When one thinks of modern Corvette race cars, it’s hard to forget the one that started it all, the Corvette C5.R. Designed for the GTS class and winning multiple championships, the C5.R is a legend among Vette racing enthusiasts, and now, chassis number 007 is currently up for sale.
Posted for sale online through Art & Revs based in Luxembourg, this thoroughly restored C5.R is one of just 11 examples built by Pratt & Miller between 1999 and 2004. In fact, this particular unit was not built for Corvette Racing but rather was the first customer car.
It’s worth noting that C5.R-003 – arguably the most famous C5.R and most popular Corvette Racing chassis ever – is owned by the GM Heritage Collection and will likely never be sold.
The C5.R-007 was built for an early 2000s band named Atomic Kitten. The band felt that it would be a good idea to market itself via motorsports and, therefore, elected to contact Pratt & Miller about purchasing a race car. Pratt & Miller obliged and began construction of the race-focused Vette until Atomic Kitten neglected to pay for the race car and thus left behind an orphaned chassis.
Eventually, Patrick Selleslagh of SRT Racing in Belgium bought the C5.R-007 in 2002 to compete in the 2003 Belcar series. From there, the Vette competed from 2003 to 2007 and was sold at the end of the 2007 season to Alexander Talkanista of AT Racing to compete in the 2008 FIA GT series.
Interestingly, this move would kick off a long-standing relationship between SRT Racing and Corvette Racing, as SRT Racing would purchase future Pratt & Miller Corvette race cars.
One last piece worth noting is that the yellow livery on the C5.R started the tradition of yellow racing Vettes. The recently unveiled Z06 GT3.R features the familiar, flashy yellow hue that has been a staple of Corvette Racing since the late 1990s.
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The first example of an "R" Corvette when beginning Corvette's long competitive history and a class leader before the advent of the lackluster C8R which is usually dominated by mid-engined cars still located in front of the driver and breaks down frequently like both did at Detroit.