Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell Corvettes Make One Enticing Auction Lot
Daily Slideshow: A pair of Corvettes driven by two iconic GM designers are being sold together in one unprecedented offering.
Seeing Double
Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell are two of the most iconic names in automotive history. Both helped guide the direction of styling at General Motors for the majority of the 20th century, lending their creative visions to some of the most iconic cars ever produced, including, of course, the Corvette. And now, Mecum is offering up not one, but two special Corvettes driven by these icons of automotive styling.
Famous Names
This dynamic pair of C2s consists of a 1963 convertible and 1964 coupe, otherwise known as the Harley J. Earl and Bill Mitchell Corvettes. The '63, or the Harley Earl Corvette, was built under Shop Order 10323 and gifted to Earl by GM Design.
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Special Ride
GM even went to the trouble of delivering this special 'Vette straight to Earl's driveway in Palm Beach, Florida. He proceeded to drive the car for two years, even using it as the parade car for the 1965 Daytona 500.
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Parts Mashup
Interestingly enough, this '63 was special in more ways than one. It wears a 1963 serial number, but also a host of design elements from the 1965 Corvette. They include the exterior emblems, interior control knobs, and 4-wheel disc brakes.
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Unique Pipes
The Harley Earl Corvette also wears a host of parts that never made it to production on any Corvette, such as the same side pipes used on the original 1961 Mako Shark, the Harley Earl car, the Bunkie Knudsen car, and the Chicago Auto Show car.
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Converted to Carb
The blue metallic Corvette features white stripes and a matching blue/white interior. Under the hood, you'll find what was originally a fuel-injected 327 that now wears a carb on top, standard practice for factory test cars headed to private use at that time.
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Predicting the Future
The unique styling treatments of this car extend to many other details. That includes those matching Goodyear Speedway Blue Streak tires, which are wrapped around a set of 1964-style 3-bar knockoff wheels. The white stripe was also somewhat of a predictor of the '67 big-block stinger livery to come.
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Unique Style
The 1964 Bill Mitchell Corvette is no less unique in its approach to styling. Interesting external features include a custom die-cast front grille with matching front fender vents, side vent window delete, and a third brake light.
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Styling Cues
The Bill Mitchell Corvette is finished in the same blue metallic and also rides on Goodyear Blue Streak tires, but the wire knockoff wheels are from a 1972 Corvette. Much of the interior was dyed to match the exterior, with brushed metal panels giving this unique ride a nice contrast.
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Similar but Different
Both of these special Corvettes might look very similar, but each is wholly unique in its own way. That makes them a fitting tribute to two of the most influential automotive designers in American history!
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