Donald "Don" Frank Yenko (May 27, 1927March 5, 1987) was an American car dealer and racecar driver best known for creating the Yenko Camaro, a high-performance version of the Chevrolet Camaro.

Biography

Early life

Yenko grew up in Bentleyville, Pennsylvania. He learned to fly an airplane at age 16 and went on to serve in the United States Air Force, before attending the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvan ...

. While a student at Penn State, Yenko started the school's first flying club, was president of the debating club, and a member of the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity.

Career

In the 1950s and 1970s, Yenko gained international acclaim for racing Corvettes in regional races as well as prestigious endurance contests including

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...

. He was a four-time

Sports Car Club of America The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

national driving champion. In 1957, Yenko set up a performance shop for

Chevrolet Chevrolet ( ), colloquially referred to as Chevy and formally the Chevrolet Motor Division of General Motors Company, is an American automobile division of the American manufacturer General Motors (GM). Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941) and ous ...

vehicles at the family's Chevrolet dealership in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. The customers could either order high performance parts or have their car modified by Yenko's mechanics. The first popular aftermarket car made by Yenko came in 1965, in the form of a modified version of the Chevrolet Corvair. Named "The Stinger", these Corvairs were modified with a variety of different body accessories, engine upgrades that produced outputs of up to 240 hp, as well as upgrades in steering, transmissions, suspension, and positraction differentials. A total of 185 Stingers are believed to have been built between 1965 and 1967. In 1967, when Chevrolet began selling the Camaro, Yenko began to modify SS Camaros by replacing the original L-78 396 in³ (6.5 L) engine with a Chevrolet Corvette's L-72 427 in³ (7.0 L) and upgrade the rear axle and suspensions. He also modified other Chevrolet vehicles like Chevelle and

Nova A nova (plural novae or novas) is a transient astronomical event that causes the sudden appearance of a bright, apparently "new" star (hence the name "nova", which is Latin for "new") that slowly fades over weeks or months. Causes of the dramati ...

by fitting them with L-72 engines. This limited series of cars sometimes began to take the name "sYc" (standing for Yenko Super Car), after the graphics found on the hoods and head rests. The 1970s saw the decline in muscle cars due to higher insurance premiums and tighter

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rules. Yenko shrewdly countered by placing his unique touch on the 1970 Nova. Instead of placing a big block 427 c.i. in his special Nova he convinced GM to put a very potent small block 350 c.i. (360 h.p.) that the new Z-28 Camaro and LT1 Corvette shared. Additionally, the new "Yenko Deuce", as it was known, had extensive suspension, transmission, and rear axle upgrades along with some very lively stripes, badges, and interior decals. A bit later in the decade, Yenko began to modify the Chevrolet Vega with spoilers, turbochargers, and design graphics, dubbing it the "Yenko Stinger II". Due to difficulties with United States Environmental Protection Agency certification, he only sold the modified Vega without a turbocharger. Instead, the turbocharger sold separately at the Yenko dealership. In 1972, Yenko stopped selling modified cars and began publishing a performance parts catalog from cosmetic modification to engine modification. One of his notable products was the ZL-1 engine, which he produced under permission from Chevrolet. In 1981, Yenko made his last modification, the Turbo Z Camaro. He added a turbocharger to 350 in³ (5.7 L) engine. In addition to Chevrolet, Yenko dealerships included

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...

, Audi,

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, Honda,

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and Saab.

Death

Yenko, along with his three passengers, died in March 1987 while bringing his Cessna 210 in for a landing near

Charleston Charleston most commonly refers to: * Charleston, South Carolina * Charleston, West Virginia, the state capital * Charleston (dance) Charleston may also refer to: Places Australia * Charleston, South Australia Canada * Charleston, Newfoundlan ...

, West Virginia. The landing was hard, causing the aircraft to bounce and Yenko to lose control. It then hit a dirt bank, fell into a ravine and crashed. He was 59 years old.Famous People Who Died in Aviation Accidents - 1980s
(planecrashinfo.com)

Notes

External links