Occasionally, something special is produced. Sometimes it’s not even a true road-worthy production vehicle, either. What we’re talking about is the 1965 C2 Corvette cut-away, an engineering and design exercise completed during the C2’s original production run.
The C2 Corvette cut-away was pulled from Nassau Blue Sting Ray straight from the assembly line, where it was then sent to a specialty display company for disassembly. The car was then reassembled on a platform to showcase the car’s running gear. The project in its entirety cost $1 million to complete in 1965. Adjusting for inflation, that’s nearly $7,500,000 in 2015.
The frame was then painted a bright yellow, while the engine, transmission and other mechanical components were finished in a bright red hue. The mechanical arms of the platform were able to raise and lower the body to expose the mechanical pieces, and onlookers could also see the four-wheel independent suspension working as the wheels turned. The piece truly showcased the modern engineering the C2 Corvette possessed for its time.
After a long stint through auto dealerships and auto shows, the project ended up at a South African auto mechanic school in the 1990s. But the cut-away did find its way home, where it was completely restored by collector Al Wiseman.
CorvetteBlogger was on hand in 2007 when the car was originally sold off by Wiseman at RM Auctions, where it garnered $704,000 at the hammer’s almighty bang, but now it’s up for auction yet again.
The site reports RM Sotheby’s will once again handle the sale of the car, and current estimates project the cut-away to fetch $1.4 million with no reserve attached. If you like some action on the auction block, this may be something to see. You can see more of the 1965 C2 Corvette cut-away at the RM Auctions lot listing.
Comments
While at GM South Africa I found this actual car and asked to buy it on July 2, 1970. Sadly I received a reply dated August 13, 1970 from P. Schneesburger, VP Finance, explaining that the car was only imported as a display under a special import permit. Effectively the car could not be put back on the road, which was my intention.
I am pretty sure the wheels were cut away so as to display the disc brakes that were new for that year and also cut away. I remember realizing that I would have to replace the entire drive train including the differential, all of which had there inner components exposed.
The funny part is that everyone had forgotten that GMSA still had the car. I had to show some executive where the car was hiding. I remember thinking that they were keen for me to buy the car, for the simple reason that I regularly explored the plant. But the import restrictions killed all those plans.
Shortly thereafter the car was donated to a Technical Institution.
My dad picked up the car… the school where it was held closed down. We took care of the car for years,and then moved from south Africa to the USA in the 90’s a d brought it with us. My dad sold it at Auction… to mr Weissman. It’s great to see it’s still around and taken care of so well.
I would love to communicate with you and learn more about this Corvette’s history. Please reach me at [email protected]