GM (General Motors) does not build many cars like the Mako Shark: a 2-door convertible / 2-door hardtop, built from 1962 in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar. Its designer of record is GM Styling & Design / Bill Mitchell / Larry Shinoda.
The background
The XP-755 concept car, also known as the Mako Shark, was designed by Larry Shinoda under the direction of General Motors Styling and Design head Bill Mitchell. With the 1963 Corvette C2 design locked down, in 1961 as a concept for future Chevrolet Corvette the groundwork for the XP-755 was laid down. Building on the design of the 1958 XP-700 "double bubble", the XP-755 added design elements of the soon to be released C2 Corvette. In keeping with the name, the streamlining, pointed snout, and other detailing was partly inspired by the sleek, fast-moving shortfin mako shark. The '61 Corvette tail was given two additional tail lights (six total) for the concept car. The concept was also inspired by Bill Mitchell's 1959 Stingray racer XP-87 which also influenced the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray. Charles M.
Jordan's son, Mark reports that the XP-755 was built out of the 1958 XP-700 Corvette show-car. The Mako Shark debuted at the New York Coliseum at the 1962 6th International Automobile Show, and the car was a success on the auto show circuit. With many of the Mako's design elements making into production on future Corvettes, it was successful in building hype for the forthcoming next generation of Corvette. Like many show cars, the Mako Shark underwent styling and detail changes over time. The hood and front facia were modified and the interior was updated. The car also lost the distinctive "double-bubble" canopy. The car was retroactively dubbed the Mako Shark I when the Mako Shark II debuted. The car now resides in the GM Heritage Collection.
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 2-door convertible / 2-door hardtop. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
Where it sits
On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Alfa Romeo Giulia, the Ferrari 250 GTO, the Maserati Quattroporte. Its GM (General Motors) stablemates include the 1955 Chevrolet and the 1957 Chevrolet.
The money
There is no federal ownership record for the Mako Shark — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.