In 1992 the Corvette Nation was treated to the Stingray III concept Corvette at the 1992 Detroit Auto Show. This new Corvette was like nothing that anyone had ever seen before and would prove to be generations ahead of its time.
The styling was all new and the composition of the body used a lot of carbon fiber so the Vette would be light and strong all at the same time. While the design was all new for the time there were many cues and hints on the Stingray III that suggested the designers gained much of their inspiration from the Corvettes of the 1960s Corvettes that had long lived in the hearts and minds of many.
There were many new features in the Stingray III that would represent the cutting edge thinking of the great minds that worked at GM. One innovative safety feature was a pop-up roll bar that would deploy only when needed. This was a great piece of safety equipment to have as the Stingray III was in fact a convertible.
The seats of the Stingray III were fixed and could not be adjusted. Instead the pedals and the steering wheel of the Corvette moved to accommodate the different heights of those that would drive the vehicle. Lower side sills would make the climb into the fixed seats easier than on the traditional Corvette.
When the Stingray III was being developed the original intent was to put a high powered V-6 in it, but that would later be changed and the car sported a 300 horse power LT1 V-8 engine instead. While it is not immediately known why the change took place it is probably because GM did not want to ruffle any feathers of the Corvette faithful and have them thinking that the super car was going to go down in engine size.
Dubbed the “California Corvette” by those who made it, when it was finished it was painted a Black Cherry color and looked as slick as anything that GM had ever put out. Because of the release many began to speculate about the next generation of the Corvette and the rumors began to start up as many felt that the Stingray III was the new Vette forthcoming.
The Stingray III was actually considered for production as the new Vette but in the end the cost would prove to be too much. That would leave the Corvette fanatics to have to wait a few more years for the true next generation Corvette to come forward and in 1997 the wait would be over with the C4 Corvette.
As for the Stingray III it will simply go down as another in a long line of Corvette prototypes that make for great conversation and little else. What the Stingray III and all the other prototypes from GM do show though is the fact that the minds of those who are fortunate enough to work on the great American icon that is the Corvette are never standing idly by and are always trying to push the envelope for the betterment of Corvette kind.
