Two Very Special Corvettes (Page 3): Hi, Jim. The design of this car is certainly polarising. I would love to know what the prevalent reaction was at the Paris Auto Show in 1963.

black mamba

Boomer Jim wrote:

I've been a Corvette guy all my life but not a fan of the Bondine.To me it looks like a Studebaker.

Hi, Jim.

The design of this car is certainly polarising. I would love to know what the prevalent reaction was at the Paris Auto Show in 1963.

black mamba

dennis2146 wrote:

Thank you for submitting photographs of three lovely vehicles the majority of us will never see. Well done.

Dennis

Thanks, Dennis.

I really appreciate your comments.

black mamba

Alafoto wrote:

As always, I appreciate your research and the back stories on the remarkable machines you photograph. I have to say, that for me, the stock 'Vette body style is far more attractive than the Pininfarina version.

Thanks for commenting, Jim.

I find the front of the Bondine to be attractive. The back end....no so much. What really interested me is one inescapable fact.....you know darn well that the top brass at Chevrolet had to have the ultimate approval of the final design on the Bondine. I'd like to know what their thinking was when they gave their approval for Pininfarina to proceed with the construction.

black mamba

AzPicLady wrote:

Wonderful cars. I must admit, though, that the Italian one looks more Italian than US design!

But this is a photo forum, not a car forum. Your pictures are stunning. They are dead on sharp, bright, and colourful. Very nicely done!

Hey, Kathy.

Your comments mean a lot to me. When my work resonates well with other accomplished shooters....it just makes me feel good. Thanks.

black mamba

alberio wrote:

I'd take that 63 Grand Sport any day over the Italian one. What were they thinking, letting the Italian factory redesign a Corvette?

I hear you. Check out my comments to Alafoto...just above here.

I always appreciate you dropping by.

black mamba

Ava'sPapa wrote:

I think a little chrome around the taillights would make this more attractive (to me anyway) "Italian" Corvette and more palatable. There's not much from Pininfarina that I don't like. If I may equate these cars to stars: The Grand Sport could be likened to Jason Statham and the Bondine would be more Cary Grant, as I see it.
Worth aside, I'd rather drive Ava to cheerleading practice in the Bondine to be honest.

Like you, I've mostly always been a fan of Pininfarina's work. But in this case, I just have trouble accepting the Bondine as a homogenous design. The front and the back squabble too much.

BTW...say HI to Ava for me.

black mamba

Earnest Botello wrote:

Excellent series, Tom, I have had a picture of the 63' Grand Sports #3 as my desktop back ground for years.

That's interesting to hear, Earnest. I wish you could have been with me as I scrutinized that car from one end to the other. My wife thinks I'm crazy when I tell her that I get special vibes from being around anything, in this case a car, that represents a pinnacle achievement. But that's the honest truth.

Real Nikon Lover Loc: Simi Valley, CA

Nice shots. The 63 features greatly resemble factory mods to be featured on the later Mako Shark Corvettes. My Cousin had a '69 Mako Vette with 427 cu in featuring factory tripower carbs and M22 rock crusher trans. He hung onto the car for 30 years and sold it to help fund his retirement. It had factory sidepipes and you could hear it a couple of blocks away. I loved that car.

Steved3604

Very nice. Thanks for posting. I enjoy "anything" Corvette. Thanks for the additional editorial material.
Bought one new. Drove it fast. Still want another one.

Alafoto Loc: Montgomery, AL

black mamba wrote:

Thanks for commenting, Jim.

I find the front of the Bondine to be attractive. The back end....no so much. What really interested me is one inescapable fact.....you know darn well that the top brass at Chevrolet had to have the ultimate approval of the final design on the Bondine. I'd like to know what their thinking was when they gave their approval for Pininfarina to proceed with the construction.

A good question It's a most un-Chevrolet like design. The front seems vaguely reminiscent of late model Corvettes, the hood line very much like an Avanti, and the complete rear end like my Uncle's '55 Studebaker. I think it might have been a "President" but I was only nine at the time he had it. Another uncle, an architect would drive nothing but Kaisers in that era.

Have any idea how they came up with the name, Bondine?

Earnest Botello Loc: Hockley, Texas

black mamba wrote:

That's interesting to hear, Earnest. I wish you could have been with me as I scrutinized that car from one end to the other. My wife thinks I'm crazy when I tell her that I get special vibes from being around anything, in this case a car, that represents a pinnacle achievement. But that's the honest truth.

Thanks, Tom, believe me I would really have enjoyed it. I did see the Grand Sport race once, back in the 60s, the city of Houston hosted a race for some European dignitaries on a temporary track by the Astrodome before it
opened. It was not a sanctioned race, so there was a wide variety of cars entered, including a very fast, I do mean fast go-cart. Back then you would walk through to the pits to get to the bleachers and guess what car I saw
that I just had to closely check out, the Grand Sport of course, it was awesome. BTW guess what led the first ten laps of the race, the go-cart of course, but then it had mechanical problem and retired from the race. I don't
remember what car won the race.

flyguy Loc: Las Cruces, New Mexico

FL Streetrodder

Tom, thanks for your usual great photographs and backstory of cars most of us will never see in person, certainly not at our monthly Cruise-in in Lake Placid, FL from which I have just returned! I have to agree with others who commented on the rather unusual and questionable styling of the "Italian Corvette." It appears that the "stylists?" lost their way when it came to the back-half of the car and grasped at some of the lines of a '50's Studebaker Gran Turismo!

black mamba

Real Nikon Lover wrote:

Nice shots. The 63 features greatly resemble factory mods to be featured on the later Mako Shark Corvettes. My Cousin had a '69 Mako Vette with 427 cu in featuring factory tripower carbs and M22 rock crusher trans. He hung onto the car for 30 years and sold it to help fund his retirement. It had factory sidepipes and you could hear it a couple of blocks away. I loved that car.

Thanks for commenting.

I had a '67 Corvette Coupe 427, tri-power, side pipes, green with white stinger. It was a beast. All-in all, though, it was the worst buying decision, about cars, that I ever made. If you took the 427 with the tri-power option, you could not get air conditioning. The heat that came through the firewall was of epic proportions. Living in Florida with no AC is bad enough, regardless of what you're driving. When you're driving a coupe, and being subjected to atomic levels of heat, well, it became unbearable. My girl friend and I spent much more time in her car that mine. I unloaded the car after about 15 months. If you told me I could have that car back but that it had to be my daily driver...I'd pass on the deal...not caring about what it's worth as a collector car.

black mamba

Steved3604 wrote:

Very nice. Thanks for posting. I enjoy "anything" Corvette. Thanks for the additional editorial material.
Bought one new. Drove it fast. Still want another one.

Thanks for the visit and for commenting. I appreciate it.