Back in the late ’90s, Chevrolet General Manager John Middlebrook told the designers that the company wanted a Corvette Indy Pace Car for 1998 “that would grab people immediately.”
Middlebrook says they didn’t disappoint him, and most people would be hard-pressed to disagree with that sentiment.
The resulting ’98 Corvette Pace Car convertible certainly has a polarizing appearance with its “way out there” Pace Car Purple Metallic exterior with yellow accents, including a yellow graphic package with a checkered flag motif, yellow wheels, and yellow and black sport seats. Despite what some people consider “cartoonish” looks, you can count at least three people (my son Chris and I, along with Middlebrooks) as fans of this crazy look.
In case you missed out on buying one of the 1,163 Pace Cars built that year, it’s not too late as Hagerty.com has a listing for one that’s still practically brand new – with just 70 miles on the odometer, only four of them put on by the current Louisiana-based owner since his 2014 purchase from the second owner who had bought it in 2010 with 66 miles.
The car looks to be in near-perfect condition more than a quarter-century after leaving the Bowling Green factory, with the only known flaws said to be “a few small imperfections on the leading edge of the driver’s side hood stripe.”
It even looks like it could have just rolled off the delivery truck – not surprising since it has never been prepped by a dealer and still has the original factory plastic covers over the seats and the Mulroney sticker on the windshield.
With the auction slated to end Monday, Jan. 22 at 3 p.m. EST, the high bid is $23,000. Not bad for a car that stickered for just over $50,000, with the only option being the $5,754 Indy Pace Car Package.
That package includes black leather seats with yellow accents, official exterior Pace Car decals, aluminum yellow painted wheels, memory package, floor mats, dual power sport seats, active handling package, fog lamps, Delco AM/FM stereo with CD player, digital clock, theft lock, speed compensated volume with Bose speaker system, and dual zone climate control.
This car has the distinction of being one of just 547 Indy Pace Cars equipped with a six-speed manual transmission, and it’s connected to the standard 5.7-liter LS1 V8 that pumped out 345 horsepower and 350 lb-ft of torque.
Source:
hagerty.com
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