In order to replace the 40th Anniversary Ruby Red Chevrolet Corvette damaged in the sinkhole accident in February, a Kentucky woman donated her prized car to the National Corvette Museum.
The special-edition convertible Corvette has been purchased brand spanking new from a Chevrolet dealer back in 1992. "Ruby" has been the pride and joy of Lynda Patterson and her husband for the best part of 22 years.
So why did Lynda part ways with her ride? Being a huge Corvette fan since she was a teenager, Mrs. Patterson was contacted by friends and family on February 12 only to find out that a sinkhole swallowed eight historic Vettes from the National Corvette Museum. Seeing on TV that one 40th Anniversary Corvette sticking tail up from the debris, Lynda immediately got all emotional.
“It was quite a shock,” Lynda declared for the National Corvette Museum blog. “Seeing that other Ruby in the hole made me think that maybe I should give ours to the Museum soon. Almost twenty years ago my husband Mike and I designated that our Ruby would go to the National Corvette Museum anyway. He died in 2012 after being diagnosed with a brain tumor a year earlier. The people at the Museum were very excited about having her. It made me feel good that the people there would be taking care of her.”
The parting brought tears to Lynda's eyes when she handed over the car to the museum staff, but in the end, we can all agree that she did the right thing in honor of her husband's memory and their common passion for everything wearing the Corvette badge.
“This is bitter-sweet. I’m so glad she’s coming here and will be enjoyed by so many.”
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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