Here’s one that was posted on Craigslist in the Tampa Bay area of Florida about five years ago:
”SERIAL
# X53L on documented 1953 pre-production Corvette Frame. We believe
this to be a 1953 Pontiac prototype that was to assume the name
Longoria? Info received todate indicates that ZAGATO designed and
PINNAFARINA constructed the body for GM in late 52.”
The
typos and misspelling might have been one clue that the person who
wrote the ad did not know much about the car being offered.
This basket case could have been yours for perhaps $700. To no one’s surprise, it didn’t sell.
Here’s
what that wreck actually was: arguably, the most sought-after Corvette
ever built. Today it is very likely worth several million dollars.
It is the storied No. 1 Cunningham Corvette.
Instead
of a “documented 1953 pre-production Corvette Frame” this car is a 1960
model that was among three turned into racecars by the sportsman Briggs
Cunningham. He raced them at the 24 Hours of Le Mans that year; the
cars, marked “1”, “2” and “3”, took turns leading the race and
delighting fans with their thunderous V-8 engines. Numbers 1 and 2 did
not finish, but number 3 did, winning its class and a permanent place in
Corvette lore.
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