2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 Convertible Sold for $1 Million Before It Was Even Built

The first retail production 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 just sold at auction for $1 million—and it hasn’t even been built yet.
Written by Andrew Kidd
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
A new Chevy
Corvette
sold to one of the world’s biggest Corvette collectors in just over 3 minutes for $1 million at the Barrett-Jackson palm Beach Auction. Why is that interesting? This Corvette doesn’t technically exist yet!
Jerry
dove in to find out more.

Who won the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 auction?

As the
Detroit Free Press
reports, Rick Hendrick—owner of Hendrick Motorsports and CEO of Hendrick Automotive Group—is also known for his love of the Chevy Corvette. The avid automotive enthusiast had the winning bid for a 2023 C8 Corvette Z06 convertible. Or rather, the first retail production model of Chevy’s sports car.
The 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06 3LZ convertible starts production this summer and no retail price is available from the automaker yet.
The winning bid of $1 million will be donated to the
Thurgood Marshall College Fund
’s Teacher Quality and Retention Program. 
The TMCF is the nation’s largest organization representing the Black college community, with member schools including publicly supported Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Predominantly Black Institutions (PBIs).
According to GM, Corvette auctions have raised $4.6 million for charity so far in 2022.
MORE: Why Now Is a Great Time to Trade in Your Chevy Corvette
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The new Chevrolet Corvettes are a supercars for the masses

When it was announced in 2019, the C8 Corvette was designed to be a mid-engine supercar that more Americans could afford without paying supercar prices. 
The 2023 C8 Corvette features an all-new 5.5-liter LT6 engine, which the automaker claims is the highest horsepower naturally-aspirated V-8 to hit the market in any production car to date, creating 670 hp.

Not Rick Hendrick’s first rodeo

Hendrick isn’t a stranger to collector car auctions. As the
Freep
reports, he’s been going to Barrett-Jackson auctions for years; just days before the Corvette auction, Hendrick spent $1 million for a 2009 Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake autographed by Carroll Shelby, as well as a 1986 Chevy Corvette that was also the 1986 Indy Pace Car. 
That money, the publication said, will go to Ukraine to fund relief efforts.
Previously, he paid $3 million for a VIN 0001 2020 Corvette Stingray, the proceeds from which were donated to the Detroit Children’s Fund. He also paid $3.6 million for the first 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06 70th Anniversary Edition at Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, which went to Operation Homefront.
Hendrick’s Corvette collection is gigantic; he keeps 210 rare cars—120 of them Corvettes, including several VIN 0001 models—in his 58,000-square-foot invitation-only garage in North Carolina.

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