Any L88 is special, but this 1969 Corvette L88 is a bit more so thanks to its ownership history and hardware.
In the world of Corvettes, L88 is a very special moniker, one reserved for only the fastest and most capable models in the sport car’s lineup. On the same token, in today’s world, L88 adorns some of the more valuable Corvettes in the collector car world, thanks mostly to not only their prominence, but also their rarity. And that’s also true of this 1969 Corvette L88 convertible that was recently up for auction on Bring a Trailer, which is one of just 216 built across three model years, and one of 116 produced in 1969.
As if all of that isn’t enough to make it special, this 1969 Corvette L88 was also purchased new by Corvette racer and National Corvette Hall of Fame member Tony DeLorenzo. He didn’t keep it too long, however, and wound up selling the car in 1969 to a buyer in Europe. The C3 remained there until it returned to the U.S. in 2004, and a year later, it was treated to a pretty extensive refurbishment, which means that the Tuxedo Black beauty looks no worse for wear today.
Interestingly, DeLorenzo modified this Corvette by adding a number of aftermarket body parts to it, but it was returned to its original glory during the refurbishment process. Underneath, it’s packing all of the go-fast goodies that made the L88 famous, including power-assist brakes, the F41 heavy-duty suspension package, and J56 heavy-duty brake package.
The real story here is the C3’s powerplant – GM’s famous 427 cubic-inch V8, which came from the factory with aluminum cylinder heads, forged internals, solid lifters, a high-lift cam, 12.0:1 compression, an 850cfm Holley four-barrel carburetor, and aluminum intake manifold. Officially rated at 430 horsepower, this particular engine actually pumped out around 560 ponies, which it sends to the rear wheels via an M22 “rock crusher” four-speed manual gearbox and 3:08 gears.
And L88 Corvette is special, but this gorgeous example has racked up plenty of hardware to prove it, including a Chevy/Vettefest Nationals Triple Crown award, a Bloomington Gold Certificate, an NCRS regional Top Flight award, and a Golden Spinner award. As one might imagine, bidders responded by driving the price of this gorgeous machine into the stratosphere, though in this case, it probably deserves it.
But even with a high-bid of $480,000, this one didn’t meet its reserve. So if you missed this last auction, this one’s still out there for you to buy.
Photos: Bring a Trailer
Keyword: One-Of-116 1969 Corvette L88 Convertibles Hits the Auction Block