In the car world, what does really qualify as rare? And does rare always equal collectible? On the list of ultra-rare cars that also carry great appeal to auto collectors, there are few models that excite as much as the 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1, of which only two were ever produced, so it gained quite a mystery aura among production Corvettes.
The one-off ZL-1 convertible built in 1969 was never actually intended for public sale, as the supercar was “strictly developed as an FIA/NHRA homologation experiment.”
Endowed with the most powerful engine that could have been fitted under its sinuous hood, the Corvette ZL-1 you see here is the only unit Chevrolet has built with a convertible drop top and the high-performance RPO ZL-1 option - an all-aluminum version of the company’s 427-cubic-inch (7.0-liter) L88 V8 engine. So it could be said that it’s not only one of the rarest, but also one of the hottest C3-generation Corvettes. The second factory-documented unit was a coupe.
The RPO ZL-1 was an entirely new big-block engine option and, as mentioned, it was impressively mighty, delivering more horsepower than any Corvette before it. It had a dry-sump oil system, stouter connecting rods, open-chamber heads, and weighed about 100 pounds less than the standard L88 engine.
The L88 engine was a very high-compression V8 with an aggressive cam setup. It was advertised as producing 430 hp (436 ps), but, in reality, it was capable of over 500 hp (507 ps) in period. However, the truth of the matter was that big-block Chevys were very heavy lumps of iron, so shedding some weight from the front of the vehicle to improve balance and power-to-weight ratio was necessary. That’s why the carmaker created the all-aluminum option.
Photo: RM Sotheby’s
Corvette models equipped with the new engine option were very expensive for that time, though, as they also required various other mandatory options, like the F41 Special front and rear suspension, special heavy-duty brakes, and the G81 Positraction Rear Axle (a limited slip differential), among others.
To give you some perspective, the ZL-1 option alone cost $4,718, while the base price of a 1969 Corvette coupe was $4,781. If you factor in the required options mentioned above, the resulting price of the 1969 Corvette ZL-1 was $10,048, which was more than double and quite steep for that era. That is why Chevrolet only ever sold two of these cars.
The rare and exclusive supercar we’re documenting in this piece, chassis number 194679S710209, is a bright-orange Convertible unit that was sold to drag racer John W. Maher of Leechburg, Pennsylvania, who traded in a 1988 L88 Corvette Convertible for this model. This is how the car became the only ZL-1 Convertible ever sold new to a retail customer.
Maher got a street-legal, factory-built production car capable of producing 560 horsepower (568 ps), fed through an M40 automatic transmission to the rear wheels. This particular model sports a redesigned crankshaft and pistons, along with more robust exhaust valves and a high-lift camshaft, but it comes with closed-chamber cylinder heads, as the “open chamber” design was finalized later on.
Besides equipping the car with a racing-related drivetrain, the carmaker also stripped it of creature comforts, while the AC, heater, radio, power windows, and power steering are missing as well.
Photo: RM Sotheby’s
As it turns out, Maher raced the hell out of the Corvette, so the original engine had to be replaced within the first year. And he continued to drive it and “terrorize hill climbs, autocross events, and drag races across Western Pennsylvania.”
The car went through restoration work carried out by Bill Andrejko Auto Restorations of McKeesport, Pennsylvania, around 1989, and the result was shown to the public at the 1991 National Corvette Homecoming in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Under Maher’s ownership, this exclusive Corvette put lots of awards under its belt at events such as Chip Miller’s Corvettes at Carlisle and NCRS National Conventions in Charlotte, Orlando, Monterey, and St. Louis.
The racer kept the car until 2007, when it was acquired by Kevin Mackay’s Corvette Repair Inc. After exchanging hands, the third-generation Corvette benefitted from a full restoration in 2014 and received an early, factory-correct, date-coded, all-aluminum ZL-1 engine, installed under warranty. It was then certified by Bloomington Gold as the first of the two ZL-1s ever produced and has been extensively shown and displayed.
This ultra-exclusive 1969 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray ZL-1 Convertible in near original condition is now offered up for auction for the first time in about 30 years and could fetch up to $3 million when it goes under the hammer on January 26.
At the moment, the title for the most expensive Corvette sold at auction is held by a 1967 L88 coupe that fetched no less than $3.85 million in 2014. This is a rare opportunity for that record to be broken by the 1969 Corvette Stingray ZL-1, if a collector with deep enough pockets wants to add it to their stable.
After spending a few years as a copy editor, Ancuta decided to put down the eraser and pick up the writer's pencil. Her favorites subjects are unusual car designs, travel trailers and everything related to the great outdoors. Full profile
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