It’s been a long, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely tiiiime since we’ve asked our readers their favorite question; This or That? Back at the end of March, our last ToT post was a complete nail-biter! When the dust settled, it was the low-mile Commemorative Edition Z06 that came out victorious in our battle of 405-horse special edition Corvettes, with 54% of the vote.
As far as we are concerned, the auction of the entire Brian Wedding Collection is the big news of the week, and after clicking through all of the listings (a few times), a unique pairing stood out to your author. After building only 9,686 units for 2018, Chevrolet put a bow on its least productive model year since 1959. This rarity makes it a treat to stumble upon any example of America’s Sports Car from 2018, and Mr. Wedding found himself two particularly interesting specimens that make for a perfect ToT matchup.
Option 1: Grand Sport Carbon 65 Convertible
Currently sitting at 1,112 miles and commanding an insanely attractive high bid of $4,200 is an exclusive Carbon 65 Corvette. To celebrate the 65th Anniversary of their halo car, Chevrolet created the Carbon 65 package. It brought the new-for-2018 Ceramic Matrix Gray paint, all of the carbon fiber bits in the C7’s repertoire, blue accents, a fully-decked out 3LZ/3LT interior package, distinctive graphics, and an individually numbered plaque (this is #107) to 650 Z06 and Grand Sport coupes and convertibles for an extra $15,000. When you look at the entire build-out, the most popular choice was the Z06 coupe, which accounted for 281 units. Hot on its heels was the Grand Sport coupe at 262. The drop-top Z was a distant third with 72 takers, and this no-reserve gem is one of just 35 Carbon 65 GS convertibles ever built (that each came with a stunning blue top!)! As all C65s came loaded to the gills, original Carbon 65 owners didn’t have many option boxes to scratch their head over besides which model and body-style they wanted. Their main choices boiled down to; 1. which transmission they wanted, and 2. Stock brakes vs. up-fitted J57 carbon-ceramic stoppers or the even more hard-core, ultra-track-focused Z07 package. Wedding opted to keep the standard brake rotors and also went with the quick-shifting 8-speed automatic, which puts this car into an eeven more exclusive club with just 27 members!
Option 2: 2018 Corvette Z06
Special editions like the Carbon 65 are one way to ensure the rarity and future desirability of your four-wheeled baby, but for a creative and motivated buyer, you can always make something rarer by digging deep in the order guide. Brian Wedding did just that with the addition of a second 2018 Corvette to his collection. Since he already had serialized 460-HP “goldilocks” of the lineup on order, he decided to also put his name on top of the ’18 food chain by putting a supercharged monster in his garage. There is almost nothing mainstream about his Z06 build that was driven almost five times as much as his Carbon 65, to the tune of 5,252 miles. He started with a base of Watkins Glen Gray (the fourth most popular color, with 1,115 total orders) and the 8-speed gearbox (one of 1,665 Zs that were similarly configured). From there, things get interesting! He selected the least-popular interior package with the base 1LZ trim, making this one of just 527 Z06 Coupes like it. Next, he went double black with his wheel and brake caliper selections, putting this car in a company of 395 and 220, respectively. Then “Level 2” aero was added, which includes either CFZ carbon fiber ground effects or CFV visible carbon fiber ground effects. This is a rare addition to a 1LZ car that we can’t make out in the pictures, but it would put this Z in a group of either 427 or 663 other cars. And, finally, the pièce de resistance of Wedding’s build, a little-known RPO that was probably the first thing you noticed about this car. When ordering, it went by code DTQ, but in Corvette language, they are called full-length racing stripes, and this car is one of five Z06s and eight overall 2018 Corvettes to have them applied in Inferno Orange, making this one of the rarest C7s in existence!
So, now comes the moment of truth, Corvette Nation. Which one would you focus your last-minute bidding on at 10:00 AM Central on Saturday, the 26th? Does the known commodity of the Carbon 65 GS tickle your fancy, or are you the type who wants to roll the dice on a one-of-five Z06? Let us know by participating in our poll below, and then head over to the Proxibid.com auction site to score one of these beauties for real!
Loading ...
Source:
Brian Wedding Collection Auction
Related:
287-Mile 2021 Corvette Stingray Z51 Coupe Offered at the Brian Wedding Collection Auction
Corvettes for Sale: No-Reserve 1954 Pennant Blue Corvette Roadster Offered at Auction
-
The engine compartment on the Z06 is quite dirty. I’ve got 40K miles on my 2017 Z06 (in dusty Texas) and it looks like new compared to that picture. Makes me wonder what that car has been through because the engine compartment looks like it was buried in mud, or left out in the Dubai desert.
Jonathan you’re exactly right. I checked out the pics of the engine compartment and I can honestly say I’ve never seen a C7 with a dirtier engine compartment than that. It doesn’t look like it goes with that car considering how clean the exterior and interior is. You’d think they could break down and clean it up good since they’re trying to sell the car.
A dirty engine compartment is unacceptable! Especially on a Corvette. That is why I love the clam shell hood design of the C4. My ’95 ZR-1 is so easy to clean under the hood because everything moves out of the way completely. Plus the LT5 is a beautiful looking engine that displays well.
Sale of the Z06 bidding will force the buyer to pony an Indiana state sales tax of 7%. So yeah, I’d be wary of a car from the snow bound states.
Comments are closed.