The National Corvette Museum has taken delivery of a unique 1988 Corvette Convertible that was used a promotional vehicle during the 1988 Miss America pageant.
Lars Wallace Jr. donated the vehicle to the Corvette Museum on behalf of his father, who recently decided to downsize his Corvette collection due to his old age. He asked the museum if they’d be interested in receiving his dark blue 1988 Corvette Convertible, which he had bought from a dealership about 10 years prior. When the Corvette Museum went to research the vehicle, they noticed a Chevrolet Motor Division internal memo was attached with the build sheet, which had the subject ‘1988 Miss America Corvette Convertibles’ dated August 7, 1987. Turns out Wallace’s Corvette Convertible was used a promotional vehicle during the 1988 Miss America pageant, which Chevy sponsored at the time.
Back then, all Miss America pageant winners would receive a Corvette Convertible as a prize. That year’s Miss America, Kaye Lani Rafko Wilson, was the first Miss America to receive a Corvette as a prize and is the only known winner to have held onto the vehicle after all these years. Her car is a bright red convertible model, though – not Dark Blue Metallic like the promotional vehicle donated by Wallace.
“I was the first Miss America to enjoy a whirlwind of a year with one of our national sponsors, Chevrolet Motor Division,” Rafko Wilson said. “I recall during the week of competition a gentleman from Chevrolet came into the rehearsal hall and mentioned to all of us how excited they were to be a part of the Miss America organization and that the newly crowned Miss America, which would be crowned that Saturday, would go home with her very own 1988 red convertible Corvette.”
Wallace’s Dark Blue Metallic Corvette Convertible has been enjoyed thoroughly since it left the Bowling Green Assembly plant in 1987, currently showing nearly 225,000 miles on the odometer. It’s still in great condition, though, and will be an interesting new addition to the always growing collection at the National Corvette Museum.
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Comments
The video answered a lot of questions I had but I’m pretty sure those wheels are from a 1991 or later C4. The car is in amazing shape for having over 200,000 miles on it. And kudos to Miss America 1988 for keeping her red prize for 30+ years; it really would have been the cherry on top of the video if they had included a shot of her car that she so cherishes! Cool story!