If you ever turned down buying a C5 Z06 because of the fixed roof, then you can’t use that excuse when it comes to this 2001 Z06 Skunk Werkes Convertible Conversion.
This restomod – which was displayed at the 2002 SEMA show in Las Vegas, Nevada and subsequently owned at one point by Ken Lingenfelter before the selling dealer’s purchase in 2023 – is being offered at no reserve on Bring a Trailer. The current bid has hit $15,000, but that figure could climb higher over the next five days when the auction comes to an end.
The PREFIX Corporation of Rochester Hills, Michigan worked together with Skunk Werkes to convert the car to convertible form, but that’s not the only mods done to this cool C5.
For example, the 5.7-liter LS6 V8 has been upgraded and makes an additional 100 horsepower through the use of a Katech package that includes a Donaldson “Blackwing” airbox, carbon-fiber engine cover, and revised camshaft, throttle body, cylinder heads, and exhaust headers.
You’ll also spot a Corsa Performance titanium exhaust system, lowered suspension, Baer cross-drilled and slotted disc brakes, aftermarket bucket seats with Simpson five-point harnesses, carbon-fiber door panels, a short-throw shifter for the six-speed manual transmission, and a Kenwood touchscreen head unit with a backup camera, Alpine amp, and concealed subwoofer in the cargo area.
With just 34,000 miles and a clean Carfax, this unusual Torch Red C5 features a Skunk Werkes body kit that includes a cowl induction hood, straked fender vents, a wrap-around rear spoiler, and front bumper cover and rocker panel extensions.
Also included with the sale will be a window sticker and magazine articles featuring the car, along with an owner’s manual signed by John Cafaro, chief designer of the C5.
“We consider ourselves tuners, but on a very small scale,” Cafaro said in a 2005 story in Vette Magazine. “Luckily we don’t depend on Skunk Werkes to feed ourselves.”
Cafaro pointed out that while Lockheed invented the “skunk works” term, “it is really part of Corvette history. Basically the philosophy is you shut the doors, go underground, you do things that nobody would even attempt to try, kind of go against the grain a little bit. The whole operation is kind of cloaked in secrecy.”
Source:
Bring a Trailer
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There’s a reason that Chevrolet didn’t build a convertible C5 or C6 Z06, not even a removable roof. Beat on this car for a while and see if the doors still fit.
Ronnie’s got a good point. A convertible C5 or C6 wouldn’t have been able to withstand the torque from their respective Z06 engine.
20,000
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