This is as American as it gets.
The Indy 500 is an all-American institution that is viewed and enjoyed by millions across the globe, and is also home to some of the coolest pace cars known to motorsport. A pace car is a vehicle that sets the pace during warm up laps and during hazardous conditions, and the Indy 500 has a long legacy of badass pace vehicles. Chevrolet has always made a strong showing at the Indy 500, and this year’s pace car is none other than a Chevrolet Camaro SS Convertible. Last year it was the turn of the 2021 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray Convertible, which follows in the footsteps of many Indy Vettes before it as this stunning collection clearly shows.
With 18 cars on sale, this has to be the biggest sale of Indy 500 Chevrolet Corvette pace cars in recent memory.
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These awesome pieces of memorabilia are going up for sale at Mecum’s 35th Original Spring Classic auction in Indianapolis from May 13-21, and are expected to sell for between $1.5 and $1.7 million. The collection belongs to Dr. Richard Foster who has spent decades collecting these iconic machines.
Although all of these cars look like the real deal, only three were actually used as pace cars, with the rest being official appearance package cars or replicas.
The 2004 Corvette pace car was used in the 2004 race as a parade car, the 2005 model was used as a pace car at the 2005 race, and the 2006 car featured in the 2006 race. For the 2005 race, there were only 5 official pace cars, and the 2006 event had only 6 cards, making these examples highly collectible.
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The rest of the collection features some impressive pace car replicas, going from the 2013 model year all the way up to the year 2022 with the exception of 2019 and 2020 year models. Some of these cars are basically brand new: the 2022 Pace car, along with the stunning 2013 ZR1 and 2014 Pace car all have less than 100 miles on the odometer.
There are also seven “Pace Car Edition ” vehicles. Chevrolet gets so stoked about Indy 500 pace cars that it will release special appearance packages that resemble the real deal. These might not have as much heritage, but they’re collectible nonetheless. Mecum expects the original pace cars to sell for around $90,000 apiece, while the rest of these low-mileage corvettes should sell for a tidy sum in their own right. All we hope for is that the entire bunch gets to go to the same Indy 500-loving home.
Mecum Auctions
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Mecum Auctions