A lot has been said over the years about the Chevrolet Corvette. It's easily one of the most recognizable cars on earth, and it's also one of the longest-running nameplates that's still in production. But, there's a part of the Corvette's history that only die-hard enthusiasts and people who really know their stuff seem to talk about. That's the part of Corvette lore we're going to be covering here. The Chevrolet Corvette Is One Of America's Most Influential Sports Cars General MotorsOut of all the cars that have had an impact on the American automotive industry, the Chevrolet Corvette has to be one of the ones that's made the biggest. It was the first American sports car that could really hang with the best of what Europe had to offer. It also offered a distinctively American take on what a sports car could (and should) be. Corvettes started off being more meat-and-potatoes than the European sports cars they compete against, and soon embraced the traditional American philosophy of plenty of power and gloriously noisy V8 engines. That's something that has not only continued to this day but has also influenced the direction of pretty much every other American sports car that has come after it. Early Corvettes Could Be Spec'd With Big-Block Engines Mecum AuctionsThe Corvette is typically thought of as being a small-block car when it comes to its engines. But, that hasn't always been the case. In the '60s and '70s, Chevrolet would let you have big-block engines in the Corvette. These were higher-performance engine options for serious enthusiasts only. That's because they tended to turn Corvettes that had them into absolute monsters! One of those monster Corvettes has now become one of the rarest and most desirable Corvette variants of all time. The Corvette L88 Is A Big-Block Performance Monster That Put Everyone On Notice MecumSpanning from the end of the C2 generation to the beginning of the C3 generation, the L88 is easily one of the greatest Corvette variants of all time. Its 427-cubic-inch V8 is one of the biggest to ever be fitted to a production Corvette, producing a claimed 430 horsepower and 450 pound-feet of torque. That power figure was deliberately underrated by the factory—most people believe that it produced as much as 550-560 horsepower. All that power in a car that was from the 1960s made it a true monster, capable of quarter-mile times of under 12 seconds. That's the kind of performance that puts everyone on notice. It's One Of The Rarest Corvettes Ever Made MecumAs has been already mentioned, the L88 Corvette is one of the rarest Corvette variants ever made. Exactly how rare? Well, only a couple of hundred were produced across its entire 3 year run as a Corvette variant. 20 were produced in 1967 (the final year of the C2), with only 10 known to still exist. 80 were produced in 1968 (the first year of the C3), while 116 were produced in 1969. L88s Are Worth An Absolute Fortune MecumWith how rare L88 Corvettes are, it's no surprise that they're worth an absolute fortune these days. C3 L88s have an average used value of $220,457, and the super rare 1967 C2 models are known to sell for well over 7 figures. It isn't the only Corvette variant to sell for 6 or even 7 figures on a regular basis. But, that still makes it one of the most valuable Corvettes around. Other Older Big-Block Corvettes That Enthusiasts Are After RM Sotheby'sThe collector appeal of the big-block Corvette isn't just limited to the L88. There are several other big-block-engined models that have become incredibly desirable over the years. Two of these are other classic Corvettes. Two others, though, are modern variants that are destined to become classics in the future. 1969 Corvette ZL1 RM Sotheby'sThe 1969 Corvette ZL1 is a true unicorn. Only ever produced for that model year, this has the all-aluminum 427-cubic-inch ZL1 engine. This is the engine that was made famous by the Camaro ZL1 COPO special, producing a claimed 430 horsepower (in reality, it produced much more than that). This engine was really a race engine, designed to dominate the drag strip. As a result, ZL1-equipped Corvettes were even more of a performance monster than the L88.The ZL1 is rarer than even the 1967 L88. Just 2 Corvettes were ever built with the ZL1 engine. All the rest of the ZL1 engines that were put into cars that the public could buy went into Fred Gibb's Camaro ZL1s. 1967-1969 Corvette L71 427 Bring a TrailerThe L71 427 is another big-block Corvette from that late '60s time period. Like the L88, it straddled the C2 and C3 generations, and has a 427-cubic-inch V8. This was factory rated to 435 horsepower and 460 pound-feet of torque. That makes it just as much of a performance monster as the L88 was for its day.Unlike the L88, it's nowhere near as rare. 3,754 1967 Corvettes had the L71 engine, and 2,898 of the 1968 model year Corvettes had it too. This makes L71 models much easier to find, and therefore not as valuable. As just one example, a 1967 L71 is worth around $174,020 these days. That's still a 6 figure sum, but nowhere close to the 7 figures you'd need to buy a 1967 L88. 1973-1974 Corvette LS4 454 Mecum AuctionsOne of the final classic big-block Corvettes, the LS4 454 came around right at the end of the golden age of the American auto industry. While it had an enormous 454-cubic-inch engine, it wasn't anywhere near as powerful as the older big-block Corvettes. It's also the only big-block Corvette we'll be talking about this year that had an automatic transmission as an option. Despite those less purist specifications, that doesn't mean it's any less cool than other classic big-block Corvettes. It's still got that fantastic shark-like C3 styling, and it still produces a great V8 noise. 2006-2013 Corvette Z06 ChevroletThe first of the two modern Corvettes on this short list, the C6 Corvette Z06 is often considered as one of the best Corvette variants ever made. It's not hard to argue against that when you see what its engine is capable of! This is a proper modern big-block V8, producing over 500 horsepower. It was actually the most powerful naturally aspirated V8 ever made by General Motors for a while, until the 5.5-liter flat plane V8 in the C8 Z06 showed up. 2013 Corvette 427 Convertible Produced for only one model year, the Corvette 427 Convertible is a truly special modern Corvette. It has the same 7-liter V8 engine and 6-speed manual transmission as the C6 Z06, giving it similar performance as a result. It also borrows body panels from both the C6 Z06 and the C6 ZR1, giving it a much more aggressive appearance than a regular C6 convertible.Sources: Chevrolet, Classic.com