Pioneering Corvette chief engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov would have been thrilled to see the new-generation mid-engine Vette comparing favorably with far more expensive sports cars. And he would have been floored to see the new-for-2023 Z06 version called “an American Ferrari” by a leading automotive magazine. Lapping a racetrack faster than all but a handful of exotics and priced from $110,000 to nearly $180,000 with all options, the Corvette Z06 has indeed “arrived” in a new echelon of the performance car world.
Of the 38,762 1969 Corvettes made, just two were built for sale with the legendary ZL-1 427 cu.-in. race engine. One of those was a convertible. The original owner campaigned it for three years before storing it until 1989. Then, after 15 years of shows and some competition, it went to a second owner, who had it restored by the world’s top Corvette restoration shop. RM Sotheby’s estimates the next owner will pay up to $3M to take the car home from its Scottsdale auction.
The first mid-engine Corvette is finally going into production in February. The $59,995 base price seems almost unbelievable until you remember that Chevrolet will make it up in volume.
On Friday, June 30, 1953, workers at the Chevrolet plant in Flint, Michigan, assembled the first Corvette, a two-seater sports car that would become an American icon. The first completed production car rolled off the assembly line two days later, one of just 300 Corvettes made that year.
