Daily Slideshow: 8 of the Rarest Corvettes on the Planet
Corvette history is riddled with rare models and limited run special editions, but these eight are the rarest ever produced. How many of these did you know about?
1967 Corvette L89
Surprisingly enough, the 1967 L88 wasn't even the rarest Corvette produced that year. That distinction instead goes to the L89, of which only 16 were built. The L89 option added a set of aluminum heads to the 427ci big block L71 motor and an additional $368.65 to the cost of the Corvette. But it also reduced weight in the front end by a whopping 75 pounds, making an already sporty Corvette even better handling.
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2009 Corvette GT1 Championship Edition
To commemorate over 70 victories and eight championships for the Corvette GT1 racing program in the American Le Mans Series, Chevrolet produced a limited edition "GT1 Championship” Vette for the streets. But this GT1 was not intended to give your Vette ride lap times comparable to the race-prepped C6.R.
The championship package was nothing more than a trim and appearance option featuring C6.R-inspired graphics (replete with the “Jake” Corvette Racing mascot on the hood) and choice of Black or Velocity Yellow paint, chrome wheels, and a ZR1-style spoiler. The interior of the GT1 Champ Edition offers yellow stitching accents on the ebony leather as well as GT1 emblems all around. Six hundred total GT1s were manufactured in coupe ($65,310), convertible ($71,815), and Z06 ($86,385) models. They are out there, but it might be harder to find that Waldo.
Check out the video of this rare breed of Corvette on YouTube.
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1967 Corvette L88
Chevrolet actually tried to discourage people from buying the 1967 L88, as the car was intended to be used on race tracks - not city streets. That's part of the reason why it's factory rating, 430 hp, was understated and less than the more tractable 427 tri-power set up's 435 hp. But those in the know figured out that the 427 V8 actually produced between 540 and 580 hp, rocketing the L88 to a high 11 second quarter mile. A grand total of 216 L88's were produced through 1969, but only 20 of them were built in 1967, making it one of the rarest Corvettes of all time.
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1971 Corvette ZR2
1971 marked the year GM started de-tuning their motors for unleaded gas and the new smog laws, but they still snuck in a few performers. While the ZR1 Corvette got by with small block power, the ZR2 featured a big block 454 under the hood. As is the case with most (thinly veiled) Corvette factory racers, the big motor was also quite underrated at just 460 horsepower. Only 12 ZR2's were built in 1971 - 10 coupes and 2 convertibles, making it rare sight today.
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1971 Corvette ZR1
The ZR2's "little" brother, the ZR1, utilized a 370 horsepower 350ci LT1 small block for motivation, which took a significant amount of weight off the front of the car. The successor to the L88 Corvette factory race car featured all the specialty options of it's predecessor. Checking the RPO ZR1 box got you niceties like an M22 rockcrusher 4-speed, J56 Heavy duty power brakes, and a beefed up suspension. But only 8 people opted to buy one in 1971, making it a truly rare but incredibly special car.
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1963 Corvette Grand Sport
With an eye towards producing a competitor for Carroll Shelby's Cobra, Zora Arkus-Duntov set out to build an ultra light version of the Corvette for sports car racing. Originally, the plan was to build 125 1963 Grand Sport's so that the car would qualify under international racing rules as a GT production car, but when GM's front office caught wind of it, they quickly killed the project. The suits in corporate weren't fast enought though, as a total of 5 Grand Sports were already built. With a 550 horsepower, all aluminum, 377ci V8 propelling an incredibly light 1,900 pounds, the Grand Sport was an incredibly capable car. It's also a sad reminder of what could have been.
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1986 Corvette "Copper Metallic"
The biggest surprise on our list comes from the incredibly rare color paint on this 1986 Corvette. Specifically, the ones painted in Chevy's "Copper Metallic" orange color. Only four people opted for the hue that year, making it the 2nd rarest Corvette ever produced. Interestingly enough, the 1987 Copper Metallic Corvette is also a rare beast, with only 87 made. If you do a little digging, Chevy has had problems getting good orange copper metallic paint on Corvettes, and often with the C4 and C5, did a test run before canceling the option due to too many quality rejects.
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1969 Corvette ZL1
The rarest of the rare in regards to Corvettes is the mighty 1969 ZL1. A total of two were built and sold through Chevrolet dealerships, making it the true holy grail of Corvettes. What made the ZL1 so special was what resides under the hood - an all aluminum, L88 big block race motor more at home in drag racers and Can-Am cars. The cost of the package, $6,000, is what ultimately deterred buyers from checking the ZL1 box in 1969.
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