Prototype C4 ZR-1 Pops Up For Sale

This could be one of the most significant C4 Corvettes of all time.

Cars and Bids is a great auction website launched by Doug DeMuro earlier this year. We’ve already seen lots of cool stuff cross their virtual auction block, but this C4 Corvette may be the coolest.

This is one of the original ZR-1 prototypes, and one of just two that has survived in running condition. It was originally delivered to Lotus Cars in Hethel, England, for development. Lotus was instrumental in the suspension tuning of the ZR-1, as well as development of the DOHC LT5 V8.

Apparently, once development was complete, Lotus had sent this car to the scrapyard. One of the engineers on the project found it and rescued it, and, in 2010, sold it to the legendary Ken Lingenfelter collection in Brighton, Michigan.

Saved From the Crusher

The car was later purchased by notable Corvette restorer Blue Flame Restorations, who completed a restoration on this rare Corvette recently. Now, it can be yours if you bid high enough.

This prototype, one of just 25 built in 1987, has tons of unusual features in addition to its incredible, intercontinental history. The prototype Goodyear rear tires have “NOT FOR SALE” stamped into the sidewall. The black taillight panel is unique to these prototypes. In addition, the car comes with lots of documentation from its time with Lotus, including a project report.

The car also includes an experimental version of the LT5 DOHC V8, as well as a spare prototype engine. The engine is numbered #26. If we had this in our garage, we’d display the second engine on a stand next to the car. We’d be a little bit afraid of driving this car for fear of damaging a priceless artifact of Corvette history.

Incredibly, though, this Corvette has actually been driven quite a lot, and the odometer shows nearly 60,000 miles. We have seen plenty of 1988 Corvettes with lower mileage, but none of them have the performance or the pedigree that this car has. If we could own just one C4 Corvette, we might choose this one.

Photos: Cars and Bids

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Cameron Vanderhorst

Cam VanDerHorst has been a contributor to Internet Brands' Auto Group sites for over three years, with his byline appearing on Ford Truck Enthusiasts, Corvette Forum, JK Forum, and Harley-Davidson Forums, among others. In that time, he's also contributed to Autoweek, The Drive, and Scale Auto Magazine.
He bought his first car at age 14 -- a 1978 Ford Mustang II -- and since then he’s amassed an impressive and diverse collection of cars, trucks, and motorcycles, including a 1996 Ford Mustang SVT Mystic Cobra (#683) and a classic air-cooled Porsche 911.
In addition to writing about cars and wrenching on them in his spare time, he enjoys playing music (drums and ukulele), building model cars, and tending to his chickens.
You can follow Cam, his cars, his bikes, and his chickens at @camvanderhorst on Instagram.

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