Nearly a year and a half after the 1-millionth Chevrolet Corvette fell into a sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum (NCM), the legendary car has finally been fully restored.
The Corvette was rebuilt at GM’s Technical Centre in Warren, Michigan, where more than 30 restoration specialists spent four months and 1,200 hours carefully restoring the white 1992 convertible. Finally, their work is complete.
The rebuilt C4 Corvette was unveiled a few days ago at the NCM, where it will then go back on permanent display in its rightful home.
“We felt it was important to restore this extremely significant car in Corvette’s long, storied history,” said Mark Reuss, General Motors executive vice president, Global Product Development, Purchasing and Supply Chain. “When we disassembled it, we found that each employee involved in building it had signed a part of the car, which was fantastic and moving to see. It brought the history to life, and reinforced the importance of the project.”
Out of all the autographs on the car, all but two were able to be preserved. However, in a bid to preserve each name, the (re)build team had the autographs scanned, reproduced, and placed on the replacement parts.
Out of the eight vehicles that tumbled down the sinkhole, the one-millionth Corvette is the second damaged vehicle Chevrolet has restored. The other, a 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 prototype known as Blue Devil, was only lightly damaged and was returned to its original state last fall. The NCM will also oversee restoration of a third car, a 1962 Corvette.
The other five vehicles will be displayed in their as-damaged state to preserve their historical significance.
Here’s an interesting fact: The one-millionth Corvette was built with a white exterior and red interior– just like the very first Corvette produced in 1953!