Have you ever asked yourself, ?Gee, what would ?Fast Eddy? drive"? Probably not, unless you?re a Corvette fanatic and/or fan of General Motors? late designer Ed Taylor, known by many as ?Fast Eddy.? But the folks at the Aria Group, a 21-year-old design firm and fabrication company that builds concept cars for major automakers and helps Singer restore its gorgeous 911s in Irvine, California, are fans of the man. As an homage to Mr. Taylor (who, not at all incidentally, is the father of Aria co-founder Charles Taylor), Aria decided to design and build the car it thinks Fast Eddy would drive today?the ?elusive mid-engine Corvette.?
A real Chevrolet-built mid-engined Corvette won?t be elusive for long, but that didn?t stop Aria from building its dream car, which we have to say is absolutely gorgeous. Nor did Chevrolet seek to stop Aria, either. ?We?re great friends with the folks at GM, and they know that we are doing this,? said Aria?s other co-founder, Clive Hawkins. When asked about trademark infringement, Hawkins said that Aria looked into styling and other aspects of how its car might step on Corvette?s toes; he doesn?t believe the car does that. If it does, though, GM?s lawyers will be in touch. Note that the crossed flags on the car?s nose have the letters ?F? and ?E,? not a checkered flag and a bow tie. At this point, the car is a concept only, with no engine and no interior. The front end has a bit of late-1970s Pontiac Trans Am going on; in back, the car is hig...