model code "XP-755" |
| Inspired by | The 1959 Corvette Stingray Racer concept |
| Intention | A pure show car |
| First public showing | Road America, Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin |
In the late 1950s, Bill Mitchell, GM's head of styling at the time, was growing restless. The Corvette as a whole finally found success in 1955 when Chevrolet began offering a V8 as an optional upgrade for the wheezy, underpowered "Blue Flame Six" inline-six. While the six-pot was, technically, the standard mill for the 1955 model year, the V8 outsold it by an overwhelming majority. Folks loved the new V8 so much that it's credited with saving the Corvette from an early grave.
Once it had caught on, there was no stopping the 'Vette when it came to outright popularity. It quickly became a symbol of Americana, boasting an irresistible amount of freedom and the "go where you want in style" attitude that this country is built on. Following a mid-generation refresh to its front fascia in 1958, it was determined that it was time for the Corvette to move on from its classic, 1953-penned body lines.
Work began on designing the new generation right at the turn of the 1960s, but Mitchell, seldom satisfied with "good enough", was itching to get his hands on something that resembled the as-yet-unreleased C2 Corvette. His plan was to use the model as a show car, as well as experience the C2 Corvette for himself much earlier than the production model would be released. Bearing these desires in mind, Mitchell approved an R & D plan, then he and his team set to work.
This Shark Has Jaws... And Gills
As the project continued, the XP-755 was taking on a distinctly marine shape, but this was deliberate. As the story goes, Bill Mitchell got the idea for the XP-755 on a fishing trip off the coast of Florida. Reportedly, he managed to catch a Mako Shark, and was impressed with its agility and fighting spirit, and reeling the thing in proved difficult for Mitchell. Inspired, he rushed back to Detroit and instructed his team to get to work on a Mako-Shark-inspired Corvette model.
While Mitchell was, ultimately, the man in charge of the new concept project, coined "XP-755", he delegated much of the day-to-day management of the program to Larry Shinoda. Shinoda was known as Mitchell's right-hand man, and had helped design a few Corvette concepts in the past, including the XP-720 and the XP-87 racer. While anything was on the table design-wise, one thing was certain: the XP-755 was to have a bubble top borrowed from the Shinoda-penned XP-700 concept, gills on its front end, and a shark badge somewhere along its body.
After just a few short months, a full-scale clay mock-up of the XP-755 was finished. While it was designed to look like the then-conceptual C2 Corvette, it was supposed to bolt right up to a C1 Corvette chassis, as the C2 frames weren't actually ready at this point in time. An upside to using an already-finished frame was the Mako Shark could be driven on the road without needing to wait for chassis certifications. It was just bolt-and-go.
A Smash-Hit
In keeping with the shark-ish look, Mitchell had his XP-755 painted in blue. However, the deep-seat color then gradually transformed into a lighter shade as it made its way down the XP-755's body, making it appear even more shark-like. A set of air vents up front and chrome, side-exit exhaust pipes made the XP-755 look like it had literal gills along its flanks.
Being a concept car, Mitchell's team wasn't afraid to get creative with the XP-755's features. For starters, it had a unique pair of rear turn signals that were concealed behind body panels. When the turn signal was activated, these small coverings would open, exposing the light. Reportedly, if the brakes were applied in full-force, both lights would activate. It also had a periscope-style rearview mirror. Its pointed nose also conveyed a sense of marine predator-esque appeal. When it was first shown to the public, all of those styling cues made quite an impact.
Sources: General Motors, GM Heritage, CorvSport.com
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This article originally appeared on CarBuzz and is republished here with permission.
