This $7.7 Million Chevrolet Race Car Is The Most Expensive Corvette Ever Sold … from Maxim Maxim Staff

A one-of-a-kind Chevrolet Corvette just sold for $7.7 million, nearly doubling the nameplate’s previous record-sale price of $3.85 million, which was set by a one-of-20 L88 Corvette in 2014, per Hagerty. To begin to understand why this particular car commanded such an absurdly high sum, we need to briefly revisit the iconic American sports car’s genesis.

As Chevrolet’s very first true performance vehicle, the Corvette generated much interest from the public and industry professionals upon its debut at General Motors’ Motorama show in 1953. Among the interested parties was Zachary “Zora” Arkus-Duntov, an lifelong engineer who’d designed a beloved valve conversion kit for Ford V8s and notably competed in endurance races like Le Mans in the Porsche 550 RS Spyder. Upon learning of the Corvette’s introduction, Arkus-Duntov personally wrote then-Chevrolet Chief Engineer Ed Cole expressing his desire to work for Chevrolet on the Corvette program. Almost immediately, he was awarded the job of assistant staff engineer.

As the Corvette’s initial buzz faded, sales had slumped by 1955. The first examples had killer looks but were reportedly lacking in the feel and performance departments, even after Chevy began offering an optional 265-cc V8 mated to a three-speed sychromesh manual gearbox. Arkus-Duntov essentially saved the Corvette’s legacy from being aborted in December of 1955, when he exceeded 156 mph at a GM test track from behind the wheel of a Corvette test mule running a V8 that he and his team had bored out from 283 to 307 cubic inches. He generated more good press in January of 1956 at a NASCAR-sanctioned Daytona Beach event when he pushed a 1956 ‘Vette past 150 mph. Later that year, the C1 Corvette notched a class win at 12 Hours of Sebring.

With Chevrolet brass’s faith restored in its first sports car’s program, VP and Corvette creator Harley Earl threw his support behind Arkus-Duntov to design a true, purpose-built Corvette race car with the goal of achieving outright wins at the world’s leading endurance events, including Le Mans. The so-called Project XP-64, which would later be named the Corvette SS (Super Sport), saw two examples built: one fully finished example for competition and display and a test car/prototype with minimal bodywork affectionately referred to as “The Mule.”

The former is what set the all-time Corvette sales record at a recent auction held by RM Sotheby’s, which has further details on the Project XP-64’s specs and creation from drawing table to test track in just five months:

The new purpose-built racecar was to be an exercise in lightweight construction and aerodynamics with a state-of-the-art powertrain, and to accomplish this, GM studied the successes of similar cars they were trying to emulate from the period. It has long been said that the tubular chassis construction of the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL served as the inspiration for the design Arkus-Duntov would utilize in the SS, building a custom tubular truss-type frame made of chrome-molybdenum tubing. The finished framework weighed in at just 180 pounds, an astonishing achievement.

Independent suspension was implemented at the front of the car, with the rear featuring a de Dion setup—a relatively uncommon design that kept unsprung weight low and provided excellent road adhesion, though at the cost of increased complexity. Bringing the SS to a stop was a unique front and rear drum brake system, each with their own individual vacuum assist unit system, operated by one pedal. At the front, composite cast iron brakes with finned outer aluminum drums were mounted at the wheels, while at the rear, brakes were mounted inboard, as on the Mercedes-Benz W 196 R racecars. Steering featured a recirculating ball-type gear with linkage ahead of the front wheels, and a final steering ratio of 12:1 ensured a precise experience for the driver.

The body was built by General Motors Styling department, in an agreement by Ed Cole and Harley Earl. In a true test of modern coachbuilding, the body was constructed in lightweight magnesium. The stunning low-slung aerodynamic bodywork was hinged at the front and rear for quick trackside access to either section of the car, with Hartwell flush latches securing the panels. A toothed grille was the sole off-the-shelf nod to the model’s Corvette lineage, while a specially designed low-cut plastic windshield extended into the doors. The interior featured two sport seats, a wood-rimmed steering wheel, and a competition instrumentation layout including a tach, oil and water temp gauges, oil pressure gauge, and clock. A streamlined rollbar/headrest was beautifully integrated into the design of the bodywork. The car rode on quick-change cast magnesium knockoff wheels with special tires. A finishing touch to the SS was a unique airplane-style canopy.

The SS was powered by a standard 283-cubic-inch V-8 block with a bore and stroke of 3.875 inches by 3.0 inches. It featured a high-performance camshaft and, in the interest of creating a lightweight final product, incorporated a number of experimental aluminum parts including cylinder heads with solid lifters, water pump, radiator core, and clutch housing, as well as an oil pan cast from magnesium. Each cylinder had its own exhaust pipe that fed into a collector with air then moving through a non-restrictive straight-through type exhaust before exiting on the sides of the car, just in front of the rear wheels.

Fueling the 283 was another experimental part: Chevrolet’s Ramjet fuel injection system—again borrowing from European manufacturers like Mercedes-Benz, who used comparable systems in their 300 SL road car and W 196 R racecar. The Ramjet system was fed by two electric fuel pumps pulling from the car’s 43-gallon plastic fuel tank with a shape contoured to fit below the car’s aero body behind the driver. The engine weighed in at 450 pounds—80 pounds less than the engine in a production Corvette. With an output of over 300 horsepower (over 1 horsepower per cubic inch), this was a powerplant poised to put up a fight with the European sports car competition.

The engine was backed by an aluminum four-speed close-ratio gearbox, with synchro-mesh in all forward gears. The unit weighed in at just 65 pounds. The differential was a cast unit made of low-weight alloy, and it featured quick-change gears. While final drive was set to 3.55:1, the quick-change unit allowed the ratio to be changed anywhere from 2.63:1 to 4.80:1 depending on usage needs.

The completed Project XP-64 headed to 12 Hours of Sebring in 1957. Following practice sessions, legendary five-time Formula One champ Juan Manuel Fangio, who was intrigued by the American machine, sat behind the wheel and set the Sebring lap record—the car’s potential was palpable. Though it started first in the actual race based on its engine size, several mechanical problems, including suspension and brake issues, forced an early retirement, leaving fans and teams alike eager to see more from Project XP-64.

This is where the story turns somewhat tragic as later that year, when the Automobile Manufacturers Association (AMA), made up of all the American auto manufacturers, agreed to cease all factory-supported racing efforts. The decision ended Chevrolet’s Project XP-64 program and any further development or racing of the Corvette SS. While the mule car’s chassis was repurposed, Arkus-Duntov took great care to keep the competition car safe from disposal or sale by GM accountants. Eventually, in 1967, it entered the Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum, where it resided until its record-setting sale in 2025.

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