1963 Corvette Sting Ray ‘pilot car’ to be offered at Vicari’s New Orleans Auction
1963 Corvette Sting Ray ‘pilot car’ #16 to be offered at Vicari’s New Orleans Auction Dec. 1 “In preparation for the introduction of the re-designed 1963 Corvette, a limited number…
1963 Corvette Sting Ray 'pilot car' #16 to be offered at Vicari’s New Orleans Auction Dec. 1
“In preparation for the introduction of the re-designed 1963 Corvette, a limited number of handmade pilot line cars were produced in St. Louis, Mo., for the purpose of road testing the new design,” said Pete Vicari, president of Vicari Auction. “After testing, these Corvettes were supposed to have been crushed, but a few survived. It is believed there are four or five restored Corvette 'pilot cars' left in the world, and only two known original matching-numbers cars: Serial No. 3 and No. 16. The unique characteristics of these hand-built cars are clearly noticeable by the quality of workmanship in this Corvette, which doesn’t feature the traditional smooth fiberglass of production cars.”
This Corvette Pilot Car has its original four-speed and 360-hp fuel-injected 327 V-8 and features red paint with a red vinyl interior. It has been with its current owner since 2001, and was expertly restored with new paint and a rebuilt engine. The original small-block has 106,000 miles on the odometer.
The "pilot car" features include sand-cast FI units, a smooth-surface console with no grid lines, an early clock with burnished face not painted silver, and early upper ball studs with a rectangular weld pattern.
The Corvette pilot car is one of more than 200 cars to be offered during the Dec. 1 sale, with a preview on Friday, Nov. 30, 2012. Pre-registered Bidders and Consignors will be invited to join President Pete Vicari and his auction staff at a VIP Preview Party along the scenic Mississippi Riverside for an evening of entertainment and authentic New Orleans cuisine that evening.
General admission to Vicari’s New Orleans Auction is $10 per day, with children 10 and under admitted free. Registration begins at 9 a.m., with the auction starting at 10 a.m. Additional consignment and bidder information is available at www.vicariauction.com or by calling 504.875.3563.
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