Two surprises were in store for us on the first day of the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Auction in Palm Beach. On Friday at 6:00 pm, the first retail 2017 Corvette Grand Sport Collector’s Edition was auctioned for charity. While the general consensus was that this vehicle would be just another in a long line of VIN 001 Corvettes purchased at auction by Rick Hendrick, it in fact was sold to another dealership owner at what is generally regarded as a bargain price for a VIN 001 Corvette.
First, a little about the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport. We saw the Grand Sport Collector’s Edition Coupe for the first time today and we wondered what our reaction would be to seeing the Torsion Blue interior against the new Watkins Glen Gray exterior. Well, we love it! Such a bold combination in our opinion and the comments we heard from the general public as they viewed the car was about the same.
Once the car was outside, the Watkins Glen Gray really looks sharp. The Grand Sport really held no surprises for us after it was revealed a month ago in Geneva, however we did find something new when the hood was opened. The hood liner features the C7 logo and “Grand Sport”. The dash plaque inside was hard to get a photo of, but we do see that it reads “0/1,000” which again suggests that there will 1,000 Collector’s Edition produced. The real question is how many will stay in the USA vs those that are exported.
Chevrolet celebrated the Grand Sport by giving away free t-shirts at the Chevrolet display which had the “Grand Sport” name on it and the line was pretty long all afternoon leading up to the sale. Once the car was on stage, members of the Karmanos Cancer Institute, the organization that benefited from the charity sale, handed out matching “Grand Sport” hats as well.
Bidding on the car was fairly steady with one break in the bidding to ramp up additional support. The Corvette reached a high bid of $170,000 when the hammer dropped. Winning the car the automotive dealer David Flynn, who bought the first retail Cadillac ATS in last year’s Palm Beach auction which also benefited the Karmanos Cancer Institute.
Here are our photos from the 2016 Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach auction featuring the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport Collector’s Edition Coupe.
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Related:
First 2017 Corvette Grand Sport to be Sold at Barrett-Jackson Palm Beach
Only 1,000 Corvette Grand Sport Collector Edition Models Will Be Offered
[VIDEO] Watch the Reveal of the 2017 Corvette Grand Sport from Geneva
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