Corvette Sting Ray: Genesis of an American Icon
By Peter Brock
This book’s strength is its unblinking look inside the design process of the world’s largest automobile company, where are seen the highs and lows, ins and outs of the methodology necessary to create a new product. Pete Brock is widely known as the designer of the Cobra Daytona Coupe, but perhaps not everyone realizes that he also penned the original sketch from which the Corvette Sting Ray sprang. Here is that tale, told magnificently, with all its political intrigue and corporate infighting.
We learn about all the key players who had a hand in the creation of the second-generation Corvette, read Brock’s analyses of their strengths and weaknesses and get a good look into the heart of GM and its flagship automobile. He even takes us into Bill Mitchell’s secret styling studio, the Hammer Room, where projects were initiated outside the corporation’s mainstream approval system.
All this insight is wonderfully illustrated with a flood of never before seen images from GM Archives showing countless in-progress projects in various states of completion, allowing a clear visual understanding of the story the author is telling.
Self-published by Brock and his wife/partner Gayle, this is an excellent book with which you should quickly become familiar. Available for US$69.95 at www.bre2.net
