A Complete Corvette Pace Car Collection Is For Sale – 18 Cars Total

This is the first time in recent memory that such an expansive collection of Corvette Pace Cars have been offered for sale as a single package. There are 18 cars in total and they date from 1978 to 2022.

The collection was amassed by Dr Richard Foster, a lifelong fan of both Corvettes and the Indianapolis 500. He attended his first Indy 500 as a 12 year old boy in 1954 and he has remained hooked for life.

Fast Facts – The Corvette Pace Car Collection

• This collection is made up of 18 Corvette pace cars, festival cars, and authorized pace car replicas that were accumulated over decades by Dr Richard Foster, a resident of New Castle, Indiana which is just 50 miles from the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
• The Indianapolis 500 first used a Corvette pace car at the 1978 running of the event, Chevrolet then released an official pace car replica. Of a planned 2,500 cars there were actually 6,502 made – one for every Chevy dealer in the USA.
• Over the decades the Corvette has become the preferred Indy 500 pace car, a number of official pace car replicas have been offered by Chevrolet in that time, as well as festival cars.
• This collection is part of the 50+ cars in the private museum of Dr Richard Foster of Indiana, due to his advancing years he’s decided to offer them as a complete package, with a price guide of $1.5 million – $1.7 million USD.

Above Video: This short film by the National Corvette Museum gives an interesting insight into the history of the Corvette pace car.

Dr Richard Foster’s Corvette Pace Car Collection

In 1978 when the Corvette pace car was released as a limited edition version of the C3 it proved popular.

The model variant actually proved more popular than Chevrolet had expected – the original plan had been to make 2,500 of them but they eventually they agreed to provide one car to every Chevrolet dealer in the country, 6,502 in total.

1978 was the first year that the Corvette took on pace car duties for the Indy 500, the most watched motor race in the United States.

Although no one knew it at the time the Corvette would go on to become the most prolific pace car to be used in the race over the coming decades, and in 2002 Chevrolet became the exclusive provider of Indy 500 pace cars.

Below we have listed all of the 18 cars with just one exception, the 2022 C8 Corvette which is still out undergoing an authorized replica conversion. It will be included in the final collection when delivery takes place to the new owner.

If you’d like to read more or see the listing you’ll find it here, the cars are all due to cross the auction block with Mecum a little later this month.

⤉ 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Edition

VIN: 1Z87L8S902091

Unrestored with 50 Miles Since New

Bloomington Gold Benchmark Certified

⤉ 1986 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Edition

VIN: 1G1YY678XG5905510

Unrestored with 17,342 Miles Since New

Triple Diamond Recipient

⤉ 1995 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Edition

VIN: 1G1YY32P4S5112712

One Owner and 121 Miles Since New

Bloomington Gold Benchmark Certified

⤉ 1998 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Edition

VIN: 1G1YY32G0W5119923

One Owner and 17 Miles Since New

1 of 547 Produced with 6-Speed Manual

⤉ 2003 Chevrolet Corvette 50th Anniversary Coupe

VIN: 1G1YY22G835102003

Unrestored with 10 Miles Since New

Bloomington Gold Certified

⤉ 2004 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car

VIN: 1G1YY32G645121009

Parade Car used for 2004 Indy 500

8,942 Miles Since New

⤉ 2005 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car

VIN: 1G1YY34U155118054

1 of 8 Official Pace Cars for 2005

5,450 Miles Since New

⤉ 2006 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Pace Car

VIN: 1G1YY26E165128746

1 of 6 Official Pace Cars for 2006

3,187 Miles Since New

⤉ 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Edition

VIN: 1G1YY36U475139187

One Owner and 500 Miles Since New

1 of 500 Produced

⤉ 2008 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Edition

VIN: 1G1YY36WX85124521

One Owner and 3,540 Miles Since New

1 of 266 Produced

⤉ 2013 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 60th Anniversary Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1Y62DT2D5800205

One Owner and 34 Miles Since New

Supercharged LS9/638 HP V-8

⤉ 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1YL2D73E5134176

One Owner and 9 Miles Since New

LT1 6.2L/460 HP V-8

⤉ 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1YS2D68F5603726

6,152 Miles Since New

1 of 1,132 Finished in Arctic White

⤉ 2017 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1Y12D7XH5115425

1,786 Miles Since New

LT1 6.2L/460 HP V8

⤉ 2019 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1Y52D91K5800166

6,364 Miles Since New

1 of 39 Finished in Admiral Blue

⤉ 2019 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1YY2D77K5108709

1,233 Miles Since New

1 of 744 Finished in Long Beach Red

⤉ 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Pace Car Replica

VIN: 1G1Y72D41L5100793

2,319 Miles Since New

Z51 Performance Package

Additional information provided by The Drive

The post A Complete Corvette Pace Car Collection Is For Sale – 18 Cars Total appeared first on Silodrome.

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For Sale: An Original Cheney Triumph ISDT Specification Racer

This is a Cheney Triumph based on the mechanicals of a 1970 Triumph Daytona. It was built in 1995 by Eric Cheney himself, an icon of the early off-road motorcycling scene who made some of the best dirt racing motorcycles in the world.

Motorcycles like the one you see here were used by the world’s best trials, scrambles, and enduro riders back in the 1960s, they typically had custom frames paired with the best engines and suspension people could get their hands on.

Fast Facts – A Cheney Triumph ISDT Racer

• Eric Cheney became a legend in his own lifetime, he spent WWII designing remote control submarines for the Royal Navy and taking part in risky naval supply missions in the Arctic. After the war he became one of the best off-road motorcycle riders in the world.
• He was struck down with a prolonged illness after contracting something while racing in Algeria, it ended his racing career but he took his engineering acumen and racing experience into a new business – designing and building motorcycle frames.
• Cheney used to draw his new motorcycle frame designs on the garage wall in chalk before building them, just using his intuition he was able to build some of the best off-road racing frames of his generation.
• The motorcycle you see here was personally built by Eric Cheney in 1995, he used the engine from a 1970 Triumph Daytona paired with one of his own frames, Ceriani forks, Koni rear shocks, and an alloy fuel tank.

Eric Cheney

When Eric Cheney left school at the age of 18 in 1942 WWII was well underway across Europe, the United States had joined the war just a year previously, and the tide seemed to be turned in favor of the Allies.

Eric Cheney was a self-taught engineer who became known for building some of the best off-road racing frames in the world.

Cheney signed up for the Royal Navy right out of school, joining the exceedingly dangerous Arctic convoys that were dodging German U Boats and their lethal torpedos. As the war progressed he would work on motor torpedo boats, gaining invaluable experience while maintaining their high performance engines.

Towards the end of the conflict Cheney would work on what was perhaps his most interesting maritime project – he joined a team that was developing a series of remotely controlled submarines for the Royal Navy.

Cheney Racing

After the war Cheney was hired as a mechanic by motorcycle dealership Archers of Aldershot, this allowed him to put his mechanical training from the navy to good use, and he began to develop an interest in off-road motorcycle racing.

In short order he became one of the best riders in the country, alongside his frequent traveling companion Les Archer. Just as his riding career was on the upswing Cheney became severely ill with a disease he picked up in Algeria while competing.

This motorcycle is fitted with the 500cc Triumph Daytona parallel twin, it has a built-in 5-speed transmission, and it’s protected with a sump guard.

This illness effectively ended his riding career, but it did help launch him into a new line of work – motorcycle design and development.

As a man with no formal engineering training Cheney proved to have remarkable natural abilities when it came to motorcycle chassis design. He once said:

“I know when it’s right and it screams at me when it’s wrong.” – Eric Cheney

Many of his motorcycle frames were drawn in chalk on his garage wall, he would rework the design until it fell right, then build a jig and weld up the steel tubing to create the first prototype.

Though this may sound somewhat primitive, his frames were some of the best in the world, they were loved by racers and Steve McQueen bought a number of them because he considered them superior to other makes.

The legend that grew to surround Eric Cheney and his designs has been so enduring that his company still exists today, and you can buy all new Cheney frames, rolling chassis, and turnkey bikes from them.

Cheney built bikes using a variety of different engines, this is a Cheney Triumph but he also built bikes that used engines from BSA and a number of other makes.

The Cheney Triumph ISDT Specification Racer Shown Here

The motorcycle you see here was built by Eric Cheney personally in 1995 in the same style he used for his iconic International Six Day Trial (ISDT) motorcycles back in the 1960s.

It has a hand-built Cheney frame with nickel-plating and it’s powered by a rebuilt 1970 Triumph Daytona 500cc parallel twin with a four-speed gearbox.

The bike has an alloy fuel tank, fiberglass side covers, chromed front and rear fenders, and Akront rims on Grimeca hubs. Suspension consists of Ceriani forks up front with adjustable Koni shock absorbers in the rear, and it has front and rear drum brakes.

Motorcycles like this were the lifeblood of the off-road racing scene in the 1960s, this one is currently being offered in a live online auction by Collecting Cars out of Surrey in the United Kingdom.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

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For Sale: The Only Bizzarrini Monoposto Prototype “F1 Car” Ever Built

This is the only example of the 1965 Bizzarrini Monoposto prototype that was ever built, it’s a single-seat, open-wheeled racing car powered by a highly-modified Corvette 327 V8 producing over 420 bhp.

Though it likely wasn’t intended to compete in Formula 1, company founder Giotto Bizzarrini put the word out that he was considering an F1 entry with the car, and he received some valuable free publicity via an article in Road & Track Magazine (August 1966 issue) about a “classified” Monoposto.

Fast Facts – The Bizzarrini Monoposto Prototype

• The 1965 Bizzarrini Monoposto prototype was built for French businessman and gentleman racer Regis Fraissinet, it has a tubular steel chassis, a fiberglass body, and a rear-mounted 327 cubic inch Corvette V8.
• “Monoposto” is Italian for “single seat,” it’s a term used to describe open-wheeled formula cars and other vehicles that typically can accommodate only one person at a time.
• Bizzarrini was an Italian sports and racing car manufacturer founded by former Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, and Iso engineer Giotto Bizzarrini – best known as the creator of the Ferrari 250 GTO.
• When Fraissinet first drove this car it scared him so much he decided he didn’t want it. Giotto Bizzarrini won some free press in Road & Track Magazine by leaking that he was considering an F1 entry with the car.

Giotto Bizzarrini

Giotto Bizzarrini graduated as an engineer from the University of Pisa in 1953, he was soon working for Alfa Romeo and remained with the Italian company until 1957, when he was headhunted by Ferrari.

Giotto Bizzarrini standing with a Bizzarrini 5300 GT, believed to have been taken in 1965. Image courtesy of Bizzarrini.

His natural engineering ability shone through, and Bizzarrini was soon the head of experimental, sports, and GT car engineering.

It was at this time that he developed his most famous creation, the Ferrari 250 GTO, though he also worked on the development of a number of other historically signifiant cars, including the Ferrari 250 TR and the Ferrari 250 GT SWB.

After leaving Ferrari, Bizzarrini was promptly approached by Ferruccio Lamborghini, who contracted him to build an advanced new V12 engine for a line of GT cars that would go on to become key rivals for Ferrari.

Bizzarrini was also hired by Renzo Rivolta of Italian automaker Iso to do the engineering work on a line of new V8-powered GT cars. It would prove to be a fruitful partnership however Bizzarrini wanted to build race cars and Rivolta wanted to build luxury GT cars – eventually Bizzarrini left in 1964 to launch his own marque and build his own cars.

The most famous car to come from the Bizzarrini factory in Livorno, Italy was the Bizzarrini GT 5300, a car closely based on the Iso Grifo A3C he had developed while working for Rivolta.

The car proved successful on the track but perhaps suffered from a lack of funds required to develop it into a true Le Mans winner.

With a weight of just 1,300 lbs (590 kgs) and 420+ bhp on tap, this car is so fast it apparently scared its first owner into giving it up on the spot.

In 2020 it was announced that the Bizzarrini marque was being brought back and a limited production run of the Bizzarrini 5300 GT would be produced.

The Gentleman Driver And The Magazine

In 1965 French gentleman racer Regis Fraissinet approached Bizzarrini and contracted the company to design and built a new single seat, open wheeled racing car for him powered by the venerable 327 Corvette V8.

It’s not known exactly what Fraissinet intended to use the car for. Formula 1 entry is unlikely, but the car would have been ideally positioned for use in Europe’s hotly contested hillclimbing championships.

Bizzarrini and his team designed the car following the best principles of the day, it has a tubular steel spaceframe chassis, a lightweight fiberglass body, and the engine is mounted in the rear.

Giotto Bizzarrini had a well-known love for the Corvette V8, it’s the engine he used in many of his road and race cars as well – quite the vote of confidence from the man who designed the legendary Lamborghini V12.

As you would expect with a single seater of this vintage, the cockpit it small and spartan, with a steering wheel, three pedals, a right-side shifter, and only essential instrumentation.

The Corvette engine intended for this car was sent to Bizzarrini’s old alma matter, the University of Pisa, where experiments were done on it in the engineering department, eventually getting the horsepower figure from 375 bhp up to over 420 bhp thanks to a slew of changes including four Weber carburetors and “double-hump” cylinder heads.

The engine was fitted to the car and mated to a ZF gearbox, once complete the word was sent and Fraissinet came to test the car.

According to Bizzarrini this is what happened next:

“It was like a dragster, it was so quick! We took it to the small circuit near Livorno, where Mr Fraissinet tried a test drive the car. He pressed the throttle and accellerated for a while and suddenly stopped. He got out of the car because he was afraid he couldn’t drive it more.”

Not wanting to leave Fraissinet out of pocket he gave him some shares in his company. He allegedly then put the word out he was considering a Formula 1 entry using the completed Monoposto prototype as bait.

His apparent ruse was rewarded with an article in Road & Track Magazine in August 1966, reporting on the “classified” Bizzarrini F1 prototype.

The modified 327 cubic inch Corvette V8 in the back has resulted in this car becoming a minor celebrity, thanks to the fact that it’s been on display at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky for a number of years.

For Sale: The 1965 Bizzarrini Monoposto Prototype

Apparently Bizzarrini kept this car for years, well into the 1970s. It was eventually sold and imported into the United States in the 1980s and then refurbished, with work completing in 2008.

It was then shown to much interest at the 2013 Concorso Italiano in Monterey, California and it is currently on loan to the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Kentucky. A car of this type with a rear-mounted Corvette V8 has been impressing museum goers for years now.

The car is now for sale on Bring A Trailer, and it’ll be up to the new owner if they want to leave the car on display in the museum or bring it home and park it in their garage.

If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Editor’s Note: I royally screwed up the schedule with this article, it got buried and we missed the auction end date by quite a margin! It sold for $115,000 USD and you can read more about it via that link above.

Images courtesy of Bring A Trailer

The post For Sale: The Only Bizzarrini Monoposto Prototype “F1 Car” Ever Built appeared first on Silodrome.

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