GM partnered with Lola Cars International to build the chassis, leveraging Lola's existing experience constructing prototype machinery. Initial testing was conducted on a Lola T600, after which an all-new car — the T710 — was developed. The first chassis, T710-HU01, was delivered to GM in 1984 and fitted with a 3.4-litre turbocharged V6 built by Ryan Falconer, itself a destroked variant of the 4.3-litre Chevrolet V6. A second chassis, T711-HU02, ran a Corvette C4-derived 5.7-litre naturally aspirated V8 developing 800 hp and was campaigned by Lee Racing.
The cars wore bodywork closely styled after the Chevrolet Corvette C4: front ends mirrored the production car, with a long pontoon-style tail sporting Corvette tail lights and large side intakes feeding the radiators. The turbocharged V6 chassis additionally had a snorkel built into the top of the fender to feed the turbocharger. Body evolution over subsequent years included a shorter tail section and exploration of a dual-element rear wing.
In 1986, GM added two new T86/10 chassis with evolved bodywork, one retaining the turbocharged V6 and the other running a naturally aspirated V8. For 1987, two further chassis appeared: the T86/12, notable for carrying an active suspension system allowing adjustment of suspension stiffness during a race, and the T87/10, which ran both the turbocharged V6 and a Corvette race-spec V8. In total, seven cars were constructed across the program's life, with chassis designation endings in '10' denoting turbocharged V6 specification and '11' indicating V8-powered designs.
The program's first competitive season saw the T710-HU01 debut at the 24 Hours of Daytona with Lee Racing, where gearbox problems ended the run. Hendrick Motorsports joined mid-season with a factory-backed effort carrying GM Goodwrench sponsorship and David Hobbs as the leading driver, but the team failed to finish any races before the season's close. Lee Racing managed seventh, eighth, and tenth-place finishes across the year.
The Corvette GTP's only two race victories came in 1986. Hendrick Motorsports, running Doc Bundy and Sarel van der Merwe, took the first win at Road Atlanta for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Grand Prix. A third chassis entered in May and run by Hendrick then claimed the second and final victory on the streets of Palm Beach, defeating a Porsche 962 by four tenths of a second. Despite these highlights the team continued to struggle with reliability, and Lee Racing departed the program.
Mechanical inconsistency continued to characterise the 1987 campaign, punctuated by a fire at the Miami event and a series of strong qualifying performances that rarely translated into results. Jaguar's own problems, however, allowed Chevrolet to finish second in the manufacturers' championship, again behind Porsche. By 1988 the team transitioned toward naturally aspirated V8s for improved reliability, achieving more consistent top-ten finishes including a third at Watkins Glen. After the 1988 season General Motors withdrew funding from the project and Hendrick Motorsports did not return to IMSA GT.
Peerless Racing purchased the newest Corvette GTP chassis and completed a partial 1989 season, finishing fourth at Watkins Glen as their sole classified result. Notable names in the Peerless driver roster included David Hobbs, Jack Baldwin, Jacques Villeneuve, and Scott Goodyear. The team subsequently developed an international programme for the 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans, replacing the factory engine with a 10.2-litre four-cam, 32-valve V8 Big Block Chevrolet and renaming the car the Eagle 700. The attempt ended when the car failed to qualify during the night qualifying session due to an electrical problem, marking the effective conclusion of the Corvette GTP story.
Across 60 starts, the Corvette GTP recorded two wins and eight podiums — a modest return that nonetheless represented a significant development investment by General Motors into GTP-class prototype racing and V6 turbo engine technology. The seven-chassis program remains the most sustained factory Corvette effort in prototype endurance racing prior to the modern era.
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