Dreams both Lived and Shattered, a Deep Dive in a Nutshell at the RM Monterey Auction 2026
This account reflects opinions and info from our Corvette Race Car Archive
1963 Corvette Grand Sport chassis 003 # 2, (Lot 341) sold on August 15 for $ 17mm (+ $ 1.7 buyer’s premium
This is the highest price ever paid for a Corvette. The pre-sale estimate was $ 11-13mm. Zora Arkus Duntov, Chief Engineer completed only five lightweight Corvettes when GM brass shut him down for violating a ban on racing. We believe the bidding was inspired by the spirit of Zora to go all out for victory.
Zora wasted no time sending chassis 003 to Dick Doane, a flagship Chevrolet dealer.
GM took it back and sold it to John Mecom, a Texas oilman who entered it in the Bahamas, followed on March 14, 1964 at Sebring where John Cannon & A.J. Foyt finished second in class after losing time to repair damage inflicted by a broken wheel.
Subsequent owners included Mike Golas, and Allen Foster, and vintage racers Bob Patterson (shown above), and Tom Armstrong who ran it at Goodwood in the UK. Now the current owner and seller Larry Bowman has Lived the Dream. Word is that the buyer is Dana Mecum, big-time auctioneer and Corvette expert.
We first thought the buyer was Rob Walton, Walmart heir and Corvette racing enthusiast extraordinaire. We believe that Rob owns the # 1 1957 XP 64 Corvette SS Prototype (shown above) that sold for a reported $ 7mm at the Moda Miami auction late last year. About 25 years ago, Rob also owned # 10 GS 001, the ex-Roger Penske big block roadster. The late Doug Hooper sorted it out and taught Rob the finer points on driving.
1960 Corvette, # 1 (Lot 353) failed to sell at the top bid of $ 1.7mm
Bidding fell short of $ 2.0-2.5mm sought by the seller, a descendent of the wealthy sportsman and racer Briggs Cunningham.
Entered at Le Mans in 1960 at Le Mans, co-driver Bill Kimberley crashed and rolled the car in a heavy downpour at the Maison Blanche turn, ending their attempt after only 32 laps. The resurrection of the # 1 Corvette is owed to the resourcefulness and persistence of one man in particular, Kevin Mackay.
This odd-looking creation was briefly spotted in 1972 in Florida. Locals discovered in a St. Petersburg warehouse forty years later. Mackay researched its serial number s/n 3535; and prevailed over law suits, claims for possessing stolen property, fending off creditors, and overcoming a litany of other issues in his quest to restore it exactly as he had done for the # 3 Corvette s/n 2538 for his close friend the late Chip Miller.
In 2021, Mackay guided the Cunningham descendent to buy the car for $ 785K, no reserve at the Amelia Island auction, and has dutifully looked after it ever since. This dream was Shattered because the market for solid axle Corvettes has stagnated, even for a pricy example like this.
1968 Corvette, # 4 (Lot 350) changed hands at the top bid of $ 750K
This bid fell short of $ 900K-$1.1mm sought by the seller. The story goes that Larry Trusdale, manager of Goodyear convinced Luigi Chinetti, Ferrari distributor for North America to relinquish one of his slots at Le Mans so this 1968 Corvette owned by Toye English could race there in 1972.
The look of this beautiful restoration, also by Kevin Mackay can be deceiving. The North American Racing Team (NART) Corvette was painted in Ferrari red, accented by a blue stripe and dazzling Prancing Stallion logos. Marietta Bob Johnson and Dave Heinz finished 7th in class.
Nicknamed "Old Scrappy”, the NART Corvette in fact was built from a wrecked 1968 convertible, bought for a mere $ 600 from a junkyard on a salvage title as a way to circumvent the strict rules for Le Mans. Historians and experts have never reached a consensus on its originality such as matching-numbers, factory-built examples sought by collectors. The buyer Pierce Marshall, is a racer and collector par excellence who endowed a gallery of race cars at the National Corvette Museum.
1969 Corvette # 80 (Lot 344) was sold for $ 650K
This offer compares with a pre-sale estimate of $ 600-800K.
V.V. Cook Chevrolet in Louisville KY sponsored this car, prepared by the late Don Barker and driven by his brother Allan Barker, followed by Bill Jobe.
Doug Bergen from Marietta Ohio originally built it as a big block L88 for his friend Bob Johnson (who also drove the NART Corvette) to race at Sebring and Daytona. The swap to a small block is quite unusual but made perfect sense and paid off in spades for the V.V. Cook dealership with 29 wins and 4 SCCA B Production national championships.
Kevin Mackay also restored this car and sold it to Larry Bowman. The fact is that Corvettes in SCCA club racing, (vs international racing) have lesser cachet which limits their value.
So, we ask our dear readers, do these epic Corvette race cars bring a smile; or are they just another entry in the ledger of the new owner?
Photo credits: RM Auctions, Doug Morton ARCF, Jim Loushin, Pete Brock, Kenneth C Visser, Walt Thurn
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