The Chevrolet Grand Sport was the second model line up released by Exoto in their "Racing Legends" line, the 1st being the Shelby Daytona Coupe.
The Corvette Grand Sport was developed from the 1963 Corvette with the intention of producing a competitive racing car. Three Grand Sports made their racing debut at the 1963 Nassau Speed Week in the Bahamas. Each car had a different coloured stripe on the leading edge of the nose for instant recognition from the pits. Number 80 was chassis number 005 and was driven solely by Dick Thompson. The car was competitive in terms of outright speed, but did not fare well initially due to an overheating differential. This particular problem was solved by the addition of an external oil cooler on the rear deck of the car. No.80 did not win any of the races outright, but managed several top ten, and indeed top 5 finishes during the race week.
Exoto did a very good job on this model of the Grand Sport Corvette. The interior has realistic carpeting and seatbelts, as well as a detailed dashboard. The wheels and tires look superb, and the rims even have tire valves. The model is very heavy, which gives it an overall feeling of solidity. The engine compartment has a highly detailed V8 and the radiator is photo etched metal.
The paintwork is excellent and there is a tiny rear trunk which contains a spare tire and nothing else! To open it, you have to press a button underneath the rear of the car. Of note, the spare tire is a Firestone, while the car is shod with Goodyears. This is not an error by Exoto, but it reflects the fact that the car was due to run on Firestone rubber, but at the last minute was put on Goodyears instead. The spare was not changed and hence does not match the tires on the rims.
As ever with Exoto, several versions of the Grand Sport have been released including several versions of the rarer Roadster. Overall a great model of an interesting race car.
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