#1 S/N 2013 427 VERT @ BJ TODAY

[WB9MCW]

$600,000



Corvette 427 Convertible Collector Edition

The 427 Convertible is a unique new model in the Corvette lineup that plays up the historic combination of convertibles powered by 427s big blocks like those of the late 60s while modern technology from the Z06 and ZR1 models are combined to create the fastest and most capable convertible model in Corvette’s history.

“The 2013 model year will be historic for Corvette, marking its 60th Anniversary and the final year for the current ‘C6′ generation,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Global Marketing and Strategy for Chevrolet. “We couldn’t think of a more fitting way to celebrate these milestones than bringing back one of the most-coveted combinations in the brand’s history – the Corvette convertible and a 427 cubic-inch engine.

The new collector edition convertible is powered by the 427 cubic inch 7.0-liter LS7 from the Corvette Z06. Rated at 505 horsepower and 470 ft-lb of torque, it is the most powerful engine ever installed in a production Corvette convertible. The new model comes only with a 6-Speed manual transmission and is available in all exterior and interior colors and 2LT, 3LT and 4LT trim levels.

Other performance options on the 427 Convertible include the Z06′s driveline and rear axle system, standard Magnetic Selective Ride Control and a rear-mounted battery. The new model will ride on standard 19-inch and 20-inch ZR1-style Michelin PS2 tires with the lightweight machine-face cup wheels. Black cup wheels or chrome ZR1-style wheels will also be available.

The 427 Convertible also features several carbon-fiber components to help with weight reduction. The new model features the carbon fiber raised hood that was first introduced on the 2011 Z06 Carbon Edition. It also includes carbon fiber Z06-style fenders and carbon fiber floor panels. Buyers can also choose to add the “CFZ” carbon fiber front splitter and rocker panels. This diet brings the 427′s curb weight to 3,355 pounds. Combined with the 505 HP LS7, the power-to-weight ratio is 6.64 or one horsepower for every 6.64 pounds of vehicle mass. That’s better than these more expensive sports cars:

Porsche 911 Turbo S Cabriolet – 6.90
Audi R8 5.2 RSI Spyder – 7.58
Aston Martin DBS Volante Convertible – 7.82
Ferrari California Convertible – 8.31

As for the official numbers, Chevrolet claims that the 427 Convertible is one of the fastest convertibles in the world with an estimated 0-60 mph of 3.8 seconds, quarter mile performance of 11.8 seconds, lateral acceleration of 1.04 g and a top speed of more than 190 mph.

The new model will have its own specific VIN and customers who purchase the 427 Convertible Collector Edition can purchase the Corvette Build Experience option and assemble the engine that will power their new Corvette.

Charity Auction at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale

The first Corvette 427 Convertible offered to the public will go to the highest bidder at the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale collector car auction, on Saturday, Jan. 21. Chevrolet and Hendrick Motorsports are teaming up for the auction, including four-time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion Jeff Gordon and team owner Rick Hendrick. Proceeds from the sale will benefit AARP’s Drive to End Hunger initiative.

Drive to End Hunger is part of a multi-year sponsorship for Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet which aims to address the growing problem of hunger among older Americans.

A legacy of 427-powered Corvettes

Early 427-powered Corvettes, particularly convertibles, offered from 1966 to 1969 are some of the most-coveted and collectable Corvettes ever produced.

The first 427-powered Corvette rolled off the assembly line for the 1966 model year. Two performance levels of the 427 were initially offered – an “L30” version rated at 390 horsepower and the “L72,” which cranked out 425 horsepower. Both were rated at 460 lb-ft. of torque.

The range of 427 engines grew in 1967, with the addition of the “L71” and “L88” options. The L71 added a unique triple-carburetor induction system that helped boost output to 435 horsepower. Known to collectors as “427/435” cars, these ’67 models – especially the convertibles – are especially sought-after collector cars.

The “L88” delivered 430-horsepower (with a single four-barrel carburetor) thanks to racing-tuned aluminum heads. Intended for customers who would immediately transform their new Corvette into a race car, the L88 was installed in just 216 production Corvettes between 1967 and 1969.

In 1969, a special “L89” 427 engine combined the L71’s induction system with the L88’s aluminum heads, offering maximum horsepower with an approximately 100-pound weight advantage over the standard iron heads. Also in 1969, Chevrolet built two “ZL1” 427 Corvette coupes. The ZL1 engine was essentially an all-aluminum version of the L88, with the aluminum cylinder block and heads offering a tremendous weight advantage for racing. More of the engines were sold as crate engines to racers.

By 1970, the big-block engine grew to 454 cubic inches, just as the trend in high-compression, high-performance engines was beginning to wane. The four-year run of 427 Corvettes was already established as the golden era of performance

1970 SUPERBIRD WENT FOR $200,000

[FU]

200 K for a StupidChicken that's stupid money. And a drop dead gorgeous 54 Vette just sold for 65K. Go figure.

[hiperf406]

Those Superbirds were ugly when they came out & time hasn't been kind to them.

[Socalerv]

Originally Posted by hiperf406

Those Superbirds were ugly when they came out & time hasn't been kind to them.

What a time in history when NASCAR required a car be in production and actually sold to the public inorder to run on the circuit.

[rhipsher]

Originally Posted by FU2

200 K for a StupidChicken that's stupid money. And a drop dead gorgeous 54 Vette just sold for 65K. Go figure.

Yea but Frank that superchicken was the first car to top 200mph. And in 1970 that was insane. For a heavy unaerodynamic brick to do that? Id like to have one in my car collection even though its not that pretty.

[WB9MCW]

Originally Posted by rhipsher

Yea but Frank that superchicken was the first car to top 200mph. And in 1970 that was insane. For a heavy unaerodynamic brick to do that? Id like to have one in my car collection even though its not that pretty.

I always figured it would be the ultimate 70's MOPAR to collect.


=========

A $3-million Plymouth Superbird
(You thought the "200K was Stupid" - check this out)



The very special 1970 'Superbird' with restorer Brian Chaffee.

Even when he was a 12-year-old clipping articles about hot rods, Brian Chaffee knew there would be something big in his future. And now it’s here: the 1970 Plymouth Superbird that shook the automotive world.

Superbirds were racing-bred versions of the popular Road Runner, with big V-8 engines, exaggerated rear spoilers and extended front ends. Plymouth built 1,920 of them in 1970, the only year of production. But the Superbird in Chaffee’s E-Muscle automotive repair and restoration shop in Middlefield is one of a kind.

Spike TV has called it “The Car That Killed the Muscle Car.” It chased Boeing 727s down runways at Raleigh-Durham Airport, and prowled streets and highways in the region, not for an action movie but to scoop up emissions data. Today, Chaffee is trying to sell it for an anonymous owner for a staggering $3 million.

Chaffee, 47, still lights up when he tells the story of the Superbird he and his E-Muscle crew spent three years restoring, even though he’s told it hundreds of times.

The Superbird’s troubling findings about aircraft and motor-vehicle emissions led to the elimination of carcinogenic asbestos from brake shoes, the removal of lead from gasoline, the depowering of engines during the mid-1970s to curb emissions, and the downsizing of entire fleets to improve fuel economy. The muscle car had no place in this environment and largely disappeared.

The car began life Nov. 30, 1969, as a conventional Alpine White Superbird with an automatic transmission and 440-cubic-inch, 375-horsepower V-8 engine. Wind-tunnel tests done by Chrysler suggested a Superbird could fulfill the EPA’s need for a rolling emissions-testing platform.

The agency bought the Superbird and commissioned NASCAR legend Ray Nichels, designer of Pontiac and Chrysler stock racers during the 1950s and ’60s, to modify it. He added a heavy-duty 4-speed stick shift, an air suspension to lower the nose so the exhaust blast from jet engines wouldn’t flip the pursuing car (and a roll bar in case it did anyway), and a camshaft that could bear sustained high speeds. The EPA installed sampling equipment and had Nichels paint the car Ice Blue Poly, apparently to make it less conspicuous.

After the car completed its year-and-a-half mission in October 1973, the EPA stripped its equipment from the car and parked it. Finally, the car was sold at auction in 1979 for just $500 to Wilbur Walker of Goldston, N.C. Walker slowly brought it back to original condition. But tantalizing hints of the Superbird’s historic role remained: a dash plaque identifying it as a Nichels car, and a small, faded green-and-white EPA tag on the dash.

In 2006, Walker sent letters to 35 people in the muscle-car community, including Chaffee. “He said ‘I have this car, I think it’s special, I have documentation it was built by Ray Nichels for the EPA.’ … Really, with what the car was, he felt he couldn’t do it justice.” Chaffee’s client, for whom Chaffee once had restored a Chevrolet Corvette, won the bidding.

Rather than restore the car to its original condition, Chaffee sought to bring the car back to its glory days as an EPA bloodhound. That required hundreds of phone calls to people who drove or worked on the car more than 35 years ago, and poring over old photos and documents.

The Superbird presents something of a paradox for muscle-car collectors. Few individual cars have had as much impact on the industry. Yet, people who love muscle cars don’t love the EPA or the changes the agency’s Superbird wrought. And many old-car enthusiasts bitterly resent the way price inflation has driven many collectors out of the hobby.

Who will buy the Nichels Superbird? Somebody who is taken in by the one-off collectible cars; who wants to be able to say, “I have something no one else can have. … I’ve got the car that dictates what you have.”

[FU]

The front of the Super turd look's like dog $hit. And the rear wing look's like a good place to put a drink on if your 7 foot tall. Just not my cup of tea. I'd take a regular Road Runner over that car any day. That's my choice. Your liking may be different....hey that's what makes the world go round.
And for 200K. We could buy a bunch of car's with that granola.

[WB9MCW]

No Frank my desire ended up becoming the ZR-1 always felt it had the looks over all the competition - just never figured I could never fit in one being 6'4". I do but just barely as you can see in my sig photo.

But as far as the Mopar SB goes no doubt one would have made some decent $$ profit if they thought to collect one back in the 80's IMO.