Despite the storm clouds that loomed over Detroit's performance cars, the 1972 Corvette was thriving, at least in sales. The base price of the '72 Corvette was $5,5533, up only $37 from the '71 model. But sales went from 21,801 in '71, to 27,004 in '72 an increase of 5,203 units. Not bad for a limited use sports car with a high ticket price and sky-high insurance premiums. Chevrolet must have been doing something right.

However, on paper, things looked bleak. There were now only three engine options; the base 350 small-block ZQ-3, with 200 horsepower, the 350 small-block LT-1, with 255 horsepower, and the 454 big-block LS5, with 270 horsepower. By the numbers, these power figures look bad, but keep in mind, these are "net" not "gross" power ratings. Due to cars now using lead-free gas, compression and power rates were down, but not as much as it might have seemed.

Magazine tests still raved about the '72 Corvette, especially the LT-1. One writer referred to the LT-1 as a "real tiger." With 3.70 gears the LT-1 was a solid low 14-second car. With 4.11 gears, high 13s were possible. The only complaint was a lack of torque under 3,500 rpm but from there up to the 7,000 rpm, the LT-1 was heavenly.

The performance dilemma was this: for $483.45, the LT-1 was a fast, balanced car. The LS5 made 15 more horses for only $294.90, but the car seemed heavy and sluggish. Chevrolet was doing its best to make the Corvette a true GT car. There was a custom interior trim option, and air conditioning was now available with the LT-1, but with a lower redline of "only" 5,600 rpm, in order to keep the A/C belts from flying off. Also, the close-ratio four-speed and three-speed automatic were standard.

1972 was also the last year for several items; the removable rear window, the windshield wiper closet, and bias-ply tires. The LS5 454 was not emissions certified in California, and an alarm system replaced the fiber-optic, lighting monitoring system. Also, this was the last year for the nearly unstreetable, $1,010.05 ZR-1 option, which provided a base car for racers.

In spite of all the changes and reductions, the '72 Corvette did surprisingly well. But challenges were on the horizon that no one anticipated. Ultimately, the Corvette was developed into a much better performance car, even if it took almost 12 years to make it so.

llustrated Corvette Series No. 48 - 1972 Heinz & Johnson Racing Corvette

One of the most important aspects of the Corvette story is its racing heritage. Corvette fans have Zora Arkus-Duntov to thank for that. Zora started offering go-fast parts for the Corvette in 1956. "For Racing Purposes Only" option RPO449 (Special High-Lift Camshaft) was only available with RPO469, the dual four-barrel carburetor engine. This was the beginning of a long line of over-the-counter racing parts for the Corvette.

Over the years, Corvettes have not done well at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It's a tough race and most cars don't finish. Until recently, the only Corvette to actually finish the Le Mans race was the Rebel Red big-block, '68 Corvette driven by Bob Johnson and Dave Heinz. The car was owned by Toye English and was built and worked on by his son, Dave. After taking first in GT class at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, the team decided to race the car at Le Mans.

When they arrived at the race, they almost weren't able to race because they did not have an invitation! Luigi Chinetti, an importer of Ferraris, had entered only two cars and agreed to let the team use his third invitation, as long as they repainted the car to look like Chinetti's Ferraris: red with a blue and white stripe, and wearing the N.A.R.T. decal. A small price to pay after going all the way to Le Mans.

The car could not have performed better. For the entire 24 hours all the car needed was a driver change every hour, gas, tires, and oil. On the very long Mulsanne Straight, the car topped out at 210 mph! Only the prototype cars were faster.

The Corvettes were the biggest and heaviest cars in the GT Class, prompting many to ask, "What's in that dinosaur?" Just good, strong, Chevy parts, thanks to Duntov and crew. The car is basically a '68 L88 model. Under the hood, the L88 was balanced and blueprinted. An 850 Holley carb sat on an aluminum high-rise manifold, and header-side exhausts helped crank out over 560 horsepower. The suspension used heavy-duty L88 parts, along with solid suspension bushings, heavy-duty springs, anti-roll bars, and double- adjustable Koni shocks. A standard M22 transmission and heavy-duty Posi unit were used as well as.

Additional body work included factory fender flairs, L88 hood with the cowl-induction, plexi headlight covers, and the factory hardtop. A front spoiler helped keep the front end down on the Mulsanne. The interior had a full compliment of gauges, a bolt-on eight-point roll- cage and a Vega steering wheel. American Torque- Thrust aluminum wheels and Goodyear racing tires gave the car a distinctly American musclecar, tough guy look.

This is exactly what Zora had in mind with his "for racing only" parts program. With the right parts, carefully assembled, the average guy had a chance. Completing the 24 Hours of Le Mans is an amazing achievement for any car, let alone a production car with over-the-counter, bolt-on factory parts. Thanks Zora!

lIlustrated Corvette Series No. 49 - 1972 John Greenwood B.F. Goodrich Racing Corvette
"John Greenwood's Street-Tire Racer"

Zora Arkus-Duntov's plan for the Corvette was two-fold. First, he wanted to make the Corvette the kind of car that was capable of being driven at 100% by 10% of the Corvette drivers. And second, if the stock Corvette wasn't up to delivering what the customer wanted, he could buy all of the go fast parts he needed. This basic plan not only helped win races, but helped make legends.

John Greenwood was a typical drag racing guy in the '60s. At his wife's suggestion, John discovered the fun of gymkhana competition at a local supermarket parking lot in his '68 427 L88 Corvette. Having been bitten by the road racing bug, he went to road racing school to get his SCCA driver's license. John already knew how to goose a big-bl