Dateline: 8.9.12
A stunning collection of photos of one of the toughest racing Corvettes ever!
RM Auctions is putting on 11 events for 2012 and the Monterey auction is just around the corner. Last year five Corvettes went on the block, four racers and one stocker, with all but one finding a new home. Of course, last year’s BIG star for Corvette fans was the Greenwood Stars and Stripes 427 ZL-1 #49 Corvette that went for $580,000.
This year there’s only one Corvette and WOW is it a beauty with a story. The Owens-Corning 1968 L88 Corvette was one of the fiercest Corvette racers ever. Raced by Jerry Thompson and Tony DeLorenzo, the car scored an astonishing 22 victories in a row! The team fielded two L88 Corvettes and at one point took 1st and 2nd in 14 of the 22 races won. In the March 2010 issue of Corvette Magazine, Jerry Thompson was quoted saying, “They worked. That doesn’t mean that they were easy to drive. The engines had so much torque and power that most guys were intimidated by them.”
When Corvette Repair performed the restoration on the car, Kevin Mackay and his team took the car back to its 1971 24 Hours of Daytona livery. The car has been beautifully photographed for the RM Auction catalog. RM Auction publishes a paper book/catalog for around $50, but they also publish a digital version through ZMags at no charge. Every car that’s up for auction is in the catalog with first class pictures and wonderfully written articles about each car. The catalog by itself is a delight, and you can’t beat the price.
To access the digital catalog, CLICK HERE. Look on the left side for the Search icon (it looks like a magnifying glass), then type in “Corvette” and you’ll go to the Owens-Corning page.
The event runs on August 17th and 18th, with the Owens-Corning car going off Friday night. The Lot number is 141 and the cars are auctioned off in numerical order, beginning at 6:30 PM Pacific Daylight Time. With 40 cars before the Owens-Corning car, it’ll be a few hours before the O-C Corvette comes up. The event is broadcast live through the RMAuctions.com website, which is very cool. I’m on the east coast in New Jersey and I think I was up until 2:30 AM before the Greenwood car came up for auction, but it was worth the weight!
Most cars are pushed onto the turntable for bidding. But for the Greenwood Corvette, they fired up the ZL-1 beast and drove the car on stage, with the oh-so-proper auctioneer saying, “There it is, 700-horsepower, ladies and gentlemen! Seven hundred horsepower!” Let’s hope RM lets the Owens-Corning Corvette flex its L88 muscle. Vroom-VROOM! – Scott
Related: “Vette at Monterey Auction results… SOLD!” CLICK HERE.
“On the Auction Block! 1968 Owens-Corning L88 Corvette” CLICK HERE.
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