Father of the Performance Corvette, as he was dubbed, Duntov began his career with Chevrolet in 1953, where he was first drawn to the company after seeing a XP-122 Corvette prototype at a General Motors auto show. He then wrote to Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief designer, outlining his ideas for improving the Corvette. Cole was impressed enough by Duntov's letter that he asked him to join Chevrolet as a research and development engineer. He was named the Corvette's engineering coordinator just a year after joining the company in 1956, and was also named director of high performance vehicles, and becoming chief engineer on the Corvette in 1968. He was responsible for such advances as disc brakes, independent rear suspension and limited slip differentials, all of which were found on production Corvettes. He was born Zachary Arkuss, to Russian parents in Belgium, and came to America in 1941. He had graduated from the Institute of Charlottenburg in Berlin in 1934 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He continued to serve as a consultant to Chevrolet after retiring in 1975. He died from cancer induced kidney failure at age 86.
Father of the Performance Corvette, as he was dubbed, Duntov began his career with Chevrolet in 1953, where he was first drawn to the company after seeing a XP-122 Corvette prototype at a General Motors auto show. He then wrote to Ed Cole, Chevrolet's chief designer, outlining his ideas for improving the Corvette. Cole was impressed enough by Duntov's letter that he asked him to join Chevrolet as a research and development engineer. He was named the Corvette's engineering coordinator just a year after joining the company in 1956, and was also named director of high performance vehicles, and becoming chief engineer on the Corvette in 1968. He was responsible for such advances as disc brakes, independent rear suspension and limited slip differentials, all of which were found on production Corvettes. He was born Zachary Arkuss, to Russian parents in Belgium, and came to America in 1941. He had graduated from the Institute of Charlottenburg in Berlin in 1934 with a degree in mechanical engineering. He continued to serve as a consultant to Chevrolet after retiring in 1975. He died from cancer induced kidney failure at age 86.
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