Chevrolet will oversee the restoration of historic Corvettes that were damaged when a sinkhole collapsed this week at the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky. General Motors Design in Warren will lead the project, the automaker announced Thursday.
“The vehicles at the National Corvette Museum are some of the most significant in automotive history,” says Mark Reuss, GM’s executive vice president of global product development. “There can only be one, 1-millionth Corvette ever built. We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans around the world can enjoy them when the museum reopens.”
Eight vehicles were damaged in the incident, including a 1962 Black Corvette, 1984 PPG Pace Car, 1992 White 1 Millionth Corvette, 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette, 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette, and 2009 White 1.5 Millionth Corvette. Two of the cars — a 1993 ZR-1 Spyder and 2009 ZR1 “Blue Devil” — were on loan from General Motors.
When the cars are recovered from the sinkhole, which collapsed Wednesday, they will be shipped to the mechanical assembly facility, a specialty shop in the Warren Technical Cetner, where the restoration process for each vehicle will be determined.
The National Corvette Museum, which is independently owned and supported solely by charitable donations, is currently accepting donations to assist in refurbishing the facility. The museum, which opened in 1984, is located a quarter mile from GM’s Bowling Green Assembly Plant, which started production in 1981. For more information, visit corvettemuseum.org.
