Three factory-built Corvette L88s left the St. Louis plant for delivery to James Garner’s Los Angeles-based American International Racing (AIR) team in November 1967. These Le Mans Blue convertibles were the first production models featuring the new L88 engine with first-generation closed-chamber aluminum heads. The cars were actually picked up at Gene Jantzen Chevrolet in St. Louis and then driven to California by Dick Guldstrand, Bob McDonald, and Perry Moore. As soon as the cars arrived, the engines Read More

The catalog notes on the 1992 turquoise ZR-1 that sold at Mecum’s Bloomington Gold auction in June were brief to the point of terse, but they said everything that needed to be said:

“Lingenfelter 475 hp package, 3.92 performance gears, Borla SS exhaust, Wilwood 6-piston brakes, FX3 suspension, dual removable roofs, complete maintenance records, well-maintained California car, 47,900 actual miles, 6-speed manual transmission, all available options, Bright Aqua Metallic with Black interior.”

The 1997 model year remains the single most radically changed Corvette in history. Even with the transition from the C1 to the C2 in 1963 and the C3 to the C4 in 1984, the same engines were carried over from previous years. But with the introduction of the C5, everything was new—frame, body, engine, and transmissions, which were now transaxles.

So the C5 had the greatest possibility to become a major disaster if the build quality was not Read More

Corvettes dominated SCCA racing in 1959, and Jim Jeffords took the SCCA B Production points championship with his 1959 Corvette, dubbed the Purple People Eater Mk III. Plans were laid to contest the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA championship the following year.

Against this frenetic backdrop, the 1959 Corvette offered here was built. The powerplant is the 290-hp, fuel-injected 283 V8. A 4-speed manual transmission, Positraction rear axle, as well as heavy-duty brakes and an Read More

After a decade of production of the classic “solid-axle” Corvette, Chevrolet pulled out all the stops to present a brand new Corvette for 1963. Although the various engine and transmission choices were carried over, every aspect was otherwise redesigned, and a beautiful new fiberglass body was offered for the first time in either coupe or convertible form.

Its Sting Ray show car-inspired looks were certainly fresh and exciting, embraced by a new, much stiffer chassis with independent rear Read More

The L88 Corvette entered its third year of production in 1969, having established itself as all-conquering in both SCCA and FIA competition.

Rated at a measly 430 horsepower, the L88 pumped out an all-too-real 560 hp at its redline, and, with special heavy-duty brakes, F41 suspension, and a bullet-proof Positraction rear end, it was as potent and race-ready as anything from Detroit at the time.

Well-known as the dominant performance Corvette, it was still under tight production reins Read More

This 1987 Callaway Twin Turbo Corvette coupe was an original RPO B2K dealer-ordered car, number 100 of 188 built in the first of five years of RPO B2K production. It was delivered new in New York to its original owner.

While on assignment for CM at the Arizona auctions in January 2008, Senior Analyst B. Mitchell Carlson watched the sale of this car. On p. 86 of the “Market Report Roundup” in the Spring issue of CM, he Read More

The C3 arrived in 1968, sporting the Corvette’s first major restyling since ’63. Obviously based on the Mako Shark II show car, the new ’Vette had an aero front end with hidden headlights and disappearing wipers. Except for fender air vents and chrome on the rocker panels, the undulating body sides were plain. The blunt, Kammback rear deck had four round taillights. A “tunnel roof” coupe with a removable back window and optional T-top replaced the Sting Ray Read More