Wednesday, January 12, 2011

National Corvette Museum to Auction VIN 001 - 2011 Special Edition Le Mans Z06 Corvette at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale

Tribute Car to Benefit Planned Motorsports Park

2010 marked the 50th anniversary celebration of Corvette’s first appearance and win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and to celebrate that significant occasion Chevrolet built a special 2011 Corvette Z06, donning the same Arctic White paint, blue racing stripes and number “3” as the car it pays homage to… the 1960 Cunningham Corvette which won its class 50 years ago.

Bidders at the 2011 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction will get a unique and rare opportunity to own this true one-of-a-kind Corvette on Friday, January 21 when it hits the auction block in support of the National Corvette Museum. Proceeds from the auction will benefit the Museum’s planned Motorsports Park – a nearly 500 acre facility complete with road courses, autocross course, skid pad, karting track and drag strip.

In celebration of the 50th Anniversary, the 2011 tribute Corvette participated in a Legends of Le Mans event with a memorable parade lap at Laguna Seca alongside three historic Le Mans cars (1960 Cunningham, 1967 Bondurant/Guldstrand, 1973 BF Goodrich) as well as the Corvette C6.R GT2 car. The car has also been used for a number of other publicity functions including the first public showing at the Corvette Museum’s C5/C6 Bash April 30, ALMS Races at Utah, Lime Rock, Mid-Ohio and Road America, Corvettes at Carlisle and finally the NCM Hall of Fame event. The car is autographed by racing legends and Corvette Hall of Fame members Dick Guldstrand, John Fitch and Dick Thompson as well as the 2010 Corvette Racing drivers Johnny O’Connell, Oliver Gavin, Olivier Beretta and Jan Magnussen.

In addition to being a tribute car, Chevrolet with the help of GM’s Design Center added special one-off features to this production Corvette Z06 which is also the first saleable 2011 Z06 Corvette with VIN 001, manufactured on April 19 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Features include Competition Gray headlamps, mirrors and wheels; heritage 1960 style blue split stripes and #3 door numbers; special 50th Anniversary of Le Mans Racing logos; blue brake calipers; Z07 Performance Package with Brembo carbon ceramic brakes, 19” front / 20” rear 20-spoke competition gray wheels, Michelin PS2 tires, and Magnetic Selective Ride Control; black carbon fiber front splitter and rockers; ZR1 style rear spoiler; ebony leather wrapped interior with Competition Gray trim; LS7 7.0 I 427 ci 505 hp small-block V8 with dry sump system, titanium components; 6-speed manual transmission with launch control; carbon fiber fenders and floor panels; and an aluminum frame structure and magnesium engine cradle.

The Corvette is listed on the Barrett-Jackson website at: http://www.barrett-jackson.com/application/onlinesubmission/lotdetails.aspx?aid=403&ln=1032&pop=0&it=1 and the auction of this car will be televised live on the Speed Network between 7 and 9pm MST. The National Corvette Museum will be in attendance at the show with a booth by the General Motors area to answer any questions about the car and offer Corvette merchandise and raffle tickets for purchase.

Download a hero card about the car here:
http://www.corvettemuseum.com/lemansauctioncar.pdf
Download a fact sheet here:
http://www.corvettemuseum.com/lemansfactsheet.pdf
View high res images of the car here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/corvettemuseum/2011SpecialZ06#
View a short video of the car here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ATyrea7Qv4

The National Corvette Museum is the ‘Gateway to All Things Corvette’ and a member-driven, 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation. Weekly news on the latest Corvette developments, racing updates, event features and raffles are available by subscribing to “NCM eNews” at: corvettemuseum.org/ncmenews. Dedicated to the mission of celebration, education and preservation, the Museum is open seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. CT - located at Exit 28 on I-65 in Bowling Green, KY.