SCM Analysis
Detailing
| Vehicle: | 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 |
| Years Produced: | 1967–69 |
| Number Produced: | 216 |
| SCM Valuation: | $2,315,000 |
| Tune Up Cost: | $500 |
| Chassis Number Location: | Stamped into frame on driver’s side rear |
| Engine Number Location: | Stamped on pad on front of right-hand cylinder head |
| Club Info: | National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS) |
| Website: | http://www.ncrs.org |
| Alternatives: | 1965–67 Shelby Cobra 427, 1961–71 Jaguar E-type, 1966–73 Porsche 911 |
| Investment Grade: | A |
This car, Lot S122.1, sold for $2,695,000, including buyer’s premium, at Mecum Auctions’ Glendale, AZ, sale on March 20, 2021.
The legend of the L88 was born at Le Mans in 1967. The red, white and blue liveried Corvette coupe showed great potential during practice, topping 171.5 mph on the three-mile-long Mulsanne Straight. Once the checkered flag dropped, “America’s sports car” traversed the Circuit de La Sarthe at remarkable speed, its bellowing 7-liter powerplant reverberating through the French countryside. From the start, the trio of Bob Bondurant, Dick Guldstrand and Don Yenko easily led the GT class. But just shy of the halfway mark, a wrist pin shattered, destroying the engine.
Guldstrand, who prepared the Corvette, and Traco Engineering, which blueprinted the engine, had warned that this stock component would be vulnerable to the extreme demands of Le Mans. Chevrolet, however, was steadfast that for maximum marketing effect the engine remain as it came from the factory, a stock engine in a mostly stock Corvette.
Nothing “regular” about it
Though built on the same St. Louis assembly line as all other 1967 Corvettes, Regular Production Order L88 was a unique machine. At its heart was the extraordinary 427-cid V8 engine. Manufactured at the same Tonawanda, NY, engine plant as the other “big blocks,” the L88 engines were hand-assembled with race-ready components in a special cleanroom on-site.
Chief Engineer Duntov specified heavy-duty drivetrain and suspension to match, while eliminating unnecessary components like the heater, radio and fan shroud. The M22 “Rock Crusher” 4-speed manual howled like a banshee, and the heavy-duty clutch required great pedal effort. A large bright yellow sticker on the console announced, “Warning: vehicle must operate on a fuel having a minimum of 103 research octane and 95 motor octane or engine damage may result.”
If that wasn’t enough to dissuade potential buyers from using L88s as the ultimate street machines, horsepower was rated at 430 — five fewer ponies than the potent L71/L89 options. Yet both vintage and contemporary dyno tests show the real output at 560 SAE gross.
Your author has driven an original, unrestored 1968 L88, and off-track they have all the subtlety of a stock car in rush-hour traffic. On the track, however, the result was exactly as intended, with L88 Corvettes winning numerous SCCA A Production championships and FIA GT events from 1967 throughout the 1970s. Along with the 20 built in 1967, L88s were offered in 1968 and 1969 under the swoopy third-generation fiberglass, with 80 and 116 built, respectively.
Rarer than rare
The vintage-Corvette boom of the 1980s sparked interest in the L88 models, with the 1967 Le Mans race car being one of the first no-expense-spared restorations. The ’67s commanded the most interest, with their classic Sting Ray bodies and ultra-rare production numbers.
Still, prices for 1967 L88s languished in the six-figures until a convertible sold for $1,325,000 in 2010. This was no ordinary L88 (if there is such a thing), as it was the first one built. It was a striking car, in black with blue “stinger.” Tony DeLorenzo had raced it to an SCCA championship in 1967. Other big sales followed, including a convertible in 2013 for a record-setting $3,424,000, and a coupe in 2014 at $3,850,000, another record price. Reflecting a somewhat softer market, a coupe made just $1,980,000 in 2017.
“Corvette Mike”
Then came this press release in early 2019:
Anaheim, CA—Last month, Corvette Mike, the leading pre-owned Corvette and classic-car dealership for more than 38 years, announced that he had acquired the holy grail of all Corvettes in 2018: the only 1967 L88 coupe with its original engine. Now, Mike and his partners are offering the L88 for sale at $4,427,430.
Like a Texas Hold’em player, “Corvette Mike” Vietro had pushed in all his chips. This was the only ’67 L88 painted Sunfire Yellow, the only ’67 L88 with the original engine, and after just two owners, the only L88 still on the original 1967 title.
“No other Corvette in the world can claim such rarity,” he wrote on his website. “We are honored to now own this car. It’s been a dream of mine for decades.”
The Corvette needed nothing, having just completed a painstaking 10-year restoration. The intent was to have the Corvette judged at all the major events, proving to potential buyers that this was the real deal, then give interested parties the opportunity to buy it at his shop. The asking price was arbitrary — it is a 427/430 Corvette, after all — but did not seem unrealistic.
Yet Corvette Mike had no serious takers at the dealership, so the car was consigned to Mecum Glendale. At $2.7m, the sale price is near the median for 1967 L88s over the past decade. Considering the mid-$3 million prices of those L88s in 2013 and 2014, however, it might seem disappointing. But then is not now, and I’m sure the challenges of the past year played a factor in the price. This legendary Corvette should be considered well bought, yet even so, Mike’s flip was hardly a flop. ♦
(Introductory description courtesy of Mecum Auctions.)
