1985 Corvette GTP Convertible Is A Road Legal Sports Racer That Needs A New Home
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The Corvette C8.R may be the first mid-engine race car fielded by Corvette Racing, but surprisingly, it’s not the first mid-engine Corvette to compete in American sports car racing competition. Back in the 1980s, General Motors partnered with Lola to develop the Corvette GTP – a mid-engine sports prototype that saw moderate success in the IMSA Camel GT Series in the hands of Hendrick Motorsports.
The Corvette GTP is a purpose-built racing car, so it wouldn’t make a very good road car and would be difficult to register legally. This is where Mongoose Motorsports steps in. The Ravenna, Ohio-based company specializes in creating replicas of the original C2 Corvette Grand Sport and Corvette GTP that can be registered for the road. The owner of the company owns a special Corvette GTP Convertible replica that it once built and recently decided to list the vehicle for sale along with the rest of their personal collection.
The Mongoose Motorsports Corvette GTP Convertible is based on the company’s own replica GTP tube chassis and is powered by a 7.0L LS7 V8 engine. The listing does not say what transmission is in the vehicle, but it looks like an automatic judging by the gear lever. All Mongoose Corvette GTP replicas also come with double-wishbone suspension lifted from a C5 Corvette, Pfadt adjustable dampers and Pfadt adjustable front and rear sway bars.
According to the for sale listing, this road-legal sports racer has just 2,300 miles on the odometer. It’s not clear how old it actually is, but it is based on the design of the 1985 Corvette GTP. The seller is asking a rather significant $95,000 in exchange for it – a huge sum considering a C8 Corvette starts at only $59,995.
Check out the listing here and let us know what you think of this roofless racer in the comments down below.
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I like the way it looks, don’t think I’d pay that much for it though. Ought to get a lot of attention at a car show for sure.