The 1956 Corvette SR2 Is The Original Chevrolet Factory Racer

Jan. 24, 2015 12:30 AM ET by Jay Traugott Classic Cars / 14 Comments

And it's now worth over $6 million.

Its styling came courtesy of legendary GM design chief Harvey Earl, while its engineering guts were handled by the one and only Zora Arkus-Duntov. This is the 1956 Chevrolet Corvette SR2, the first GM-sponsored, purpose-built Corvette racer, and Electric Federal is here to tell its story. Only two were ever built, neither of which was sold publicly. It's supposedly worth over $6 million. The story behind the SR2 is that Harvey Earl's son was seen racing in European sports cars.

GM executives didn't like that so much, and Earl was assigned the task of turning the Corvette into a race car. Arkus-Duntov later became involved in the project. The SR2 was lengthened, equipped with a more powerful engine (331 hp) with fuel injection, and a four-speed gearbox. The final product was an all-American race car that could take on Ferraris and Porsches.

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