Mirage Proto

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Mirage Proto

Postby hammerdown7 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 12:03 pm

Here's a picture of the Mirage prototype which Bort used for their presentation to GM. I haven't seen this particular shot before. Found it on DeansGarage.com

02whaletail.jpg
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Re: Mirage Proto

Postby stage169 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:06 pm

It was a small pic on here included with two others. This is how it looked straight from Jack P. Just like the ones he had of your car (ink pen circles all over the pic) At least blown up bigger you can see the stripes on the roof. I sent all that stuff to Gary Smith of Dean's Garage.

The "Berger" Monza used as the original prototype Rapide was privately owned by Pat Wahl who raced it in that SCCA Class. Jack Juratovic and myself knew Pat Wahl through "car stuff". Pat and his dad, Rex Coleman, owned and operated C&F Stamping in Grand Rapids, MI. One of C&F's contracts was the stamped steel inner door panels for the production Corvettes, hence, there was another professional GM connection for us. Using Pat's Monza as a donor car also meant we had no "upfront" dollars necessary to invest in a vehicle for the prototype. Pat and Rex where also close friends of Dale Berger, the local Chevy dealer. The vehicle used for the Mirage prototype clay and approval parts for production tooling was a General Motors property. The decal on the Rapide side glass is an SCCA decal; it was on the car during racing, clay modeling, prototype parts fab+install and the final Rapide vehicle presentation and never removed.


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Re: Mirage Proto

Postby hammerdown7 » Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:38 pm

Thanks, I guess that is one that didn't stick in my mind!

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Re: Mirage Proto

Postby mahoy78spyder » Mon Sep 19, 2016 10:40 pm

You know, somehow I missed the stripes on the roof the first time I saw this photo. Very cool.
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Re: Mirage Proto

Postby greg72 » Wed Sep 21, 2016 10:49 am

I'm glad the final design changed to the rear spoiler "matching" the rear quarter extensions at the hatch line. I think it looks better than the whale tale on the prototype.
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Re: Mirage Proto

Postby fyrftr50 » Fri Sep 30, 2016 5:42 pm

Brian provided me all those photos and a whole lot more for my website ... http://monza.homestead.com/rapide.html
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