GM Designer Sketches Chaparral Of The Future

(Click to enlarge)

Our new issue is live and available for reading, dear readers. One of our favorite stories from this month’s issue is our feature and drive of the Chaparral 2E. As many of you have already read, GM Design Director Ed Welburn is a huge fan of the 1960s race cars from Texas and played a big part in our story. He mentioned that young members of his staff were passionate about Chaparral, too, and can be found sketching “what if” Chaparrals on envelopes and napkins all the time. Weeks later, Ed sent over three sketches from his design team; one of those is featured in our magazine and another is seen above. In the coming week, we’ll post a third.

The above sketch is from Jose Gonzalez from GM Design. You might be familiar with his work from the Chevrolet Nomad (interior) concept car from 2004 and other projects over the past few years. In this sketch, Gonzalez gives us a new-age form which could be today’s Chaparral 2C (or even a 2J, although the rear wheels are exposed and we can’t see the sucker mechanicals from this view), with a much more contemporary set of lines. The proportions are similar, however, and he kept the driver on the right side like the original. Thanks go to Jose and Ed for giving us a peek into their sketchbooks.

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+ WINDING ROAD: Read our Chaparral 2E feature story here