1960 Chevrolet CERV I

The Chevrolet CERV 'Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle' was a functional single-seat racing vehicle that served many roles, including being used as a rolling test bed for Chevrolet engineers to experiment, test, and develop new technology. Creating the car was the work of Arkus-Duntov and his engineers, Harold Krieger and Walt Zetya. The car was initially known as the 'R Car' and it was given dimensions that would make it eligible to race at the Indianapolis 500. Aspirations reached further, with sights also being set on competing at Pikes Peak.

The team began building the vehicle in early 1960 and completed it in late summer. It was given a chromium-molybdenum steel tubular space frame, in similar fashion to the Italian Superleggera bodies created by Touring, and weighing a mere 125 pounds. Larry Shinoda and Tony Lapine were tasked with designing the body, which was molded in two layers of fiberglass and weighed just 80 pounds.

At the time of its completion, it was officially known as CERV and also Hillcimber, for its intended purpose. It was given a fuel-injected, all-aluminum, 289-cubic inch V8, based upon an earlier Corvette prototype engine with a silicon alloy block and mostly aluminum engine accessories. The clutch housing and ultralight intake setup were comprised of magnesium. The drivetrain was somewhat conventional, with a hydraulic clutch and reverse-geared four-speed transmission hung off the back. The Corvette SS-derived quick-change gearing provided 13 optional ratios, from 2.63:1 to 4.80:1. In the front was a Corvette SS suspension assembly, including a steering rack with a quick-ratio Saginaw box. SS's Halibrand inboard Corvette 11-inch brakes provided the stopping power.

When the car arrived at Pikes Peak in September of 1960, it weighed just 1,450 pounds dry. Test runs up a portion of Pikes Peak revealed the car was not well suited to hill climbs. It was later track-tested with Firestone and later at Riverside Raceway, just prior to the Grand Prix there. At Riverside, Arkus-Duntov, Dan Gurney, and Stirling Moss all drove CERV publically; Gurney and Moss both lapped the course in a competitive 2.04 seconds.

The car was brought back to the GM Proving Grounds where Arkus-Duntov drove broke 170 mph. It was then brought to Daytona, where Bill France Sr. had a $10,000 reward for the first car that could lap Daytona at 180. CERV reached 162 mph; more power was needed. So the team experimented and developed a 17-psi TRW turbocharged port-injection set-up with 8.5:1 compression. In this guise, the car produced 500 horsepower at 6000 RPM which proved to be too much for the car. When it ran, it lifted the front wheels, prompting Shinoda to restyle the car's front end with aerodynamic modifications.

By 1964, the CERV (now known as CERV I since CERV II production was underway) received its seventh engine, a Hilborn fuel-injected 377-cubic inch V8, specially cast by Alcoa. With this new, powerful, and expensive engine, Arkus-Duntov took it to the GM Milford Proving Grounds. It is reported that the engine cost $284,000 and produced an unknown amount of horsepower. Arkus-Duntov drove it to 206 mph on the banked track.

With a replacement car in the works, the CERV I was destined for the pasture (or the shredder as was typical fashion for many experimental vehicles). Arkus-Duntov instead kept the car in its final 1964 Shinoda configuration with the aluminum 377 V8. In 1972, along with CERV II, it was gifted by GM to Briggs Cunningham for his automobile museum in Costa Mesa, California. When Cunningham sold most of his collection to Miles Collier at the end of 1986, both CERVs went along with the deal. The current caretaker later acquired the car from Mr. Collier and has preserved it in his own private museum.

by Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2015