A one-off Corvette convertible constructed as a present for legendary Normal Motors design boss Harley Earl is headed to public sale.

Scheduled to cross the public sale block on Jan. 12 at a Mecum public sale in Kissimmee, Florida, the so-called 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Styling Automotive was a retirement present for Earl, who created and led GM’s design division and is credited with quite a few legendary designs just like the Buick Y-Job—usually thought to be the primary idea automobile. By the early Nineteen Sixties, Earl was prepared handy issues off to Invoice Mitchell, who oversaw the styling of the C2-generation Corvette launched for 1963.

Befitting a automobile constructed for a retiring design boss, this automobile has some distinctive styling options, a few of which had been impressed by a present automobile constructed for the 1964 New York World’s Honest. It is one in every of 4 C2 Corvettes constructed with four-into-one aspect pipes (common manufacturing vehicles had a distinct side-pipe) design, and includes a Metallic Blue exterior with a white hood graphic (later used on 1967 Corvette 427 fashions), together with a blue-and-white two-tone inside.

The Styling Automotive is powered by a 327-cubic-inch V-8 making 300 hp, which is distributed to the rear wheels by way of a 4-speed guide transmission. It additionally has dual-circuit four-wheel disc brakes—which didn’t seem on regular-production Corvettes till 1965—and an aircraft-inspired dashboard that features an altimeter and accelerometer.

1963 Chevrolet Corvette Harley Earl Styling Automotive (picture by way of Mecum Auctions)

The automobile was delivered to Earl at his residence in West Palm Seashore, Florida, the place he used it frequently, based on the public sale itemizing. In 1965, Earl was invited to be the grand marshal of NASCAR’s Daytona 500. So he drove the Corvette the 200 miles to Daytona Seashore after which used it for parade laps. The race’s trophy remains to be known as the Harley J. Earl trophy in his honor.

Earl later bought the automobile to an Military veteran in Maryland who drove it cross nation. It was restored within the Nineteen Eighties with assist from GM design employees.

The C2 Corvette had one of many shortest manufacturing runs of any Corvette technology, lasting solely from 1963 to 1967. That truth has made the rarest variants of this iconic ‘Vette into seven-figure vehicles. This convertible boasts a singular look and a singular connection to one of the influential folks in automotive historical past. So it might go for the same quantity when it crosses the public sale block.