Rod Authority’s “Best Of 2018” – Cruella De Ville Corvette

Best of 2018 – This story went over big in 2018 on Rod Authority. Reskinned Corvettes are nothing new, but this attempt was pretty successful, depending on your appreciation of Baroque revival cars. We’ll give you a taste of the story here, or check out the original article for the whole piece.  Enjoy!

For those too young to remember the disco era and Ronald Reagan, retro cars were once all the rage. Posh names like Zimmer, Clenet, Excalibur as well as “tribute” versions of Auburn Speedsters, Cord Roadsters and ’32 Model A Fords, were abundantly recreated in fiberglass riding on top of modern running gear. They fell out of favor years ago and are now considered taste-challenged jalopies from a bygone era, minus the provenance.

Then there were re-bodied Corvettes and Fieros. Some were hideous–badly executed Greenwood kits, Les Dunham/Superfly cars and miniature Ferraris come to mind–while other builders like Callaway went in a more synergistic direction by upgrading the entire car with a clear goal, to go fast.

The Fiero and the C4 Corvette ushered in the modern blueprint of a drivable chassis and (easily swapped) non-structural body panels. All the latest iterations of the Corvette since–RIP Fiero–continue this tradition.

According to Carscoops, “We might just be looking at one of Geneva’s weirdest supercars in the Zeclat. It’s powered by a naturally aspirated 6.2-liter V8 engine, which allows it to get from zero to 60 mph (96 km/h) in a blistering 3.6 seconds, thanks to 460 HP and 465 lb-ft (630 Nm) of torque.

And yes, we don’t need to look that close in order to see it’s based off a Corvette C7 wearing a custom exterior body. It’s low, wide, and (supposedly) styled after aero cars created in the 1930s by French coach-builders such as Figioni & Falaschi, Bugatti, Chapron and PourTout – though, we’ll leave you to tell us if it lives up to those names…

Inside, the Corvette C7’s cabin is unchanged featuring the familiar driver-oriented cockpit, with hand-stitched leather, carbon fiber, piano black glossy surfaces and polished aluminum here and there.