Photo: Barrett-Jackson
Barrett Jackson’s Scottsdale auction in January 2017 has an essential piece of American history on its list, the CERV 1.
This might not seem like a big deal, but we are talking about a one-off mid-engine Chevrolet, which was a research vehicle for General Motors engineers.
This car was developed and built by racing driver Zora Arkus-Duntov, who made a series of experimental vehicles for Chevrolet that were used to improve various components. It is worth noting that Zora Arkus-Duntov was also an engineer and designer for Chevrolet back in 1959, so this was something that General Motors sanctioned as part of its R&D efforts of the time.
In the case of the CERV 1, this functional race car was made to understand the phenomena of ride and handling, and the engineers applied what they learned with this vehicle on the production version of the Stingray.
In spite of the fact that this is a one-off prototype, Mr. Duntov was driven at the U.S. Grand Prix in 1960, where it did a couple of demo laps in the hands of the racing driver that was working for Chevrolet’s development division at the time.
No other racing events saw this car in action, which could have been fascinating to race because of its low weight and 350-HP small-block Chevy V8 engine. The unit was later upgraded to a larger small-block engine, complete with fuel injection, which allowed for a top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h) thanks to improved aerodynamics and more power at hand.
This vehicle was placed in a museum since 1972, but it was sold to a private owner in 1986. The said owner sold it again in 2015, and it appears that it will be in the hands of another collector in January. Previous estimates placed the price tag of this one-off prototype between $1.3 and $2 million, so it might fetch similar to that in next January’s Scottsdale event on January 14, 2017.
This car was developed and built by racing driver Zora Arkus-Duntov, who made a series of experimental vehicles for Chevrolet that were used to improve various components. It is worth noting that Zora Arkus-Duntov was also an engineer and designer for Chevrolet back in 1959, so this was something that General Motors sanctioned as part of its R&D efforts of the time.
In the case of the CERV 1, this functional race car was made to understand the phenomena of ride and handling, and the engineers applied what they learned with this vehicle on the production version of the Stingray.
In spite of the fact that this is a one-off prototype, Mr. Duntov was driven at the U.S. Grand Prix in 1960, where it did a couple of demo laps in the hands of the racing driver that was working for Chevrolet’s development division at the time.
No other racing events saw this car in action, which could have been fascinating to race because of its low weight and 350-HP small-block Chevy V8 engine. The unit was later upgraded to a larger small-block engine, complete with fuel injection, which allowed for a top speed of 206 mph (331 km/h) thanks to improved aerodynamics and more power at hand.
This vehicle was placed in a museum since 1972, but it was sold to a private owner in 1986. The said owner sold it again in 2015, and it appears that it will be in the hands of another collector in January. Previous estimates placed the price tag of this one-off prototype between $1.3 and $2 million, so it might fetch similar to that in next January’s Scottsdale event on January 14, 2017.
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