One-of-Three Scaglietti Corvette Racer Has Ties to Carroll Shelby
This Scaglietti Corvette, now fully restored and up for sale, was Shelby’s rolling pitch to General Motors management.
When most folks think of Carroll Shelby, they think of his deep ties with Ford, making Le Mans history, and creating cars like the Cobra and Daytona Coupe. But before Shelby got involved with The Blue Oval, he was trying to convince GM that he could make the already successful Corvette even better for track duty. Thus, Shelby, Jim Hall, and Gary Laughlin purchased three 1959 Corvettes and enlisted Sergio Scaglietti to construct aluminum bodies for them, and the first Scaglietti Corvette was born.
Once finished, the trio of racers presented their Corvette Italias to GM execs Harley Earl and Ed Cole, both of whom were fans of the idea, though unfortunately, their fellow brass did not agree and didn’t want some special version of the Corvette stealing sales from the “regular” car. The rest, as they say, is history – Shelby sold the three Scaglietti Corvettes, teamed up with AC Cars and Ford, and created the Shelby Cobra. Oh, what could have been.
Regardless, this one-of-three Scaglietti Corvette is now up for sale at Legendary Motorcar, fresh off a concours-level restoration. It started life as 283/290 horsepower fuelie with a four-speed manual transmission, Positraction rear end, heavy-duty suspension and brakes, and exactly nothing that wasn’t needed to go fast.
The C1 went on to spend a considerable amount of time on the track in 1959 and 1960, participating in 22 events and bringing home a dozen podium finishes including four wins. Eventually, the drivetrain was separated from the car but found its way home as both were treated to a total restoration. Today, the Scaglietti Corvette looks as it did all those years ago, bearing the number 9 on its Solid Black body.
All of the original race goodies are present as well, including a roll bar, side exhaust, steel wheels, Goodyear Super Cushion tires, and a full-width cutdown windshield. It’s simply rare to find an old Corvette race car like this in such incredible condition, especially one this rare and historic. And if nothing else, it serves to remind us of the time when General Motors could have made Carroll Shelby its ally, rather than drive him to the competition.
Photos: Legendary Motorcar
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