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Scaglietti - “Corvette Italia”
Custom aluminum coach work hand crafted by Italian styling studio Scaglietti in Modeno, Italy. The cars were based on the bodies the Italian designer had done for the Ferrari's long hooded Tour de France GT model.
The vision of Gary Laughlin, a Texas oil-developer and amateur racer, in collaboration with Jim Hall and Carroll Shelby. Gary funded the project to create these lightweight racers based on the 1959 Corvette running gear.
None of the three cars was ever raced and Shelby later took his idea from Italy and Chevy to England and Ford.
Specifications
Two of the three cars built had automatics and one a four-speed before Chevrolet shut down the project. They cited their reluctance to interrupt the assembly line to produce additional chassis without complete bodies as requested by Laughlin.
The chassis is a standard 1959 Corvette and is completely stock. Excluding the fuel cell, the rest of the chassis, including the entire braking and suspension systems, are all factory components, just like you'll find on any other Corvette of that year.
The 283-cubic-inch V8 puts out 315 horsepower and features the Rochester fuel injection system. The gearbox is a 4-speed Borg-Warner T-10 with a Hurst shifter and linkage.
Oh what bodies!
Built in the classic Italian tradition, all three Corvettes had aluminum-paneled bodies that were individually handmade, using the time-honored method of hammers and dollies.
Gauging the shape strictly by eye, the Italian artisans slowly sculpted every panel by pounding flat sheets of aluminum with large wooden mallets. Sandbags and tree stumps were the surfaces that the aluminum was hammered against.
The end result, besides being bestowed with a uniquely shaped body, is a '59 Corvette that is 400 pounds lighter in weight.