Kit Car

Vivacious Vette

Exotic Rebodies Captures Corvette and the '60s With Its Concept C60

By Mike Blake

While many kit car owners believe that the Cobra is "America's sports car," the car that bills itself as such is the venerable Corvette. Through five concept styles over 50 years the Corvette has captured the imagination of American sports car lovers nationwide.

As the C5 gives way to the new C6 Vette in 2005, many Corvette lovers nostalgically yearn for the simpler, sexier, cleaner lines of the '60s-style car. That's where Joe Zyskowksi and Exotic Rebodies come in.

Exotic Rebodies made a name for itself with classy replications of Ferrari, BMW, and Porsche models. However, as we live in a litigious society, Zyskowski was forced to abandon those marques and move on to something new--similar, but new. He came up with the Concept C60, an original design that borrows inspiration from the '60 Vette.

Zyskowksi wanted to give Americans an inexpensive way to recapture the past while unleashing the excitement of the future. He chose Corvette as the canvas upon which the image was to be drawn.

Exotic Rebodies uses a C5 as a base because Zyskowski said, "It is a wonderful sports car and there are thousands of them on the road. That makes them common and available as platforms, especially after the C6 comes out."

The C5 donor--actually it was a '98 Vette upon which designer Joseph Bagozzi sculpted his magic--was transformed using components that fit any Fifth-Generation Vette. A raised, functional hood scoop allows for a wide assortment of under-hood combinations. Front fender vents are larger than the donor's, as are the DOT-approved headlights, and the front fenders are designed to work in harmony with the C60 doorskins.

The kit includes the C60 hood, C60 headlights, doorskins, and front fenders. Everything but the headlights are made from hand-laid fiberglass with a gray primer gelcoat surface. The headlights are made of hard urethane or fiberglass.

All of the parts are interchangeable with stock Corvette parts, so C5 owners can choose any or all of the C60 options to customize their ride as they see fit--full conversion or partial makeover.

Zyskowski said that this kit can be built and ready to paint in two weeks.

While this car "says" Corvette, it is an original design, making it a real head-turner on the road. Zyskowski said, "The kit was influenced by the Corvette of yesteryear, European sports cars of today, and futuristic concept cars. The result is a "retro/heritage" design that blends the past with the present and future, while remaining distinctively Corvette. Part of that original design comes from the hood and another portion comes from the front fenders, which have been influenced by the '57-63 Corvette and European designs, with tall, deep vents.

The particulars of this beauty include a stock 350ci LS1 engine that pops out about 345 hp, a wheelbase of 104.5 inches, and a curb weight of 3,245 pounds. The car's profile includes a length of 179.7 inches, width of 62 inches, and height of 47.7 inches. Its weight distribution is a solid 52/48, front/rear.

After putting the car together, Zyskowski finished this original beauty off with House of Kolors Victory Red with Red Fireball 'Flake and GM White, painted by Juan Rios and Abel Hernandez of Glory to Glory Customs of Bloomington, Illinois. In red and white, this car LOOKS like it should look but, customized in imaginative colors, could also provide quite a striking look.

It looks familiar, but then it doesn't. It looks new and exciting, and that it is. The Concept C60 from Exotic Rebodies is sure to turn heads and it handles like a C5 Corvette...nice package. KC