No other car has paced the Indianapolis 500 as many times as the Chevy Corvette. Many of these pace cars have been reproduced as replicas and sold to the public, and several others were specials just for the event.
Dr. Richard Foster has been a rabid fan of the Chevy Corvette Pace Cars, spending many years assembling what is likely the most complete Pace Car collection that includes two Official Pace Cars, eight Indy Motor Speedway authorized replicas, and six Corvette Pace Car Editions. Of the six Corvette Pace Car Editions, four have received honors from Bloomington Gold or the National Corvette Restorers Society. This May, the entire collection will be offered at auction as a single lot.
Let’s take a look at what will be up for grabs! The earliest Chevy Corvette Pace Car is a 1978 model that has covered just fifty miles from new. It is unrestored, and has been Bloomington Gold Benchmark Certified.
The next Chevy Corvette Pace Car is a 1986 convertible in bright yellow with a black cloth top. It is unrestored with 17,342 miles from new and is a Triple Diamond Award winner from the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals.
Next up is a 1995 Chevy Corvette Pace Car Edition finished in Dark Purple and Arctic White that has been driven just 121 miles by its single owner. It has been Bloomington Gold Benchmark Certified.
The 1998 Chevy Corvette Pace Car Edition is brilliant in purple and yellow, has covered just seventeen miles, and is one of 547 produced with a six-speed manual transmission.
For 2003, the ten-mile-from-new Chevy Corvette Pace Car is also a 50th Anniversary Coupe in Anniversary Red. It has been the recipient of a Bloomington Gold Certification.
The 2004 Corvette Pace Car, the final year for the C5 generation, was a parade car used for the 2004 Indy 500. It wears Arctic White and LeMans Blue paint, and shows a little over 8,900 miles.
The Corvette Pace Car for 2005 is one of eight Official Pace Cars for the 89th running of the Indy 500. It is finished in Victory Red and shows 5,450 miles on the odometer.
The 2006 Chevy Corvette Pace Car is a Z06 coupe in Arctic White with red and blue stripes. It is one of six Official Pace Cars for 2006, and has 3,187 miles on the clock.
Atomic Orange was the color for the 2007 Corvette Pace Car Edition. This example is one of 500 made, and has covered 500 miles from new.
The 2008 Chevy Corvette Pace Car Edition was Black and Machine Silver. This copy has been driven 3,540 miles, and is one of only 266 produced.
For the final year of the C6 generation in 2013, the Corvette Pace Car Replica was a 638-horsepower ZR1 in 60th Anniversary trim, finished in Arctic White with Blue Diamond leather interior. This example has covered just 34 miles.
2014 marked the first year for the C7 generation Chevy Corvette, and a Laguna Blue coupe paced the 97th running of the Indy 500. This replica, powered by the 460-horsepower LT1, shows nine miles on the odometer.
This 2015 Chevy Corvette Z06 Pace Car Replica is Arctic White, one of 1,132, and has been driven 6,152 miles.
A Grand Sport Coupe was the basis for this 2017 Corvette Pace Car replica. It wears Arctic White paint with red and blue graphics, is powered by the 6.2-liter LT1, and has been driven 1,786 miles from new.
For 2019, there are two Corvette Pace Car replicas. The first is a ZR1 coupe finished in Admiral Blue (only 39 in that hue) with a carbon fiber insert in the hood, carbon fiber roof, and an ironing-board-sized rear wing. It shows 6,364 miles on the clock.
The second of the 2019 Corvette Pace Car replicas is a Long Beach Red Grand Sport coupe that has been driven 1,233 miles.
The first year of the mid-engine Chevy Corvette C8 production was 2020, and a Torch Red coupe with the Z51 Performance Package with 2,319 miles rounds out the collection… for now. A 2022 Corvette (not pictured) with fewer than 100 miles is being finished, and will be delivered to the winning bidder upon completion.
If you are looking for an instant Corvette Pace Car collection, this one will be on offer at the Mecum Auctions Indy Spring Classic taking place at the Indianapolis State Fairgrounds May 13th through the 21st.
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Comments
Ok, I’m older now but the ’78 still grabs me more than any of them.
As much as I love the Corvette, this is actually rather sad because I remember when the manufacturers competed to be the pace car and it was a year of bragging rights for the winner and the car that manufacturer chose to be their pace car for that year.
Now it’s just a contract signed by GM to supply pace cars every year.
As a single lot you sure are limiting the potential buyer pool.
And likely average price per car as well.
My friends and I are interested and are going to pool our money. So far we have $13.92.
Some of these cars will be big $ one day…if I bought the lot (I won’t), I’d be tempted to break up the collection, keeping only the best example of each generation, rather than every year. That way, there would be some $ to go towards other toys. Other than the Corvette Museum or possibly Rick Hendrick, who would seriously be interested in this collection?
This is what’s sad about car collections…they are specific to the collector, and once too old to enjoy, that lifetime of work goes to bid. I love the (few) collectors that show their collection to the public, for all to enjoy.