Chevy to restore three ‘sinkhole’ Corvettes

Chevrolet and the National Corvette Museum have announced plans to restore three of the eight Corvette models that were damaged earlier this year when a sinkhole formed beneath the museum’s show floor.

The three Corvettes set for repair include the 2009 ZR1 prototype, the 1-millionth Corvette ever built and a 1962 model. Chevrolet will oversee the restoration of the ZR1, known as the Blue Devil, and the 1-millionth Corvette, a 1992 convertible. Chevrolet will fund the restoration of the 1962 Corvette, but the National Corvette Museum will oversee the project.

The other five Corvettes swallowed by the sinkhole will remain in their current states as they were deemed too damaged to repair.

“Our goal was to help the National Corvette Museum recover from a terrible natural disaster by restoring all eight cars,” said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development. “However, as the cars were recovered, it became clear that restoration would be impractical because so little was left to repair. And, frankly, there is some historical value in leaving those cars to be viewed as they are.”

The five cars to be left as-is include a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder, the 1984 PPG Pace Car, a 1993 40^th Anniversary Corvette, a 2001 Z06 knows as “Mallett Hammer,” and the 1.5-million Corvette built.

Despite the extensive damaged caused by the sinkhole, the natural disaster was somewhat of a blessing in disguise for the museum. In the four months following the formation of the sinkhole, museum traffic climbed by nearly 60 percent.