Corvette Special Collection XXV, The Grand Finale....

Following the rolling out of the 1,500,000 Corvette in late May and the announcing of prices for the 2010 Corvette Grand Sport yesterday, another Corvette event catches our eye. Only this time the news is about what is hoped to be the mother of all Corvette events. This year, at least...

In between June 25 and 28, Pheasant Run Resort in St. Charles, Illinois, will witness a very special Corvette gathering, hosted by the 2009 Bloomington Gold Corvette Show staring the so called Special Collection XXV: The Grand Finale.

The fancy name hides a collection of some 60 of the most significant Corvettes ever, including the 1953 Corvette EX122 (the hand-built concept car which began Corvette production), the Chevrolet Experimental Racing Vehicle (CERV-206 mph), the 1969 Grand Sport no. 001 Penske racer and the 1969 ZL1 Corvette.

Of course, the latest addition to the Corvette range, the newly priced 2010 Corvette Grand Sport, will also be attending the event. Bloomington promises "thousands of other fabulous Corvettes."

"As America's Original Corvette Show since 1973, Bloomington Gold offers flagship car judging, educational and restoration seminars, auctions, museum-quality displays of America's fastest and rarest Corvettes, road tours and more," the organizer says.

It is the 37th edition of the Bloomington Gold Corvettes show, the longest running continuous Corvette event in the US. The event started as the Bloomington Corvette Corral in 1973 and was a one day "show me yours, I'll show you mine" kind of a deal. The first ever Bloomington Gold Corvettes show gathered 112 Corvettes, 19 vendors and 1,500 visitors.

We, on the other hand, hope this year's edition is not The Grand Finale...