Video: Sinkhole at National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green. Priceless ’83 Spared, Eight Cars Consumed

By John Coyle - February 12, 2014

It’s a sad day for anyone who loves cars—especially Corvettes. [ Update: Here’s the security cam footage of the cars getting swallowed, along with drone video from inside the hole. ]

At 5:30 CST this morning, a sinkhole opened up under the Sky Dome at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky, swallowing eight cars. No employees were injured. Local emergency crews estimated the sinkhole’s dimensions at 40 feet across and 25 to 30 feet deep. Here’s a geological opinion on the event. For details on the cars keep reading.

C7 production will not be affected, and according the NCM website, the museum will be open normal hours tomorrow. There was no official word on whether museum deliveries will be affected. The Sky Dome—where the jewels of the museum’s collection reside—will be closed until a full review of the structure can be completed.

All the cars involved were museum pieces—none belonged to individual owners. The priceless, mythical 1983 Corvette dodged a bullet—or rather a hole in the ground—and was removed from the building immediately after the hole appeared.

These cars were not as lucky:

Our buddies over at Autoblog grabbed some screenshots of employees moving some high value cars to safety, which are posted below. If any Corvette Forum members have any info on the specific vehicles being evacuated, please post it in the comments or PM me at John C.

Back in 2007, a freak storm descended on Corvettes at Carlisle, causing 20 injuries and lots of damage to some classic Corvettes. Events like this really do make you wonder what Mother Nature has against America’s Sports Car.

Of course, she doesn’t really appear to have much sympathy for Ferraris either. Stay tuned for updates.

Head to the Forum to see what members are saying about this automotive tragedy! >>