Corvettes Raise Over $2 Million for Charity

The first C7 Corvette ZR1 and the first Carbon 65 Edition both sold to high profile collectors via Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale.

This past weekend, performance car fans around the country spent hours glued to their televisions for the 2018 Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction. Among the hundreds of cars to roll across the block were a pair of C7 Corvette beings sold for charity, including the first Carbon 65 Edition Z06 signed by President George W. Bush and a bright red 2019 ZR1.

Carbon 65 #1

The first of the high profile Corvettes to hit the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale auction was the first Carbon 65 Edition Z06 coupe. This car was featured in a video last year where President George W. Bush drove the car and when he was done driving it around his facility in Texas, he signed the passenger’s side of the dash board.

The first Carbon 65 Corvette was being auctioned off to benefit the Bush Center’s Military Service Initiative, a charitable organization that provides employment and housing services for critically injured US soldiers. The car was first introduced on the broadcast by Jay Leno, but a short time later, President Bush came on stage to talk about the car and the charity.

Bidding was hot and heavy as soon as it began, with the price quickly reaching the million-dollar mark. When the final gavel was sounded by the former President, the first Cabron 65 Edition Corvette Z06 sold for $1.4-million dollars.

The winning bidder was well-known collector John Staluppi, owner of Atlantic Automotive Group.

C7 ZR1 #1

A short time later into the Saturday broadcast, a bright red 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 rolled into the bright lights of the Barrett-Jackson auction block. The car featured was a preproduction model, serving as a placeholder as the crowd bid on the rights to own the first C7 Corvette ZR1. The winner of this auction got to have the first new ZR1 fully configured to their tastes.

This 755-horsepower Corvette ZR1 was being auctioned off for the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, a group that builds homes for US soldiers whose lives were forever changed by severe injuries. For example, the ZR1 was joined on stage by a former US soldier who lost his legs in service, so he would need a home that accommodates someone in a wheelchair. The foundation was named after a New York firefighter who was among the first to respond to the terrorist attacks in New York City on September 11^th, 2001. Stephen Siller lost his life, but his family set up a charitable foundation to carry on his name while helping US soldiers.

Like the Carbon 65 auction, the bidding on 2019 Corvette ZR1 was intense at first, but it slowed as the price neared a million dollars. Remarkably, the final gavel sounded at “only” $925,000, coming as a smokin’ bargain with a price under a million dollars.

Not surprisingly, NASCAR team owned, car collector, dealership group owner and famous “first-unit-buyer” Rick Hendrick bought the rights to the first C7 ZR1. Hendrick also won auctions for the first C7 Stingray and the first C7 Z06, so he completed the set with the new ZR1.

Patrick Rall

"Before I was old enough to walk, my dad was taking me to various types of racing events, from local drag racing to the Daytona 500," says Patrick Rall, a lifetime automotive expert, diehard Dodge fan, and respected auto journalist for over 10 years. "He owned a repair shop and had a variety of performance cars when I was young, but by the time I was 16, he was ready to build me my first drag car – a 1983 Dodge Mirada that ran low 12s. I spent 10 years traveling around the country, racing with my dad by my side. While we live in different areas of the country, my dad still drag races at 80 years old in the car that he built when I was 16 while I race other vehicles, including my 2017 Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat and my 1972 Dodge Demon 340.

"Although I went to college for accounting, my time in my dad’s shop growing up allowed me the knowledge to spend time working as a mechanic before getting my accounting degree, at which point I worked in the office of a dealership group. While I was working in the accounting world, I continued racing and taking pictures of cars at the track. Over time, I began showing off those pictures online and that led to my writing.

"Ten years ago, I left the accounting world to become a full-time automotive writer and I am living proof that if you love what you do, you will never “work” a day in your life," adds Rall, who has clocked in time as an auto mechanic, longtime drag racer and now automotive journalist who contributes to nearly a dozen popular auto websites dedicated to fellow enthusiasts.

"I love covering the automotive industry and everything involved with the job. I was fortunate to turn my love of the automotive world into a hobby that led to an exciting career, with my past of working as a mechanic and as an accountant in the automotive world provides me with a unique perspective of the industry.

"My experience drag racing for more than 20 years coupled with a newfound interest in road racing over the past decade allows me to push performance cars to their limit, while my role as a horse stable manager gives me vast experience towing and hauling with all of the newest trucks on the market today.

"Being based on Detroit," says Rall, "I never miss the North American International Auto Show, the Woodward Dream Cruise and Roadkill Nights, along with spending plenty of time raising hell on Detroit's Woodward Avenue with the best muscle car crowd in the world.

Rall can be contacted at QuickMirada@Yahoo.com