- Zora Arkus-Duntov’s 1957 Corvette SS was Chevrolet’s boldest attempt at racing dominance.
- The Project XP-64 is powered by a 283 cubic-inch V8 with advanced aluminum cylinder heads.
- This one-of-a-kind Corvette has been carefully preserved for decades and is now up for auction.
One of the most legendary Corvettes ever to hit the track is about to change hands. And it’s not just a car, it’s a piece of racing history wrapped in magnesium and innovation. Chevy’s 1957 Corvette SS Project XP-64, the brainchild of Zora Arkus-Duntov, will roll across the auction block in late February, with estimates placing its value between $5 million and $7 million. Not only does it have a rich racing history, but it’s also perhaps one of the brand’s finest-ever designs..
The story of the XP-64 starts with Zora Arkus-Duntov, a man who wasn’t content to slap a Chevrolet badge on someone else’s creation and call it a day. After proving himself to be a successful endurance race driver, Arkus-Duntov was tasked with building a new Chevrolet race car from the ground up
Initially, General Motors toyed with the idea of shoehorning a Chevy engine into a Jaguar E-Type, but Arkus-Duntov had bigger plans. He set out to create a purpose-built race car, which began life in a hush-hush corner of the Chevrolet Engineering Center.
Read: 2025 Corvette ZR1 Hits 60 MPH In 2.3 Seconds, Quarter-Mile In 9.6 Seconds
Found beneath the skin of the car is a lightweight tubular frame made from chrome-molybdenum tubing. The body was then crafted from magnesium and aimed to be as streamlined as possible. Power comes from a 283 cubic-inch V8 equipped with a high-performance camshaft, aluminum cylinder heads, and fuel injection, producing around 300 hp. The engine was paired to a four-speed manual transmission.
The SS tipped the scales at just 1,850 pounds (839 kg) dry—nearly 1,000 pounds lighter than a production Corvette. It took five months for the XP-64 to be built and begin testing.
The car made its competitive debut at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957. While the XP-64 immediately proved itself to be fast, it encountered reliability issues during the race, and the magnesium body made the cabin unbearably hot. While the car had to be retired, Chevy is thought to have planned a series of upgrades for it that would have allowed it to be competitive at that year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans. However, the Automobile Manufacturers Association agreed to end factory-supported racing efforts shortly after Sebring, killing the XP-64 project.
A Second Life as a Museum Piece
Despite its short-lived racing career, the Corvette SS Project XP-64 didn’t fade into obscurity. In 1967, Arkus-Duntov donated the car to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, where it has remained a star attraction ever since. It’s graced various historic racing events across the United States over the years and looks just as gorgeous now as it did back in the 1950s.
Now, decades after it first burned rubber at Sebring, the XP-64 is looking for a new home. RM Sotheby’s is handling the sale, and while its next owner hasn’t been determined yet, one can only hope this piece of automotive history lands in a collection where it will receive the royal treatment it so richly deserves.
