The eventual success of the Corvette can arguably be traced back to March 17, 1957 when a factory-backed Corvette won in an international race for the first time.
Indeed, that day a pair of factory-backed cars that had been built in October 1956 and outfitted with pre-production Rochester mechanical fuel injection, four-speed transmissions, heavy-duty suspension, and large metallic drum brakes took the top two spots in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Inspired by that strong showing of the Corvette on the track, customers flocked to showrooms, and sales of the regular Corvette began climbing rapidly, nearly doubling from ’56 to ’57.
The month before that historic Sebring victory, however, Engineering had ordered five more similarly equipped Corvettes for further testing.
The first of those “Field Test Fleet” Corvettes carried chassis number 2276 and, after surviving and even thriving for the past 67 years, is now being offered through an online auction led by Hagerty.
The sole bid so far is for $20,000, but that figure is likely to climb much, much higher before the auction comes to an end on Sept. 24 at 3 p.m.
The significance of 2276 and its brethren cannot be underestimated as the lessons learned from those five cars eventually led to the RPO 579D competition cars offered to the public beginning in April 1957. This option, which added a whopping $726.30 when the base MSRP was just $3,176.32, included the 283/283 horsepower fuel-injected engine, along with an “Air Box” fresh air intake in the engine compartment to supply the Rochester “Ram-Jet” fuel injection. Notably, 2276 and its four companions did not have this Air Box.
These five test cars helped lay the groundwork for first-generation Corvettes to win many SCCA national and regional championships, compete at Le Mans and Sebring, and basically prove that Chevy’s sport car was worthy to compete against the world’s best.
The history of 2276 is well documented. A Southern California dealer is believed to have sold the car originally, no surprise considering the extremely vibrant racing scene at the time. It was then discovered in 1968 by Mike Pillsbury, “the Corvette Hunter” noted for his uncanny ability to find historic Corvettes. It passed through the hands of a few other owners over the years, including time spent in a barn, before noted Corvette collector Rich Mason meticulously restored it in 1990 and sold the car to its current owner in 2016.
The car earned the prestigious Top Flight award from the National Corvette Restorers Society in 2019, proof that it remains in more than 94 percent of its “as manufactured” condition.
Other highlights include rear leaf springs with engineering part numbers not yet available in February 1957, very rare Kelsey-Hayes 5.5-inch steel wheels dated 1957, rare 8,000 RPM AC 158680 tachometer, and RPO 684 heavy-duty brakes and suspension.
Besides extensive factory documentation, the car has also been documented by Rochester fuel injection historian Ken Keyser and was featured in the December 2021 issue of Corvette Magazine.
Source:
Hagerty.com
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