Corvette Pace Car Special Editions (Photos)
Chevrolet Corvettes have been a major heavyweight in professional racing. To offer a pace car to a prestigious circuit is a major honor to the automaker involved. Here's a selection of the special edition pace Corvettes to emerge in recent history.
1. 1988 Lucas Oil Special Events Pace Car
For those who don't know, in racing, the pace car rides ahead of the pack during warmup laps in order to create a controlled momentum. That also means that, at least for a while, it's the car everyone has got their eyes on. With that in mind, it's worth using a car that gets attention. The 1988 Special Events Lucas Oil car was certainly distinctive looking, looking a bit like someone tacked a bunch of oversized post-its onto a red chassis. This car was used in street parades, almost ironically use to market an anti-street racing campaign in collaboration with police. It's been used many times since its 1988 inception, and with 138,000 miles logged on it by the end of the 2009 season, it's a better testament to the quality of Lucas Oil than anything.
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2. 1999 Le Mans Pace Car
Le Mans is the most famous and prestigious endurance race in the world. Corvettes have had a proud history with Le Mans, and having the honor to pace the race was an incredible boon to the brand. The group of Le Mans pace Corvettes was specifically modified to suit pace car duties. Custom wheels and roof lights were installed, and a unique coat of paint was applied to distinguish them from other racers.
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3. 2000 Indy RL Pace Car
Specifically built to serve the role of pacing the Indy Racing League circuit in 2000, this special Corvette was given the regular pace upgrades: an upgraded oil cooler, custom exhaust and a warning strobe light set on the roof. The car's height was lowered slightly at the front to improve the model's speed consistency. It was purchased directly from General Motors by a private buyer in 2007 for a reported sum of $38,500.
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4. 2000 Daytona Rolex 24 Pace Car
In order to properly ring in the new millennium, the pace Corvette for the 2000 Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona was given a premium coat of paint called "Millennium Yellow." Chevrolet's decision to make the Corvette the official pace car of Rolex 24 was part of an aim to emphasize their Corvette as the standard of American high-performance cars. Chevrolet specially fixed up the Daytona pace Corvette with strobe lights and a custom exhaust system among other features.
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5. 2006 Gatorade Duel Pace Car
Electrolyte-based sport drinks don't have a hell of a lot to do with motorsports (neither do high-class wrist watches, now that we think about it!) but the Gatorade logo and color scheme made the Corvette pace car for the '06 Gatorade Duel at Daytona International Speedway a sight to behold. It came with a roof-adjusted warning light, as well as the other standard performance-centric add-ons mentioned earlier. Of particular note is the fact that the Gatorade car was date-stamped on the side of the body to commemorate the event: February 16th, 2006. With this, it's interesting to think that a high-performance vehicle like this would be built for use on a single specific day. Nonetheless, a pace car loses nothing in value. Racing fanatics may seek them for their historical value. For all the rest, there's still a souped-up, custom Corvette left to admire.
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