Zora Arkus-Duntov

Belgian-born American engineer. His work on the Chevrolet Corvette earned him the nickname Father of the Corvette.

His father was a Russian-born Jewish mining engineer, and his mother, also Russian Jewish, was a medical student in Brussels.

After the family returned to their hometown of Leningrad, Zora's parents divorced. His mother's new partner, Josef Duntov, another mining engineer, had moved into the household. Even after the divorce, Zora's father continued to live with the family, and out of respect for both men, Zora and brother Yura took on the last name of Arkus-Duntov.

Shortly after going to work for Chevrolet, Zora set the tone for what he was about to accomplish in a memo to his bosses. The document, entitled, "Thoughts Pertaining to Youth, Hot Rodders and Chevrolet", laid the foundation for the strategy that Chevrolet has used ever since to create one of the most successful performance parts programs in the industry. Chevrolet quickly became one of the most successful manufacturers ever in the history of motor racing. Soon, Zora became director of high performance at Chevrolet and helped to transform GM's largest division from a conservative company into a youthful, exciting one. In the process, he would change the Corvette from a docile roadster into a formidable sports car that challenged Porsche, Ferrari, Maserati, and Mercedes-Benz.