Back in the late 1980s, an unlikely collaboration between a hamburger meat tycoon, a legendary Corvette designer, and a four-time Indy 500 winner would result in a limited edition series of custom C4 Corvette ZR-1s, one of which is currently being offered on Bring a Trailer.
Known as the Larry Shinoda/Rick Mears Special Edition, only 14 such cars would be built by a company named Williams Design (led by Jim Williams, a sponsor on Penske’s cars and a major supplier of hamburger meat and croutons for McDonald’s). Larry Shinoda, perhaps best known for his work on the design of the original Sting Ray, came up with the design, and Mears coincidentally happened to be in the motorhome where Shinoda was showing his design sketches to Williams one day in 1989 and said he’d lend his name to the car if it actually looked like the drawings.
The rest is history.
Coated in Pearl Yellow paint over a black leather interior, this 1991 ZR-1 remains in immaculate condition, with just 1,044 miles on the odometer.
The car was previously listed on Bring a Trailer in May 2022, and the selling dealer acquired it earlier this year. Now he’s trying to sell it on BaT, where this time around, the current bid has hit $25,000, with the auction coming to an end in two days.
Shinoda said in a 1995 interview with Wayne Ellwood that he was never a big fan of the rub strips on the production Corvettes, so he eliminated them on this body kit to make for what he felt was a cleaner design. Other custom body work designed by Shinoda includes four rectangular fog lights in the front bumper, as well as custom lower rocker moldings and a large front spoiler, along with a five-inch rear spoiler that generated tons of downforce.
As with all the early ZR-1s built from 1990-92, this one has the all-aluminum 5.7-liter LT5 engine that was a collaboration between GM, Lotus, and Mercury Marine and pumped out 375 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque, impressive figures for the era.
Other notable features include ZF six-speed manual transmission, three-mode Selective Ride and Handling Package, Delco Bose Gold Series sound system with a CD player, custom 17-inch Elite wheels, air conditioning, removable roof panel, and an accident-free Carfax report.
Also included is a final inspection report by Shinoda himself, showing a build completion date of March 22, 1991 and seemingly indicating the car was built for professional golfer Gregg Norman.
Source:
bringatrailer.com
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