Chevrolet Prototypes (Turismo Carretera)
From the old little cups, through the most varied and attractive prototypes of the Sports category, to the compact ones that today have the Torino, the Chevy, the Falcon, and the Polara, as flagship cars.
The preparation of this machine was entrusted to the brothers, Aldo and Reynaldo Bellavigna, while the engines were in charge of Bernardo Pérez and the driving by Jorge Cupeiro.
At that time, Froilán González's intention to return Chevrolet to the forefront almost materialized when Jorge Cupeiro came runner-up in 1965 with Chevitú, facing La Galera led by Dante Emiliozzi.
The Chevitú was the first compact car to obtain a victory in Turismo Carretera, giving rise to the modern era and initiating the glorious retirement of the "cupecitas" from Argentine motorsports.
Over the course of the season, the Chevitú would reach the top step of the podium 6 more times, but it would not be enough to defeat the powerful vehicle of Dante Emiliozzi, staying with the runner-up in '65.
[6] The performance demonstrated in 1966 little or nothing convinced Froilán, who, determined to experiment with new development alternatives for his unit, summoned a then-new designer Heriberto Pronello, who was entrusted with the task of implementing new reforms to the prototype.
In this way, the Chevitú MkIV was presented, which managed to get closer again to the close-ups of the TC, but without the brilliance of its first predecessor, losing ground heavily against new adversaries such as the Garrafa Chevrolet or the Liebre-Torino.
Finally, by mid- 1968, Froilán decided to entrust Francisco "Paco" Martos with the construction of a new prototype, which ended up bearing the nickname " Chevytres ".
Another of his staunch rivals that date was the Baufer-Ford, prepared by Horacio Steven for the official Ford team and driven by Atilio Viale del Carril.
However, Andrea Vianini was able to avoid the carambola and decidedly headed for victory, breaking the power of the Torinos, which marked the end of the era of the old "cupecitas".
The appearance of cars such as "La Garrafa" by Vianini or "El Petiso" by Rodolfo De Álzaga, marked the beginning of a new era in the TC.
Faced with this reality, coachbuilder Vicente Formisano began to outline the shape of a new car, basing his lines on the Plymouth Barracuda model launched in 1964 in the United States.
[9] To outline this car, Formisano first had to cut out the entire section belonging to the roof and the rear overhang, leaving only the nose, the torpedo, and the front half of the passenger compartment.
It was so that in mid- 1968, Pairetti would decide to renew himself by presenting the Baufer-Chevrolet model, popularly known as the Orange Thunder, on the track, while the Barracuda would be entrusted to his friend, Néstor Jesús García Veiga.
In the hands of García Veiga, the model would compete for a couple more races, finally being relegated in 1969 ., when he had his last participation on March 23, 1969, during the Vuelta de Santa Fe.
The pilots Fernando Arana and Hugo Alberini also participated in the TC under the command of a unit similar to this one, who alternated in driving this machine.
These deaths were the reason why the official Ford team withdrew its support from Steven, giving it to José Miguel Herceg, one of the most successful tuners of the brand.
[11] Upon becoming aware of the existence of this car, Carlos Alberto Pairetti approached Steven's workshop to propose that he redesign the model and equip it with Chevrolet engines.
It owes its name to the color with which it was painted, and to the nickname with which it was baptized by José Tomás Onetto, a journalist from Diario Clarín who was covering the alternatives of national motoring at that time and who was impressed with the speed of the car.
After his participation in Turismo Carretera, Pairetti would end up selling his car to the driver Eduardo Bouvier, who years later would become president of the Formula Renault Argentina category.
On December 3, 2009, an exact replica of the Orange Thunder was presented at the Buenos Aires Autodromo, which was piloted by Pairetti himself, accompanied by his eternal companion Héctor "Laucha" Ríos.
The car was manufactured at the Balcarce Regional Faculty of the National Technological University and presented in February 2009, during the second date of the Road Tourism calendar.
The Trueno Dorado was another Chevrolet prototype prepared by Horacio Steven for the official General Motors Turismo Carretera team.
It was the second car of the Competición SA squad, which had received official support from General Motors of Argentina, after the performances made in the debut of the Trueno Naranja and in the following races.
This prototype was released later, on August 18, 1968, driving Oscar "Cacho" Fangio, and being the support vehicle for Trueno Naranja in the fight for the title.
The vehicle was completed with the body created by Baufer at the request of Martos, and two sets of suspensions, the original front ones being a Kaiser Brigantine and the rear of a Chevrolet 400.
However, the competition had come up in 1969 with new weapons to the fray.
It was so that after the third race of the year 1969, he handed over the driving of the Orange Thunder to his friend "Nene" Néstor Jesús García Veiga and decided to acquire one of the prototypes created by Heriberto Pronello, only in this case, instead of After motorizing his car with the IKA "Tornado" engines, he decided to use the same motorization as the Orange Thunder and put it under the orbit of the official Chevrolet team.
Regarding its decoration, Pairetti himself requested that the car receive the same treatment as the Orange Thunder, with the difference that the roof of the Nova was white, in addition to carrying the same sponsors and the same official support.
