[VIDEO] Here’s the Backstory on That Ultra Rare 1971 Corvette ZR2 Revealed at MCACN 2024

May 27, 2025

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[VIDEO] Here's the Backstory on That Ultra Rare 1971 Corvette ZR2 Revealed at MCACN 2024

Photo Credit: Steve Burns

The C8 Z06 isn’t the first street-legal race car ever built by General Motors, not by a long shot.

Just take a look at this 1971 Corvette ZR2 – one of 12 ever built, one of seven known to exist today.

But this super-rare supercar wasn’t always as nice as it is now. Indeed, a recent restoration by Tucker’s Performance Center out of Las Vegas has made this Stingray even better than it was new, not that that’s saying a lot.

[VIDEO] Here's the Backstory on That Ultra Rare 1971 ZR2 Corvette Revealed at MCACN 2024

Rick Tucker, now 75, has been working with cars for 60 years and even sold one of these ZR2s brand new when he was a salesman. The Steel Cities Gray coupe arrived on a transporter, and Rick recalls that he was “so disappointed.”

“I opened up the hood, and the paint was all peeled off the valve covers. I mean, the build quality on the cars was terrible. It really was, compared to what we’re able to do here now.”

Before we go any further, let’s explain the difference between the ZR1 and the ZR2.

Both cars featured an M22 four-speed manual transmission, heavy-duty power brakes, transistor ignition, special aluminum radiator, and special springs, shocks, and front and rear stabilizer bars.

Where they differed was the engine – the ZR1 had the small-block LT1 350/370hp while the ZR2 came with the big-block LS6 454/425hp.

Tucker believes this Classic White ZR2 that his crew just finished tediously restoring may have resulted in the nicest example on the planet.

Once mocked as a “turd,” this Corvette earned a prestigious gold certification at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals last November.

“We’re touting this as the best one there is,” Tucker tells YouTube’s “Everyone Needs a Hobby,” “so everything about this car is the way it should be. All the numbers are there, and the car is finished very nicely from stem to stern.”

The car’s history is well-documented, with the original owner buying it in America and immediately shipping it to England and intending to race it in Europe. Unfortunately, the rule-makers said that the car could not compete without a roll bar, so the first owner immediately sold it to another enthusiast in England. He loved it but sold it, too, and regretted his decision so much that he bought it back, earning the distinction of being both the second and the fourth owners.

Eventually, the car fell victim to the drastic climate in England and by the time it arrived back in America, after decades overseas, to the city where it was born (St. Louis), it had truly earned its “turd” label.

Fortunately, all the important original parts were there, including the engine, transmission, and more, so the current owner was determined to spare no expense restoring the car better than new, including the use of NOS (New Old Stock) parts whenever possible. That meant going so far as to spend $10,000 for a dual-disc clutch alone and a genuine Delco transistor ignition coil at nearly $2,000.

“Is it over-restored?” Tucker asks. “Yeah.”

But when you’re talking about a car that may be sold one day for six or even seven figures, a new owner would expect such perfection, Tucker believes.

“Considering the rarity, yeah, it’s the cost of admission,” Tucker says, “and it has to be done to this level. So this car underneath, on top, everything that you see … If I put this on a lift, the quality of the underside is just like the engine compartment. Every screw, every nut, every bolt, every piece that we could get was NOS, you know, and restored to a high standard.”