The highest price ever paid for a Chevrolet Corvette at auction stands at $3,850,000, but that may soon look cheap.
A rare and significant 1963 Corvette Grand Sport will be crossing the block at the RM Sotheby’s event in Monterey, Calif., in August with a pre-auction valuation up to $13 million.
The competition car is one of just five like it that were built before General Motors killed the program as an formal corporate ban factory support of motorsports went into effect. Two roadsters and three coupes were built, this example being the first of the latter. I was extensively campaigned and won three SCCA class victories in 1963.
A.J. Foyt and Jim Hall were among the cast of noteworthy drivers to take the wheel during its career, which included second and third in class results at the 1964 and 1965 12 Hours of Sebring.
The car was the brainchild of Zora Arkus-Duntov, the famed engineer known as the Father of the Corvette. It features a lightweight steel frame and the extensive use of aluminum for a wide range of parts that includes the door hinges, steering components and brake calipers.
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The body was also reengineered with thinner, lighter fiberglass than the production Corvette’s, wider fenders, revised aerodynamics and Plexiglas side and rear windows. All of the changes contributed to a weight reduction from the production car’s 3,200 pounds to 1,900 pounds.
The car was originally equipped with a 327-cubic-inch V8, but also ran with 427-cubic-inch V8 and a 377-cubic-inch V8 like the one in it today, which is matched to an M21 four-speed transmission updated with M22 close-ratio gearing.
The car retains its original body and chassis and has been put through a $1 million restoration that includes a recreation of its 1964 12 Hours of Sebring livery.
RM Sotheby’s estimates the car will sell for somewhere in the $11 million to $13 million range, the high end of which would be quadruple the $3.85 million model record paid for a 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 in 2014.
If it reaches the target zone, it will become one of the most valuable American cars ever sold at auction. The record currently stands at $22 million paid for a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ, while the first 1963 Shelby Cobra sold for $13,750,000.
Those are followed by a 1966 Ford GT40 Mk II that raced at in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1966 and a 1968 Ford GT40 Gulf/Mirage Lightweight that won several races and was also used as a camera car during the making of the Steve McQueen film “Le Mans,” which sold for $11 million.
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