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Sold at RM Sotheby's auction
The first purpose-built Corvette racer built by Zora Arkus-Duntov in the 1950s just sold for over $7 million at auction.
The 1957 Corvette SS, also known as Project XP-64, was built to compete against the Europeans at Le Mans.
The ground-breaking car featured a tubular frame with a magnesium body, while Zora added a factory-sourced 283 CI V8 with Ramjet fuel injection and a four-speed manual transmission. Other features included a quick-change rear differential, independent front suspension, and vacuum-assisted drum brakes to provide plenty of stopping power.
The Corvette SS first debuted at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957, piloted by John Fitch and Piero Taruffi. Unfortunately, the car only lasted 23 laps of the race before it was retired due to multiple issues, but primarily because the magnesium body caused excessive heat in the cockpit.
Just one month after Sebring, the Automobile Manufacturers Association voted to ban participation in motor racing, and that was it for the Corvette SS.
While the Corvette SS was used for occasional promotions, the car was eventually donated to the Indianapolis 500 Museum, where it has been on display ever since. Last year, the museum announced that it would be selling 11 vehicles from the collection, including the 1957 Corvette SS at RM Sotheby’s Miami 2025 sale.
Bidding for the 1957 Corvette SS opened at $3 million and the next bid of $3.5 million was enough to surpass the reserve price, so we knew then that the car would be sold. The only question then would be for how much?
For another few minutes, the bids steadily climbed, and it hammered sold for $7 million
. With the commission included, the out-the-door price was $7,705,000.
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The first purpose-built Corvette racer built by Zora Arkus-Duntov in the 1950s just sold for over $7 million at auction.
The 1957 Corvette SS, also known as Project XP-64, was built to compete against the Europeans at Le Mans.
The ground-breaking car featured a tubular frame with a magnesium body, while Zora added a factory-sourced 283 CI V8 with Ramjet fuel injection and a four-speed manual transmission. Other features included a quick-change rear differential, independent front suspension, and vacuum-assisted drum brakes to provide plenty of stopping power.
The Corvette SS first debuted at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957, piloted by John Fitch and Piero Taruffi. Unfortunately, the car only lasted 23 laps of the race before it was retired due to multiple issues, but primarily because the magnesium body caused excessive heat in the cockpit.
Just one month after Sebring, the Automobile Manufacturers Association voted to ban participation in motor racing, and that was it for the Corvette SS.
While the Corvette SS was used for occasional promotions, the car was eventually donated to the Indianapolis 500 Museum, where it has been on display ever since. Last year, the museum announced that it would be selling 11 vehicles from the collection, including the 1957 Corvette SS at RM Sotheby’s Miami 2025 sale.
Bidding for the 1957 Corvette SS opened at $3 million and the next bid of $3.5 million was enough to surpass the reserve price, so we knew then that the car would be sold. The only question then would be for how much?
For another few minutes, the bids steadily climbed, and it hammered sold for $7 million
. With the commission included, the out-the-door price was $7,705,000.
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