Depending on what department you worked in at GM, it was the best of times, it was the worst of times. Despite our passions for performance, business is business, and not turning a profit can turn automotive gold into lead. (Remember the Fiero?) Fortunately for the Corvette team, the '76 Corvette was golden in an age of non-performance.

Those pesky bean counters couldn't have been much happier with the '76 Corvette. Sales of the Corvette hit an all-time high of 46,558 units. That was up 8,093 units from '75. And considering the hefty price hike in '76, those sales figures were astounding. The base price of the '76 Corvette was $7,606, up $794 from '75. Part of the increase came from inflation and the rest was the fact that the Corvette came with more standard equipment than ever before.

Design and Engineering knew the possibility of a new mid-engine performance Corvette was zero, so they set out to make a better car. Power steering and brakes were now standard equipment. From there, all other improvements were incremental. The base engine was up 15 hp to 180 hp, and the optional "performance" L82 was up 5 hp to 210 hp. The power boost came from allowing the engines to run hotter. To offset the extra heat in the interior, the '76 Corvette had a partial steel underbelly. And to quiet things inside, the air intake was forward of the radiator, eliminating the intake howl from cowl-induction hood.

In the interior, the battery was now a new AC Delco maintenance-free battery. The $164 custom interior option was very popular with the Corvette's new buyers. The small-diameter steering wheel was from a Vega, but had a Corvette horn button.

Like the mid-year C2 Corvettes, exterior changes were slight. The hood was unique to '76, as it was missing the cowl induction features. The rear bumper cover sported a new Corvette badge. There were actually two versions, one with smaller recessed lettering, and the other with larger lettering that wasn't recessed. Also, the air vents on the top of the rear deck were gone. The aluminum Kelsey-Hayes wheels first shown in '73 were finally available as a $299 option. The gymkhana suspension option was up from $7 in '75 to $35 in '76. But for all the add-ons and new parts, the '76 Corvette actually lost weight. Curb weight was down 52 pounds to 3,608. Not a lot, but better than a weight gain.

Older guys and performance addicts called the '76 Corvette "soft," while defenders said it was merely evolving into a Grand Tourer. However, performance was way off. 0-60 time was 7.1 seconds, the 1/4-mile time was 15.3, and top speed was only 124 mph. Considering the times, that was as good as it got. However, there was a guy named Greenwood with a wild-looking, 221-mph IMSA racer (Some called it "The Batmobile") that had everyone's attention. Actually, you couldn't miss it!

Here's the story:
Illustrated Corvette Series No. 58 - John Greenwood's 1976 IMSA Racing Corvette
"Batmobile IMSA Racer"

John Greenwood was described as "the perfect Corvette guy." He was well financed, blue-collar, and liked getting dirty working on his race car. Also, he was good at building very powerful big-block Chevy engines. In a field of factory-supported SCCA A/Production and Trans-Am cars, Greenwood was a classic underdog the Grumpy Jenkins of road racing. John had been beating up Porsches and BMWs since the early '70s with his homemade, 8,000 rpm ZL-1 Corvettes. His "Spirit of Sebring '76" Corvette was to be the wildest ride of his career.

Although the car was called a "tube framed" car, John started with a stock Corvette steel birdcage frame that was first gusseted for added strength, with the tube frame then welded on. The front suspension used stock mounting points, but was lowered using 25 percent stiffer springs, adjustable Koni shocks, and various size anti-roll bars. The rear suspension used 2.73: 1 gears, coilover shocks, twin A-arms, and anti-rollbars to eliminate squat. Hurst-Airheart NASCAR disc brakes with dual master cylinders provided excellent braking. With the huge factory-option pontoon fenders, John was able to use Sterling alloy wheels 11" x 15" in the front and 17" x 15" in the rear, with Goodyear Blue Streak tires 24.5 x 10-15 on the front and 28.0 x 17-15 on the rear.

Greenwood's ZL-1 engine was bored to 467 cid and made over 700 hp @6,800 rpm and 620 lb-ft of torque at 4000 rpm. The engine used a stock crank, Carillo rods, Isky roller rockers, a dry-sump oil system, and a Lucas fuel injection on a magnesium cross-ram manifold. Transmission was a blueprinted M22 "rock crusher."

John wanted to make a street version of this car. But federal regulations, safety, and liability concerns of the day prevented him. In '76, Greenwood and Dick Smothers won Sebring and took the pole position at Le Mans, but engine trouble took them out of the race. John's Corvette hit 211 mph on the Mulsanne Straight! Not bad for a street racer from Detroit.