An interesting collectible Chevy on the auction site Bring a Trailer recently failed to meet its reserve despite a high bid nearing six figures. It was a 1963 Chevy Corvette Grand Sport replica previously owned by actor, car buff, and former voice of Chevrolet Tim Allen. The high bid was $97,000, but it wasn’t enough for the car to find a new owner.
According to the listing, this 1963 C2 Corvette was commissioned by Tim Allen in the late 1990s when it was rebuilt and fitted with a 327ci V8 engine. The fiberglass bodywork has a Grand Sport-inspired livery with blue paint, a white stripe, #2 roundels, and painted decals. Although it has the appearance of a rare C2 Grand Sport, this is a restomod riding on a tube-frame chassis with suspension sourced from a C4 Corvette with Art Morrison rear coilovers.
The current owner has owned this Vette since 2011 and has since modified the engine to displace 377ci. Other mechanical modifications include Weber quad carburetors, a SCAT crankshaft, a hotter camshaft, Eagle Specialty Products H-beam connecting rods, and Arias pistons. A four-speed manual transmission with a Centerforce clutch sends power to a Dana 44 rear end. Perhaps the most distinguishing features of the C2 Grand Sport are the side-exit exhaust system, wide wheel arches, Halibrand-style wheels, and vented hood, and this replica has all of the above.
This was just one of many interesting GM machines to cycle through Tim Allen’s impressive car collection over the years. A couple of others owned by the comedian best known for his roles as Tim Taylor and Buzz Lightyear include a 2000 Cadillac DeVille DTSi, a 1996 Chevy Impala, and a 1968 427 COPO Camaro.
To recap, the ill-fated C2 Grand Sport was conceived by Corvette chief Zora Arkus-Duntov in 1962 in a plan to develop a lightweight racecar based on the 1963 Corvette. The Corvette Grand Sport was designed to compete in the GT World Championship and FIA endurance races; there were initially plans to produce 125 units of the Corvette C2 Grand Sport. Unfortunately, General Motors executives learned of the project’s existence and ordered it to be terminated due to the Automobile Manufacturers Association’s (AMA) ban on race-focused production cars.
Fortunately for collectors, by the time the program was axed, five examples had already been built, including three coupes and two convertibles. All five C2 Grand Sport models survived and were quickly sold off to prevent them from being destroyed. Currently, they are held in private collections.
Comments
Wow that thing is BA!
I seen one in the real, and yes it is! You know how nice AC replicas can be insane, well these are just as nice. They can put those old real ones to shame. Beauty is under the skin! No expense was barred.
I watched the original #2 race in the 90s at SONOMA and MONTERAY CLASSIC RACES. The owner was Tom Armstrong and he pushed pretty hard considering its value. He also raced an original GT40 and his wife raced an original 1963 Z06.
That car was built in Akron Ohio by G&S Corvettes. They are Mongoose Motorsports today. They by far built the best Grand Sports.
Several of these were always on the roads here. One was a big block Foyt car, another was a Penske roadster.
That bid was low as these cars cost much more due to the quality. These are not cheap Cobra like kit cars.
As desirable as it may be to some or the very few; any platform is worth only what a new buyer is willing to pay.