The Chevy Corvette itself launched in 1953 and has become America's favorite sports car over eight generations. A Corvette can be expected to be rear-wheel drive, equipped with a V8, and be sold at an affordable price point compared to the Ferrari's and Lamborghini's it competes against.
Want to know whose exotic sports cars are a little more homegrown than you thought? Some may hide it, and some may openly admit it, but we know what lies beneath the fancy paint and aerodynamic body panels. Here are ten sports cars based on the Chevrolet Corvette!
10 Cadillac XLR
The Cadillac XLR was released by Cadillac to fill the long-lasting vacancy when the Allante was canceled in 1993. Cadillac took the C6 Corvette chassis and swapped the LS engine for their own Northstar V8 and put their own badge on it. The XLR was even built in the same factory in Kentucky. Cadillac hoped to attract buyers who might be a bit more conservative than Corvette buyers or desired more options and luxury. Sadly, the company axed the XLR in 2009 due to the failing economy and the market moving towards more practical vehicles.
Do not be fooled, Cadillac wasn't afraid to give the XLR a bit of performance. It equipped it with a 4.6L Northstar with a supercharger, stiffened the suspension, and added some exterior goodies to make it more akin to its Corvette brother. The XLR-V made an impressive 443 horsepower, which was nothing to scoff at.
9 Scaglietti Corvette
This one might seem obvious because Corvette is in the name, but the outer appearance fooled many into thinking this car was built in Italy, not Bowling Green. This was actually Carroll Shelby's first attempt at making a performance car after he retired from professional driving. He sent three bare 1959 Corvettes to Italian design-house Scaglietti, and this was the finished product.
GM weren't fans of the finished product and didn't see much point, so they turned Shelby away. Carroll Shelby went on to Ford and the rest is history, and we're sure GM is still regretting turning him away. We still remember this beautiful creation though, and it's the first time the Corvette was used as the base for something more exotic. With only three made, this is one of Shelby's rarest creations.
8 Callaway Super Speedster
Callaway is an American tuning house that primarily works with the Corvette, even tuning a few for Chevy to sell in dealerships. Models were typically Corvette's with added boost, stiffened suspension, or improved aerodynamics. Callaway's greatest creation may have been the Super Speedster, a C4-based supercar that found fame in Le Mans Racing.
Callaway kept the Lotus-tuned LT5, an LT1-based block with DOHC and a tune that helped the engine make 375 horsepower. This wasn't enough power though, so Callaway added turbos and brought the total power to 775 horsepower, which is ridiculous by even modern standards. The only thing harder than driving one would be finding one; total production numbers were only two.
7 DDR Motorsport GT8
DDR is an American company that specializes in making kit-car supercars. Buyers will buy their kit which usually includes a new body and chassis. The cars typically keep the motor and suspension from the donor car. The DDR GT8 makes use of the C5 Corvette as a donor car, keeping the LS engine and the suspension. The LS is mounted in the middle, giving the Corvette a more exotic look. Interestingly the car uses a Porsche transaxle since the engine is moved and no longer requires the Corvette's driveline.
You can have your very own kit for $18,995 and a C5 donor car. Owners typically quote assembly time at about 600 hours, but it all depends on your skill level or the mechanic you use. There's no doubt there's plenty of fun to be had with the DDR GT8.
6 Callaway IVM C12
Another Callaway creation, this time using the C5 as its base. Callaway paired up with German tuning house IVM to make this beast. The C12 managed to make a class pole position at the 2001 Le Mans. Unfortunately, the C12 didn't finish, only making it to lap 92 before the car retired. The C12 made use of a house-tuned 5.7L V8 good for about 500 horsepower.
Production numbers were a bit higher than the Super Speedster, coming in at a whopping 20 cars. Callaway claims the cars should sell for about $200,000, but prices seem to be at about half of that on Bring A Trailer. It might be hard to convince anyone to drop the price of a house on a car based on the Corvette, but if you have $200,000 burning a hole in your pocket, this piece of Le Mans history might be for you.
5 Bertone Ramarro
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Bertone is a world-renowned Italian design house responsible for styling legendary cars like the Lamborghini Miura, Lamborghini Jarama, and Abarth 131. In the 1980s Bertone CEO Nuccio Bertone wanted to make a better name for the company in the United States. Before this point Bertone's emblem would only appear as a small badge or on text inside the car, not taking priority of the companies they designed for. Bertone decided to base their new supercar on the C4 Corvette.
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Bertone kept the stock engine from a 1985 Corvette other than a few changes to the cooling system and kept the four-speed automatic transmission. Inside the car got all new custom interior, no more cheap plastic. The body panels were modified with aerodynamics in mind and heavily resembled their 70s designs for Lamborghini. Only one car was ever made and was used as a display piece at the LA auto show, so don't plan on making a Bertone Ramarro an addition to your garage unless you're swimming in gold like Scrooge McDuck. Ramarro means "green lizard" in Italian, in case you were wondering.
4 Kellison J6 Panther
The Kellison J6 Panther was a Korean War vet's dream ride, a melting pot of the best muscle car parts crammed into a C1 Corvette chassis. Drivetrains can be ripped from Fords or Chevy's, but the body is still Corvette. Some custom fiberglass work and exterior parts stolen from Dodge, Studebaker, and Ford—and you have the J6. Customers could use whatever motor and transmission they wanted, but the one shown uses a 306 cubic inch Chevy-built V8 and a Muncie 4-Speed.
Chances are if you see one of these drive by, you wouldn't guess it's a Corvette, but maybe something more Italian or English. This is one of the many cars with European styling but a big American V8. It might not be the most iconic American V8-powered sports car, but it's still an American V8-powered sports car all the same.
3 Bill Thomas Cheetah
Maybe you like the idea of the Shelby Cobra but aren't a big fan of Ford...the Bill Thomas Cheetah is your answer. Bill Thomas was an American hot rodder who modified GM's cars for NHRA and SCCA use. The Cheetah was his answer to the Cobra, which was obliterating the Corvette in sports car racing during the 1960s.
So what made the Cheetah different from the Corvette? Well to be honest...not much. The car had more aerodynamic body panels, tightened suspension, and a Chevy V8 bored out to 6.2L. The Cheetah never found the same success as the Shelby Cobra though, and never won any notable races. Today Cheetahs can be found at historical races or as kit cars though, and a lot cheaper than anything with the name "Shelby" on it.
2 Callaway Sledgehammer
The last Callaway creation on this list is certainly not the least, with the Callaway Sledgehammer topping out 255mph! Callaway created the Sledgehammer with only one goal in mind: maximum velocity. The Sledgehammer was based on the C4 Corvette chassis and drivetrain with quite a few tweaks. The engine for starts was tuned by Lingenfelter, equipped with twin-turbos, an inter-cooler, and upgraded fuel injection.
Want your own Callaway Sledgehammer? Well, you better find $500,000. The one shown in the pictures above sold for a cool half-million on Bring a Trailer. Good luck finding one though, only one is known to exist.
1 Bertone Mantide
Bertone didn't stop with the "Green Lizard," taking another stab at the Corvette in 2009. This time Bertone replaced all the body panels and wheels with carbon fiber ones, dropping nearly 200lbs from the original Lamborghini killing C6 ZR-1 that the Mantide was based on. The Mantide maintained the stock LS9 motor good for 638 horsepower.
Only one of these were ever made after plans to make 10 fell through. The original owner is yet to sell, so no one knows what the car is worth...unless you're playing a Forza Motorsport; then it's an affordable $1,000,000. The Mantide had a claim to fame as the popular racing game on the X-Box 360, putting it on the radar of video game and car fans alike. We hope to see it again as Forza Motorsport just recently announced a return!