Despite plenty of European cynicism, the rich history of the Chevrolet Corvette means that ‘America’s Sports Car’ has a large, enthusiastic – and well-deserved – following. And just as the likes of Aston Martin and Ferrari have dedicated auctions, so does Corvette.
The star of this year’s Bloomington Gold Corvette auction is Corvette designer Harley Earl’s own 1963 Corvette Stingray.
Earl, who was head of GM’s Art and Color section from the late 1920s, was responsible for the design of the original C1 Corvette of 1953. Although he retired from GM in 1958, he remained as a consultant and, in 1963, was presented with his own personalised example of the then-new second-generation car.
The car, which Earl ran for two years, is similar to the show car from the 1963 Chicago motor show, but features unique metallic blue and white paintwork, a side exhaust and several extra instrument gauges in the glove box, including an altimeter, an ambient temperature gauge and an oil temperature gauge.
The car is powered by a 1963-spec 327 cubic inch 300hp V8 (see below for more spec).
The auction will be held at the Exclusively Corvettes show in Illinois on 26-27 June.
- 327 cubic inch, 300 horsepower engine, 1963 dated
- 1965-style 4-wheel disc brakes
- 1965-style dual circuit power brakes
- Stainless steel side-exit exhaust
- Unique one-of-a-kind instrumentation with 1965-67 Corvette flat design
- Special gauges including: altimeter, accelerometer, inside and outside temperature, oil temperature and vacuum pressure
- Stainless steel footwell inserts
- Unique one-of-a-kind door panels
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