1962 Corvette Four-Seat Prototype Was Destroyed Before It Could Be Produced

Chevrolet's president, Ed Cole, funded the development for a four-place Corvette in reply to the famous four-seat Ford Thunderbird of the early 1960s. GM Design's Instagram team chose to inform us of the vehicle this week, even though the prototype was destroyed before it could be put into production.

The four-place Corvette prototype was produced in 1962 and developed by Larry Shinoda, the Corvette's designer. It had four seats that were presumably spacious enough for adults.

According to Corvette Blogger, the Corvette's wheelbase was increased by 6 inches (152 mm) to 104 inches (2,641 mm) to accommodate additional seats. The doors look to be longer to make access to the back simpler. As a result, the roof appears to be a little more prominent than the two-seaters.

The same source says GM's design team detested the car. Meanwhile, Shinoda is supposed to have claimed that the car was canceled because a GM official got stuck inside it. The front seat locked on him once he was in the back, and someone had to remove the entire seat to get him out.

The concept was demolished a few weeks later, but not before workers managed to get some beautiful pictures to prove its existence. It has an unsettling quality about it. It's similar to the Jaguar E-Type 2+2 in that it almost functions but isn't quite right. Maybe there was a need for a more functional version of Corvette - but we'll never know.