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HomeMediaLast of the front-engine Corvettes to be sold by Barrett-Jackson

Last of the front-engine Corvettes to be sold by Barrett-Jackson

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One of the headliner cars set
to cross the block at Barrett-Jackson’s fourth annual Northeast Auction is not
a classic car – yet.  It’s not even a
collector car – yet.

And Barrett-Jackson won’t
make a dime off its sale, even though it’s expected to go well into seven
figures.

But the car is a piece of
automotive history: the last 2019 Chevrolet Corvette, the final C7 to roll out
of the assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  And by extension, the last front-engine
edition of Chevy’s iconic fiberglass sports car after 66 years of production.

barrett-jackson
The last front-engine Corvette ‘marks the end of an era’

For the 2020 model, Corvette
goes mid-engine, its booming performance V8 mounted behind the seats in the
style of high-priced exotics from Ferrari, Lamborghini, McLaren and
others.  Corvette will compete head-on
with those top dogs, though undoubtedly bearing a much-more-achievable price
tag.

All proceeds from the sale of the final C7 will benefit the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports the nation’s first responders and catastrophically injured service members. The charity is named for one of the many New York City firefighters who gave their lives at the Twin Towers disaster on 9/11.

“We’re honored that General
Motors chose our Northeast Auction to sell this historic Corvette in support of
the vitally important Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation,” Craig
Jackson
, chairman
and chief executive of the auction company, said in a news release. “Where one
chapter ends, another begins.

barrett-jackson
The Z06 is powered by a 650-horsepower supercharged V8

“The sale of this final
production C7 Corvette Z06 will be the opportunity of a lifetime to own a piece
of automotive history. While it marks the end of an era, it also ushers in the
beginning of the next generation of America’s favorite sports car.”

The last C7 Corvette is a very special one, a Z06 coupe in Black with the premium 3LZ trim level and powered by a 6.2-liter supercharged V8 producing 650 horsepower linked with  a 7-speed manual transmission.  Also on board will be a custom leather-wrapped interior package, Performance Data Recorder, navigation and Brembo brakes.

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The Corvette comes with an upgraded interior

“Barrett-Jackson and General Motors made history when we sold the first-production C7 Stingray in 2013,” said Steve Davis, president of Barrett-Jackson. “I can’t think of a better way to usher in a new generation of Corvette than with the entire hammer price benefiting our nation’s bravest heroes.”

The Stephen Siller Tunnel to
Towers Foundation, established in 2002, conducts programs to support first
responders in need and disabled military members.

One of the most critical
programs is Building for America’s Bravest, which builds smart homes for
catastrophically injured service members returning home.

barrett-jackson
The Z06 makes quite a visual statement

“Each home is custom designed
to address the unique needs of each individual,” according to the foundation. “Energy-efficient,
automated and easily accessible, these homes use ‘adaptive technology’ to help
severely injured heroes live better, more-independent lives.”

Barrett-Jackson’s auction cars span the range of the hobby, from entry-level hobby cars to high-end classics, customs and modern exotics.  The Northeast auction is the newest of the company’s four annual events, including the signature Scottsdale Auction that marks its 49th year in January 2020.

For more information, visit the auction website.

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Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen
Bob Golfen is a longtime automotive writer and editor, focusing on new vehicles, collector cars, car culture and the automotive lifestyle. He is the former automotive writer and editor for The Arizona Republic and SPEED.com, the website for the SPEED motorsports channel. He has written free-lance articles for a number of publications, including Autoweek, The New York Times and Barrett-Jackson auction catalogs. A collector car enthusiast with a wide range of knowledge about the old cars that we all love and desire, Bob enjoys tinkering with archaic machinery. His current obsession is a 1962 Porsche 356 Super coupe.

4 COMMENTS

  1. If it’s mid-engined, is it really a Corvette? To do so much for so many years- C6’s & C7’s in ZO6 and ZR1 trim already compete head on with the mentioned "top dogs" in performance… Chevy still has a lot to learn about upscale interior design, but when you slam the door on Joe Poseur and his McLamberrari doorstop, and can get your service done at any GM dealer? Well.
    Sad to see this "end of an era". First Corvette I ever drove was a way built, solid lifter/mechanical secondaries dual double pumper Holley, 12.5:1 327/4spd Vertigate 1957, with the obligatory Hooker sidemounts sans inserts- can you say "bellow"? and a 4.88 solid locker rear axle. Car launched so hard it had body cracks, and the removable hardtop no longer fit- but. But. Thank God it wasn’t mine.
    Second ‘Vette was a ’73, with a mildly built 454 and regular "H" pattern 4spd, and still the sidemounts. For a heavy, smog motored car that roasted ones feet and lower legs in any traffic, it was pretty sprightly, while burning enough gas to deserve its own tanker and tires to warrant a rubber plantation. Oh, and unlike the ’57, if you forgot about the sidemounts and exited carelessly, the ’73 would strip the skin from the back of your calf. Once, anyway.
    Last Corvette I was blessed to drive was a ’90’s C4 ZR-1 belonging to a friend of my always gracious stepfather. That thing was a revelation. I know that later generation ‘Vettes are more powerful, better mileage, handle better (interiors aren’t any better, tho’)- but I just can’t wrap my head around that. The C4 Z was simply jaw dropping amazing, and sounded all the business, too. Save for the body creaks and groans and Vega-spec materials in the interior, it could have been a Ferrari. Winding up & down through the gears on a twisty, hilly Southern Indiana two lane, in and out of showers and thunderstorm downpours, that thing was a freakin’ locomotive. And never put a foot wrong, even though I am in no way Mario Andretti.
    All of those did exceptional duty with the engine in front and transmission in the tunnel. Looked dam* good doing it, too, even the ’57, ‘cuz body cracks don’t matter in a street car that can run in the mid/low 11’s. And the later transaxle cars just carry the flag, with a bit better balance.
    I hope the new ‘Vette is up to the history it’s got to carry. And, given the interference by states and our Uncle Sam, and the Trümpenfüerer’s endless trade wars, I suspect that the price isn’t going to be all that affordable- you can spend well north of $100k on a front engined ‘Vette today.
    I’ll keep my ’04 GTO, thank you very much. And if you don’t get the old school ’70’s references, ask an old gearhead. I’d have a Vertigate in the GTO if you could get one for a Tremec 6spd; first four in line, reverse/5-6 with separate levers. Alas.

    • First, all double pumpers have mechanical secondaries. And all mechanical secondary Holley carburetors have accelerator pumps on both ends.
      Second, there were never, to the best of my knowledge, any "side mount" collector headers for the 57. Maybe one offs. I had a 59, same car for all intents and purposes, with a 427 and a Bill Thomas installation kit with headers. The under car exhaust worked fine, wasn’t obnoxious, and didn’t burn you legs. But it did lack the squirrel factor.
      Third, the frame on those cars was built like a bridge. I didn’t tweak the body on mine with the 427 and slicks, and I have my doubts you did with a 327. And how you could permanently warp the body so that the top didn’t fit is beyond me.
      Third, what is "a 4.88 solid locker rear axle"? It wasn’t the stock 57 rear end, they were fragile. A common swap was a 57 Olds or 57 Pontiac rear, for which you could get a posi. Is that what you mean by "solid locker"? Or a Detroit locker, which wasn’t "solid". Or maybe welded spider gears, certainly solidly locked.
      I think you’re confabulating. I was there. Were you?

  2. Why is it that when GM was teasing us for so many years with vague notions of a mid-engined Corvette, everybody wanted one; but yet now that it’s actually coming nobody seems to want one all the sudden? A few years ago everyone couldn’t wait for the Corvette to "keep up with the times". Now those same people think it’s the end of the world that the Corvette is going mid-engined.
    But then there are still people who think fuel injection and electronic ignition is the end of the world too, so…

  3. End of as an era and beginning of an error. I don’t see the mid engine having long term viability in the market. I suspect that C7 will find it’s way to Rick Hendricks toy box of automotive delights. This article reminds me of all the things I don’t miss about my 15 year ownership of my L48.

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