Auction favorite: Mid-engine Corvette

Imagine, if you will, a mid-engine Corvette. Apparently, this concept is as old as the Corvette itself. Zora Arkus-Duntov, the legendary engineer and “father of the Corvette”, a proponent of small mid-engines, would no doubt have loved this amazing Corvette-the V7 Twin Turbo, a car that was auctioned at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale 2011. Here she goes: racing triple-disc clutch, mid-engine split window motif with wire mesh, modeled on the ’63 with wider fender flares, ‘sui-slide’ doors, rear canopy opens to reveal a 1000 hp, LS1 gen 3 twin-turbo motor, and paddle shifters. I was just knocked out by this car, and after seeing a car magazine article (I can’t remember which magazine) in 2007 about Chevy still mocking-up mid-engine Corvettes, I continue to think that this idea is an exciting prospect. This is a dream Franken-Vette to me, utilizing my all-time favorite Corvette body-style with a mid-mounted engine with paddle shifters, and of course, in black. It sold for $155,000. I put a ton of caps from Speed’s coverage of the auction because I just didn’t know when to stop. My favorite car from the entire auction.