Zora Arkus-Duntov

1909–1996

Corvette chief engineer · Racing driver

Belgian-born engineer and Le Mans class winner who joined Chevrolet in 1953 and became known as the father of the Corvette.

Born: 25 December 1909Brussels, Belgium
Died: 21 April 1996Detroit, Michigan, United States
Nationality: American

Biography

Zora Arkus-Duntov was born Zachar Arkus in Brussels on 25 December 1909. In 1942 he and his brother founded the Ardun Mechanical Corporation, whose aluminium overhead-valve cylinder heads for the flathead Ford V8 appeared in 1947.

He joined Chevrolet as an assistant staff engineer on 1 May 1953 and kept racing: he won his class at Le Mans in a Porsche 550 RS Spyder in 1954 and again in a Porsche in 1955. That year he also helped bring the small-block V8 to the Corvette, and in 1957, as director of high-performance vehicles, he helped add fuel injection.

The Corvette Grand Sport programme was approved in 1962, and a Grand Sport won the ACC championship in 1963. Arkus-Duntov became the Corvette's chief engineer in 1967 and retired in 1975. He died in Detroit on 21 April 1996; the Automotive Hall of Fame had inducted him in 1991.