Corvette Museum Receives Donation of a 1993 40th Anniversary Corvette

The Corvette world continues to make lemonade out of lemons.

When a 40th Anniversary Corvette became one of the sinkhole victims at the National Corvette Museum back in February, the tragedy really hit home for one enthusiast named Lynda Patterson.

You see, she and her husband, Mike, owned a 1993 Ruby Red anniversary model just like the one that was swallowed up by the earth.

Sadly, Mike passed away in 2012 after battling a brain tumor for a year, but 20 years earlier, he and Lynda had agreed that one day they would donate their car to the NCM.

“It was quite a shock,” Lynda said of witnessing their twin Corvette sticking up out of the sinkhole on the national news. “Seeing that other Ruby in the hole made me think that maybe I should give ours to the Museum soon.”

Lynda feels that Mike would be proud of her decision to make the donation now, not later.

After contacting the NCM, Lynda says, “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.”

Still, when she presented her car earlier this month, it proved to be a very emotional time for her, indeed.

“This is bitter-sweet. I’m so glad she’s coming here and will be enjoyed by so many,” she said.

The presentation marked the end of 22 years of ownership for the Pattersons, who bought it from Bob Smith Chevrolet after Mike agreed to trade his 1991 black Corvette as a loving gesture to his wife, who had instantly fallen in love with the ’93.

“I asked Mike what he thought about it and he said, ‘If you want it, get it and take it home,’ ” Lynda recalls.

Over the years, they received much enjoyment out of the car, including a special meeting of 40th anniversary models at the museum a few years ago.

We especially love her comment about why she got teary-eyed while presenting the car: “Some people may not get why I’d be so emotional about it, but it is more than a car… it is memories.”

Source:
National Corvette Museum

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