60 VETTE 19.07hen Dave McLellan
took over as Corvette’s
new chief engineer on
January 1, 1975, it was a
whole new world. The pre-
vailing trends went from performance cars
to safer cars with reduced emissions. Not
even Duntov could have made a difference
in the ’70s. But as performance went down,
Corvette sales went way up. The sales
department was happy, but the Corvette
was really getting old. Dave McLellan was
an unknown to the Corvette community
and many wondered what he would bring
to the brand. It turned out he brought a lot.
McLellan was a car guy. He rebuilt his
family’s Frazer and entered the Fisher Body
Craftsmen’s Guild Model Contest. Upon
graduation from Wayne State University
in Detroit with a degree in mechanical
engineering, GM hired Hill on July 1, 1959.
Throughout the ’60s Hill worked at the
Milford Proving Ground on noise and
acoustics issues with GM tank treads, Buick
brakes, and tuned resonators for muf-
flers. Hill was also going to night school
to get his Master’s Degree in engineer-
ing mechanics. In 1967, Hill was part of
the group that planned and operated the
67-acre Black Lake where ride, handling
and crashworthiness tests are performed.
Chevrolet Engineering brought in Hill to
work on the 1970 1/2 Camaro and Z28. Hill
wanted to move into management so he
took a yearlong sabbatical and attended
MIT Alfred. P. Sloan School of Management.
The school emphasizes innovation in prac-
tice and research. In July 1974, Hill was Zora
Arkus-Duntov’s part-time assistant, training
for taking over the position in 1975.BY SCOTT TEETERS (^) I ILLUSTRATIONS BY THE AUTHOR
Corvette Chiefs: Dave McLellan,
Heir to Duntov’s Engineering Throne
THE ILLUSTRATED CORVETTE
Designer Series No. 265
While Hill didn’t have Duntov’s racing
experience, he owned several Porsches
and understood racing sports cars. As
Duntov was leaving, he told Hill, “Dave, you
must do a mid-engine Corvette.” Little did
they know that it would finally happen 45
years later.
When Duntov took control of Corvette
engineering in 1956, he had to boost sales
and make the Corvette a performance
car and a capable race car. When Hill took
control, Corvettes were never selling bet-
ter, but the platform design was nearly 15
years old. Hill had to keep the car fresh, hit
the new requirements and maintain perfor-
mance ... all with a limited budget.
Management figured that the Corvette
had a captive audience so they didn’t
have to spend money to change anything.
Fortunately, that lame notion was over-
ruled. The 1978 glass fastback and the
1980 front and rear bumper covers were
excellent updates. Another major issue
was quality control. The St. Louis assembly
plant made three other cars and workers
were often unfamiliar with the specialties
of the Corvette. This issue didn’t get fixed
until the assembly line was moved to the
Corvette-only Bowling Green facility.
McLellan knew that the C3 needed to
be replaced, as the chassis was designed
around 1960. For a brief period it looked
like the mid-engine Aerovette would
become the C4, but Chevrolet decided to
abandon all mid-engine programs. The
all-new C4 began to take shape in Jerry
Palmer’s Chevrolet Studio Three in 1978.
When the C4 debuted in December 1982, it
received rave reviews despite the fact that
suspension engineers later admitted that
they overdid it with the stiff suspension.
By 1985, the suspension was softened and
As Duntov was leaving, he told Hill, “Dave, you must do a mid-engine Corvette.”
Little did they know that it would finally happen 45 years later.