Corvette Racing used the Chevrolet Corvette C5-R to win the Le Mans GT class in 2001.
The C5-R was a purpose-built racing car developed by Pratt Miller and Chevrolet from the fifth-generation Corvette program. Although it shared the Corvette name and basic inspiration with the road car, it had extensively modified bodywork, racing aerodynamics, a wider track, a competition suspension, and a purpose-prepared V8 engine.
At the 2001 24 Hours of Le Mans, the No. 63 Corvette Racing C5-R finished eighth overall and first in the LMGTS class. Ron Fellows, Johnny O’Connell, and Scott Pruett shared the winning car. Corvette Racing’s second C5-R, the No. 64 entry, also finished second in class, giving the team a one-two result in its first Le Mans class victory.
The usual confusion comes from later Corvette racers. The C6.R replaced the C5-R beginning in 2005, and the C7.R later succeeded the C6.R. Neither of those newer cars was the machine responsible for Corvette Racing’s breakthrough Le Mans class win in 2001.