There are rare cars, and then there are rare cars. Plymouth Prowlers, for example, are hard to find these days. But, honestly, who’s looking? Original, ‘60s-era Corvettes, on the other hand, are among the most sought-after cars in the world. One all-original 1967 ‘Vette just went up for sale, and it might be “The Holy Grail” — the one-of-a-kind classic for the car collector who has (almost) everything.
In November, the world’s leading classic Corvette dealership announced that it had recently acquired the world’s rarest Corvette. The Sunfire Yellow 1967 L88 Corvette Coupe is the last of its kind with an original engine. The new owners, California’s Corvette Mike, sat on the car for almost a year with no intention of selling it. Now, they’ve decided to put the one-of-a-kind ride up for auction, and they’re also offering it through a public presale for a cool $3.95 million.
If the price tag seems extreme, consider just how rare this ride is. Only 20 L88 Coupes were manufactured in 1967, and only half of those are known to exist today. The track-ready model was built for racing and made to be driven hard. Not surprisingly, the engines weren’t long for this world. Now, more than 50 years later, only three L88s still exist with their original engines. Two are convertibles, and the last is this ultra-rare Coupe.
The rarity only tells half the story, however. What the lucky buyer is really paying for is the extensive work that went into restoring it. Craftsmen meticulously gave the car a top-down, frame-off rebuild. They spent 10 years scouring the country for parts, right down to the original nuts and bolts from the Chevrolet factory in 1967. Every last part of this car is original, making it arguably “The Holy Grail” of Corvettes.
According to Corvette Mike, this L88 includes “a special ultra-high-performance 427ci big-block engine … Chevrolet added a heavy-duty M22 ‘Rock Crusher’ four-speed manual transmission, K66 transistorized ignition, J56 Heavy duty disc brakes, J50 power brakes, F41 heavy-duty suspension, C48 heater delete, and to top it off, a cowl induction L88 hood.” The site also confirms that “[a]dditional options were available, but most buyers chose to keep their L88 ‘s pure, unadulterated race cars, as they were meant to be!”
To be clear, this isn’t a car that was fast “for its time.” The L88 was and is a fast car, even by today’s standards. The original 500-horsepower engine ranked it among the most hardcore, high-performance OEM motors of its day. With minimal upgrades, numerous L88s won some of the world’s most prestigious auto races, including 24 Hours of Daytona, 24 Hours of Le Mans, and more.
A 2014 Barrett-Jackson auction was the last time a 1967 L88 Corvette Coupe was publicly offered for sale. This latest ‘Vette is available through Corvette Mike for just $90,000 more before it heads to auction in 2020. With all original parts and even the original 1967 title, that feels like a steal.
