"EARL'S OWN" CORVETTE AUCTIONED FOR $1.5M

Referred to by the General Motors internal code of 'Shop Order 10323', the one-of-a-kind Corvette was a 1963 example, the first year of the 'C2' Sting Ray era, but previewed elements of more modern 'Vettes. Originally built as a show special for that year's Chicago Auto Show, the car was instead presented as a gift to retired General Motors styling chief, Harley J. Earl.

Credited with bringing styling to the American automobile industry, Earl designed the Buick Y-Job, regarded as the first ever "concept car", one-offs for the Motorama shows of the 1950s, as well as some of the most iconic cars of America's 'Chrome Age' during his three decades with General Motors from 1928.

What set S.O. 10323 apart from other Corvette convertibles was its unique interior treatment; custom leather seats and door panels, metal footwell plates and a custom gauge layout, which included vacuum pressure, inside/outside thermometer an even an altimeter! The same instrument cluster was duplicated on the passenger side in place of the glovebox for a unique interior look.

S.O. 10323 also featured non-production side exit exhausts (one of only four Corvettes fitted with this feature), as well as a number of parts which would officially debut on the 1965 Corvettes, including the bonnet, exterior trim and four wheel disc brakes.

The car, fitted with a 327ci V8 and 4-speed manual, was used by Earl as his daily driver, including in the parade lap for the 1965 Daytona 500, where he was Grand Marshal for the event.

Recognised in the Corvette Hall of Fame and a regular attendee at the Bloomington Gold Special Collection (the concours for Corvettes), the one-off '63 Sting Ray passed through numerous hands after Earl sold it. In 1981, it came into the hands of an enthusiast who commissioned a thorough restoration, with the assistance of the GM Design Center, to its original C1963 Harley Earl condition.

The Corvette most recently sold at auction in 2010, also with Mecum, for US$925,000. At Chicago, the ex-Earl Corvette was one of almost 1,000 cars on offer and outsold the lot, hammering for US$1,500,000 (AU$1,429,000 approx.).

While a strong price, S.O. 10323 is not the most expensive Corvette sold at auction. The new benchmark was set only a month ago, when a 1967 L88 convertible, only of only 20 high performance L88 versions produced that year, sold for US$3.4 million at Mecum's Dallas auction in September.