Thursday, May 8, 2008

Speed Racer “Mach 5” Corvette Maker Turns C5s into C2 Stingray Replicas

Chattanooga Rod Design (CRD for short) is the company responsible for producing a drivable replica of the Mach 5 Corvette featured in the movie “Speed Racer” that premieres on May 9, 2008. Not that a Corvette Stingray lookalike is our thing, but with all the hype surrounding the Speed Racer movie we decided to check out CRD’s Classic 1 model which formed the basis for the Mach 5 replica.

The Classic 1 is in essence a turnkey conversion of a Corvette C5 Coupe or Cabriolet (produced from 1997 through 2004). The company begins with a C5 donor car and without touching the mechanicals, it disassembles the exterior of the Corvette and then grafts its own hand fabricated design that mimics the looks of the mid-sixties C2 Vette. According to CRD, the complete turnkey conversion costs $65,000. –Pictures and video after the jump