THE ILLUSTRATED CORVETTE
Designer Series No. 267
VETTE (ISSN #0199-7890) Vol. 43, No. 09. Copyright © 2019 by TEN: Publishing Media, LLC. All rights reserved. Published monthly by TEN: Publishing Media, LLC., 275 MAdison Avenue, 14th Floor, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals Postage Paid at
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
K. Scott Teeters has been a contributing
artist and writer with Vette magazine since
1976 when the magazine was titled Vette
Quarterly. Scott’s Corvette art can be seen
at http://www.illustratedcorvetteseries.com. His
muscle car and nostalgia drag racing art can
be found at http://www.precision-illustration.com.62 VETTE 19.09
review meeting with Bob Lutz, Wallace
heard Hill outlining the Z06 with 505
horsepower and a dry-sump oil system
and said to himself, “What the ...” Wallace
said to Lutz, “My goodness, this is unbeliev-
able. Do you know what Dave is about to
do?” Wallace said that some of the VLEs
had no idea what Hill was talking about.
When Wallace expressed real concern
about selling 505-horsepower cars to nov-
ice customers, it was explained to him that
only select dealers get Z06s. These dealers
understand performance and coach cus-
tomers to have respect for the car and help
get them into a driver’s school.
Late in 2005, Wallace got the surprise
of his career. After a VLE meeting Lutz
told Wallace that Hill was retiring on
January 1 and that he wanted him to take
the position of VLE and Chief Engineer for
Corvette. Wallace was stunned and fully
aware that he was inheriting a great team
with Tadge Juechter as his lead engineer.
But unforeseen circumstances would make
this a short-lived position of 2 years and
10 months.
When Wallace took over the Corvette
program, the C6 ZR1 was a concept on
paper and was deemed too expensive.
Wallace and his team worked out the cost,
got the project approved, and started the
ZR1’s development. It wasn’t long before
rumors of a super Corvette surfaced with
names such as Blue Devil and SS. Then
someone inside GM posted a photo of a
development ZR1 as it was being shipped
to Germany for testing. The Corvette world
knew for sure when a cell phone video was
posted of a disguised Corvette with the
unmistakable sound of a supercharged
engine. Wow, a supercharged Corvette.
When the ZR1 was released to the press
in late-2007, Wallace explained, “We want
to push the technology envelope into the
supercar realm. We want a Corvette that
can take on any production car in the
world.” While Corvette enthusiasts were
feasting, GM was heading for bankruptcy.
Corvettes had a history of platforms run-
ning too long. Hill said that planned six-year
duration might even be too long. Wallace
and his team started work on the C7 in
April 2006. As things got worse for GM, it
was discovered that only fullsize trucks and
Corvettes were moneymakers. Regardless,
future plans had to
be stopped.
In October 2008,
Lutz informed Wallace
that the board of
directors did not
approve funding for
the C7 and he would
have to proceed with
paint and decals for
the foreseeable future.
Also, to preserve cash,
top-level executives
were offered earlyretirement to reduce head count. For a car
guy/racer, babysitting the Corvette was not
how Wallace wanted to end his GM career,
so he retired on November 1, 2008.
Wallace didn’t get to do as much with
the Corvette as he wanted, but he did sev-
eral things that made a difference. He knew
that it would be very beneficial for his engi-
neers to get track training at the National
Corvette Museum’s tracks and to talk with
customers about what they like, don’t like
and want for future Corvettes. As Wallace
had expressed concerns over selling pow-
erful Corvettes, included in the price of the
ZR1 was high-performance driver training.
And with his racing background, Wallace
was the perfect lead engineer to work with
Pratt & Miller on issues with their C6.R
cars. This intense relationship resulted in
more race car to be built into the C7. While
Wallace wasn’t able to usher in the C7, his
efforts set up the program for the capable
hands of Tadge Juechter. VETTE