Mike Terry

http://www.corvetteblogger.com/2017/...-1-32-million/
General Motors Just Bought CERV 1 at Barrett-Jackson for $1.32 Million
Did General Motors Just Buy CERV 1 at Barrett-Jackson for $1.32 Million?
Photo Credit: Barrett-Jackson / Twitter The Chevrolet Engineering Research Vehicle known as CERV 1 is one of the most significant engineering examples from Zora Arkus-Duntov and his team and it’s considered the car from which the modern Corvette was born. CERV 1 was Zora’s personal Corvette engineering test bed and it was used to develop […]

The post General Motors Just Bought CERV 1 at Barrett-Jackson for $1.32 Million appeared first on Corvette: Sales, News & Lifestyle.

65hihp

Looks like GM is feeling confident in the direction of the country for the next 4 years if they will spend $$1.3 million on a display vehicle...

Dr L-88

It's my understanding that Cerv I was never supposed to have gotten away from GM to begin with. I don't know all the details, but they were disappointed and upset that it made its way into public hands. Experimental and design vehicles RARELY made it out of the confines of GM. Many were destroyed per top brass directives.

Rex

vettebuyer6369

They said today it was "headed for a museum."

Do we know it was purchased by GM?

BamaZR1

GM had it for years; was it sold as part of the gov't mandated sell off of 'special vehicles' when the gov't took over management of GM a few years ago? I remember a LOT of special 1-off cars were sold, but didn't recall the CERV as being one of them...?

Stingxray

If the Government is involved // Expect some waste fraud and abuse out of this. Taxpayers /Subjects will comply. GM spent 1.3 Million $ , Then it's off to the crusher. This is the ultimate CASH FOR CLUNKERS.

Oh Wait that was the Abomination Administration.


Things might be looking up!

provette67

Looks like it has been separated from GM for a long while now.

"CERV 1 was used by Corvette’s original chief engineer, Zora Arkus-Duntov, as a testing ground for the 1963-82 Corvette suspension and Grand Sport motor and justified it to GM leaders along those lines during the company’s ban on racing. The vehicle was almost destroyed by the company after that testing, but Zora persuaded them to save and restore the car because of its historic nature.

It then went to the Briggs Cunningham Museum and Miles Collier Museum before being purchased by Pro Team Corvette, from whom Yager quickly snapped it up in 1997"

gbvette62

There were a lot of cars sold off from the Heritage Collection, some one offs, but non of the really unique or significant "Dream cars", etc.

Most of the cars sold were more pedestrian "first of", "last of", parade cars, test cars, etc., but not any of the really special dream cars.

In the late 50's, the country was in a recession, and it was costing GM a lot of money to store their old concept cars. These were "yesterday's" dream cars, the public had seem them, and many of the design concepts they had introduced had already been put into production. Very few were actual running/driving cars, many didn't even have engines or frames. To save money, GM accounting came up with a corporate policy to destroy the old Motorama, concept and dream cars, when they were no longer needed to shows or testing.

Some running cars ended up with GM executives, but most concept cars were supposed to be cut up and crushed. Some of this work was done at the GM Technical Center, but some of the cars were sent to a local junkyard named Warhoops.

Fortunately, Duntov didn't want to see the cars he'd so lovingly developed, built and tested destroyed, so he ignored GM's edict to destroy this test cars, and instead donated them to museums. He sent the 57 Corvette SS racer to the Indianapolis Speedway Museum, and both Cerv I & II, to the Cunningham Museum.

Apparently Warhoops didn't want to see the dream cars destroyed either, as they saved some of the cars sent to them too.

kenba

I have some firsthand knowledge about these cars. My understanding is that 2 big time Corvette guys found that the museum was selling some of the cars. My understanding is that they bought them and when GM found out about then the were sued to get the cars back. 1 of the guys was from Minnesota & was big L-88 guy. Eventually they won the lawsuit. I forgot the other guys name. They were in Steve's building when I first saw them. Sat in both of them. The CIRV-1 was brought to the Kruse auction with a big reserve and was a no sale. I lost track of them after that. I didn't know Terry was involved with thes cars but it doesn't surprise me.

GTOguy

Glad it survived. I suspect if it had never gotten out of GM's custody, it wouldn't have. Neat story.

SWCDuke

I recall that CERV I spent years in the Briggs Cunningham museum in Costa Mesa, CA. After Briggs passed in 2003 the collection was liquidated, most being bought by Miles Collier for his museum in Florida.

GM sued claiming the car was only "on loan" to the Cunningham Museum and still owned by GM, but lost.

I suppose it's changed hands since then. Who was the seller at the B-J auction?

Duke

Mike Terry

I know Mike Yager of Mid America sold the Cerv 1 at the Mecum Auction in 2016 in Indianapolis along with several other of his cars. Who bought it I do not know but who ever it was I am pretty sure they are the one who put it up for sale at the BJ Auction this year. Mike Yager had the Cerv 1 in his Museum for several years. Gm knew right where the car was. Past Corvette Plant Mgrs. have seen the car at Mid America Motorworks many times. So I would think that if GM wanted the car bad enough they would (and maybe they did) make Mike an offer for the car. Only Mike knows that if GM offered to buy the car from him or not.

Joe Inama

I got laid off after Cash for Clunkers. Many small time auto repair shops suffered and salvage yard were swamped. Used auto parts were in the dump??? The cars traded ,had oil drained and the engines had to be blown. Waste of tax payer money . Thank God he's gone !!!!!

SDVette

That's funny.. GM's annual revenue is $150B. $1.3M is .0008% of that. Let's remember that GM would be ancient history if not for the "abomination administation"'s Auto bail-out.

You guys crack me up!

4speedy

I also got to sit in the cerv 2 at Steves place (cerv 1 wasnt there at the time). I was a teenager and scared shitless at the idea of damaging a million dollar car but I knew I'd never get another chance so I took a seat. That was a fun day.

aafadca

Dr L-88

Thanks Duke. I couldn't remember the details, but I think you are absolutely correct...........................as always.

Rex

gbvette62

Cunningham passed away in 2003, but he was alive when his collection was sold. He closed the museum in the late 80's, and sold off all of the cars at the time. The museum was costing him a lot of money to operate and he was getting old, so he and his wife decided to close it and sell off the collection. This was around 1988 or 89 I believe, not 2003. It was also the late 80's when the Collier Collection (now the Revs Collection) was opened.

Briggs did not want to see his collection broken up. He was friends with the Collier family, and felt Miles Collier would keep the collection together. One of the Colliers died racing a car, that Cunningham eventually acquired for his collection.

Critter1

Here's the real story on the sale of the CERV cars.

In the late 80's, The Briggs Cunningham collection was to be sold off a little at a time. Miles Collier was to oversee the sale of several vehicles.

David Burroughs and I (Michael Hanson) brokered the cars soon after. CERV 1 was to go to K D James in Texas and CERV 2 was to go to Steve Hendrickson in Minnesota. I don't remember the actual selling price but I believe it was over a million for each car?

Several months later, GM lawyers discovered that the vehicles had been sold and immediately filed lawsuits against me, burroughs, James and Hendrickson, (and if I remember correctly, Collier) claiming that the cars were never for sale and were the property of General Motors.

The lawsuit boiled for a while with each side claiming ownership.

Fortunately, when I flew out to California to view the cars at the Cunningham museum, I shot quite a few pictures of each car. The pictures included the GM sign with each car that read "Chevrolet Enginnring Research Vehicles Donated to the Briggs Cunningham Museum". The sign did not say "On loan". Either I or Burroughs (can't remember) sent the photos to the lawyer.

When the GM attorneys saw the word DONATED, they knew their case was dead. The lawsuit was dropped.

I dont know when James and Hendrickson sold the cars but I believe it was several years later.

I may have forgotten a few details but that's basically how it happened.

tubman

Steve Hendrickson was a good friend of mine in those days (I bought my '67 L79 coupe from him in 1987) and I can attest that what "Critter1" says is right on.