Gib Hufstader Dies at 94

A very important person in Corvette history died May 4th

Sadly, I wasn’t aware that Gib Hufstader, maybe one of the most important people in Corvette history behind Zora Arkus-Duntov, passed away early this month. Although Arkus-Duntov was Corvette’s first chief engineer and primary Corvette legend, Hufstader was said to be a hands-on engineer who was critical to moving Corvette forward over many years.

He joined the Corvette Group in 1964 and was a fixture there over the rest of his GM career. He was an important resource for the two subsequent chief engineers in charge of GM’s sports car. As we all know, Arkus-Duntov was fixated on moving Corvette to a mid-engine configuration, and Hufstader shared Duntov’s desire. At least ten running mid-engine prototypes were constructed and tested between 1960 and 1973, and Hufstader was heavily involved with that effort early in his Corvette career.

But Hufstader was more than a desk-bound engineer. In 1967, he was a member of the Dick Gulstrand Racing Team at Nassau and LeMans. Two years later, he drove Tony DeLorenzo’s Owens-Corning-sponsored Corvette at the 12 hours of Sebring. He was also involved in Roger Penske’s SCCA Trans Am efforts.

After four decades with Corvette, Hufstader retired from GM in 1995. The National Corvette Museum inducted him into its Hall of Fame in 2001. For Corvette geeks like me, I would say that he lived a life well-lived. RIP Gib Hufstader.

Here is a link to an excellent article about Hufstader by Don Sherman, who I think is the same Don Sherman whose incisive writing I admired in Car and Driver magazine:

https://www.hagerty.com/media/people/corvette-guru-gib-hufstader-dies-at-94/

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