General Motors watched competitors including Jaguar, Porsche, Nissan, and Mazda occupy the GTP class and saw an opportunity to enter the 1984 season while expanding its V6 and V8 engine programmes. The Corvette GTP chassis, designated the T710, was developed by Lola Cars, who had prior experience building IMSA prototype chassis. The designer of the chassis was Randy Whitten. Initial testing used an older Lola T600 fitted with a Chevrolet V8.
The first production chassis, T710-HU01, was fitted with a 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 built by Ryan Falconer — a destroked version of the standard 4.3-litre Chevrolet V6. A second chassis, T711-HU02, used a Corvette C4-derived 5.7-litre naturally aspirated V8 developing approximately 800 horsepower and was campaigned by Lee Racing. Externally the cars wore Corvette C4-style noses with a long pontoon tail carrying Corvette tail lights; large side intakes cooled the radiators, and the turbocharged variant added a snorkel through the front fender to feed the turbocharger. Minimum race weight was 880 kg; tyres were Goodyear Eagles.
For 1986 GM added two new chassis designated T86/10, with revised bodywork and a shorter tail on HU02. Two more followed in 1987: the T86/12, featuring an active suspension system capable of altering stiffness during a race, and a T87/10 running the turbocharged V6 alongside a Corvette race-specification V8. In total seven chassis were built under the programme, their designations indicating engine type: a '10' suffix denoted the turbocharged V6, while '11' indicated a V8.
The car's debut season in 1985 was largely troubled. Lee Racing's first appearance at the 24 Hours of Daytona ended with gearbox failure. Hendrick Motorsports joined mid-season with GM Goodwrench sponsorship and David Hobbs as a leading driver, but neither team reached the finish of any race by year's end. Lee Racing recovered to record seventh, eighth, and tenth-place finishes across the season.
The 1986 campaign delivered the programme's only victories. Hendrick Motorsports and Lee Racing again shared the workload, though Lee abandoned their effort partway through the year. Hendrick drivers Doc Bundy and Sarel van der Merwe took the Corvette GTP's first win at Road Atlanta for the Atlanta Journal/Constitution Camel Grand Prix. A third chassis joined Hendrick's line-up in May, and van der Merwe and Bundy won again at Palm Beach — defeating a Porsche 962 by four tenths of a second. Those two victories would stand as the only wins the Corvette GTP ever achieved. The season also brought third-place finishes at Mid-Ohio and podium results at Charlotte and Lime Rock.
In 1987 Hendrick continued with mixed form, including a fire at Miami and finishes of fourth and seventh at Portland and a third at Sears Point. Problems at Jaguar helped Chevrolet secure second in the manufacturers' championship, though Porsche won again. By 1988 the Corvette GTPs grew more consistent, particularly once naturally aspirated V8 engines were more widely adopted. Peerless Racing joined the field late in the season with notable drivers including David Hobbs, Jack Baldwin, Jacques Villeneuve, and Scott Goodyear, taking a fourth at Columbus.
After General Motors withdrew funding at the end of 1988, Hendrick Motorsports stepped back and Peerless Racing acquired a new chassis to continue into 1989, eventually finishing only one race — fourth at Watkins Glen. The same chassis was subsequently modified by Eagle Performance Engines to accept a naturally aspirated 10.2-litre four-cam, 32-valve V8 Big Block Chevrolet. Renamed the Eagle 700, the car was entered at the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans but failed to qualify after an electrical problem prevented it from setting a time during the night qualifying session, bringing the Corvette GTP programme to a definitive close.
The Corvette GTP appears in Automobilista 2 by Reiza Studios as base game content in the Group C class, allowing sim racers to experience the car alongside contemporary Porsche and Jaguar GTP rivals.
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