When looking at General Motors designer Bill Mitchell’s portfolio, it’s easy to see why the longtime GM executive is so revered by car design buffs, GM fans and automotive enthusiasts of all types. Mitchell penned timeless classic like the Oldsmobile Toronado and Buick Riviera, but by far his most celebrated work is the C2 Chevrolet Corvette.
It’s expected that Mitchell owned a handful of C2 Corvettes over the years, but his wife Marianne also took an interest in the iconic second-generation sports car and had one ordered in 1967. Mitchell placed the order for the 1967-model year vehicle using GM’s well-known Central Office Production Order system to select a-la-carte options for the Ermine White two-door. He spared no expense on the car, loading it with power windows, a telescoping steering column, power steering, power brakes, an AM/FM radio and, of course, the Big Block Tri-Power 427 cu. in. V8 engine.
The story goes that Mitchell walked down the St. Louis production line as his wife’s COPO Corvette was being built to ensure it was without flaw. Mitchell then had the car shipped to the GM Technical Center in Warren, where he set about applying the red accents and red ‘stinger’ hood stripe to the car. Marianne Mitchell enjoyed the car for two years before they sold it to their suburban Detroit neighbour. The car traded hands a few times before finding its way into the possession of its previous owner, who had it restored. It currently resides in a private collection.
RM Sotheby’s will auction this one-of-a-kind COPO Corvette at its upcoming Auburn Fall auction next month. It’s expecting the car to fetch between $650,000 and $850,000.
Check out the listing at this link for additional information and photos on this rare COPO Corvette, as well.
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Source/Photos: RM Sotheby’s
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There were a few of these Tri carb 427 Vettes that passed through the Chevy dealer were i worked in 1967 and 1968. They had a 10.25 to one compression ratio, with the automatic trans and a hydraulic camshaft. The high performance Tri carb version had 11 to one CR, rated at 435 HP and only available with a manual Muncie trans. I bought the same 427 hydraulic camshaft to put into a 325 HP 396 in our 2 door fastback Impala. Later we used a factory 11 to one CR fitted 396 block with the 390 HP 427 cam. The cam specs on the 360 HP Malibu 396 were identical to the 390 HP 427 cam. The best we ever ran, with 115 octane aviation gasoline, was 13.20 ET at 104 MPH with the wide ratio Muncie and 4:11 rear gears, through open Hooker headers. On that fast run, i put dry ice inside the gas tank and on top of the carb and inside of my home made cool can for the fuel line, while waiting to take our runs. The outside air temp was 90 F, too hot for a better run.