1976 Chevrolet Corvette Widebody news, pictures, and information

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Chassis Num: 76

This 1976 GM-Garcia Corvette was built for the Garcia Brothers by General Motors in 1976. Its first race was at the 12-Hours of Sebring in 1976, driven by Javier Garcia, Jack Baldwin, and George Garcia.

It has been restored by the current owner, John Goodman, in Seattle. Its first race after the restoration was the Pacific Northwest Historic Sovren race.

In 1974 at the Detroit Auto Show the public got their first glimpse of the wide-body Chevrolet Corvette. It was immediately given the nickname 'Batmobile' by the press. The vehicle, based on the third-generation Corvette, had been constructed for SCCA and IMSA road racing competition.

The wide-body, also known as slab-side, was constructed in such a way to comply with racing regulations, improve aerodynamics, reduce lift, add extra down-force, and improve ventilation. The nose sat very low to the ground because the body was dropped around the frame.

The car made its racing debut at Road Atlanta after two years of development and testing. Bobby Allison's big-block Camaro provided stiff competition in the ten lap race but in the end it was the Corvette that took top honors. That was the beginning of a successful season and an impressive racing career.

In 1972 John Greenwood raced a Corvette in one of the worlds most famous, prestigious, and grueling races – the 24 Hours of LeMans. He was teamed with comedian Dick Smothers and together they qualified 38th. After 10 hours of the race the team was forced to retire, however, they had managed to last an hour longer than the team car driven by Alain Cudini and Bernard Darniche.

The following year Greenwood returned to LeMans with the famous Chevrolet dealer Don Yenko in a two-car effort. Unfortunately, both vehicles were unable to achieve the desired success.

Three years later Greenwood returned to LeMans, this time with his wide-body Corvettes. With over 700 horsepower of fuel-injected big-block muscle, the cars were reported to have a top speed of 240 mph. Adorned with an American flag paint scheme, the Greenwood Corvette qualified 9th. Unfortunately the car was DNF'd due to a failed fuel-cell after just five hours of racing.

Though the desired success was not achieved at LeMans, the car did prove its potential state-side by dominating many of the races it entered. While at LeMans it achieved 228 mph, a true testament to its potent engine and excellent aerodynamics.

The cars have been featured in magazines such as Hot Rod Magazine and Road & Track. It was even hailed by many as the 'fastest Corvette in the world.'

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In 1976, John Greenwood built this car for Chicago dealer Rick Mancuso. The widebody Corvette was built to run the 1976 IMSA Road Racing series. Mancuso debuted the car at the 1976 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, then went on to run the 12 Hours of Sebring in March. John Greenwood was quietly approached to field a widebody Corvette at the 1976 24 Hours of LeMans. He realized that time was too tight to build another chassis for LeMans, so he asked Mancuso to let him borrow the Mancuso-Greenwood Corvette. After arriving at LeMans, French rally driver Claude Darnish was enlisted to co-drive with John. The car qualified sixth, with a top speed of 221 mph on the Mulsanne Straight. The car lasted until the 16th hour, when a rear tire exploded, damaging the fuel cell and rear bodywork. Mancuso campaigned the car for several years in the IMSA series before retiring it. The current owner purchased the car in 1995, and it has been meticulously restored to its original condition.

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