A rare landmark Chevrolet Corvette just set a new high bar for the model. A very high bar.
The 1963 Corvette Grand Sport competition car was sold at the RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction for $18,705,000, nearly five times the previous $3,850,000 record for a Corvette.
The car was one of five Grand Sports that were built before General Motors officially pulled its support for factory racing, and just one of three coupes. The sale price blew away its pre-auction estimate of $11 million to $13 million.
The car is constructed with thinner, lighter fiberglass than the production car; a lightweight steel frame; Plxiglas rear and side windows; and an array of aluminum parts including the door hinges, steering components and brake calipers. All of the updates cut the weight from 3,200 pounds to 1,900 pounds.
It was originally powered by a 327 cu-in V8, but was also equipped with 427 cu-in and 377 cu-in V8s during its racing career, the last of which is under the hood today.
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The car finished second at the 1964 12 Hours of Sebring, third in 1965 and counts A.J. Foyt among a long list of noteworthy drivers who have been behind its wheel.
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The price paid would have made it the second-most valuable American car ever sold at an auction behind a 1935 Duesenberg SSJ that was sold for $22 million in 2018, but both were outdone by another car that traded hands a at Monterey this year.
The 1964 Shelby Cobra Daytona Coupe racing car was one of six that that were built and the only one later owned by Carroll Shelby himself, from 1975 to 1998. Originally equipped with a 289 cu-in V8 engine, it was part of the effort that helped Shelby beat Ferrari to the 1965 FIA GT over 2,000cc class championship.
The car crossed the block at Gooding Christie’s in Pebble Beach with an estimated sale price fo $25 million, but ended up going for $42,905,000.
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