In the late 2000s, Corvette enthusiasts were eager for news about the future of Chevrolet’s sports car. General Motors was working through bankruptcy proceedings and there were no guarantees about what the corporation’s priorities should be. Nevertheless, the Corvette still had a contingent of supporters within the company. Ed Welburn, GM’s Vice President of Global Design, encouraged his staff to explore concept ideas for a future Corvette, even though such design work had to be kept off the radar. Under this cloak of secrecy, GM developed the 2009 Corvette Stingray Concept, whose styling celebrated the past and future of the Corvette.
GM design staff also received a push from Hollywood director Michael Bay to create a new concept Corvette. Bay was planning his next Transformers film and wanted to include a character who could transform into a Corvette. This request inspired Tom Peters, Corvette’s Chief Designer, to create a concept car that looked futuristic and retained classic Corvette styling traits. To test out their ideas, Peters and his team created a full-scale model of the Stingray Concept. Although the model has no engine or interior, its body matches the fully functional car, helping to bring Peters’ ideas from the design studio to the big screen.
A major influence on the styling of the 2009 Stingray Concept was the 1959 Stingray Racer designed by Bill Mitchell. Mitchell was known for preferring automobiles with hard edges and crisp styling, a concept that Peters fully embraced for this car. In addition, the Stingray Concept includes the split rear window made famous by Mitchell’s 1963 Corvette. Other design elements include the front and rear gills, grille teeth, and fender flares reminiscent of the C3. Peters and his team even went further than the model by giving the car a futuristic interior, complete with carbon fiber trim and a customizable instrument panel.
Unveiled at the 2009 Chicago Auto Show, crowds were stunned by the Stingray Concept. Speculation ran wild that this car could be a preview of the seventh-generation Corvette. Welburn and Peters later clarified that the Stingray Concept was not going into production and was purely a “what-if” exercise. However, some attributes of this car’s styling and its all-new interior did influence the C7 Stingray. Most famously, the Stingray Concept was featured in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen as the Autobot Sideswipe, fighting alongside Optimus Prime to protect the Earth from the Decepticons.
