Buy This Special Edition Chevy C8 Corvette That GM Forgot To Destroy

Development cars normally meet the crusher, but this Corvette dodged its day with the executioner.

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Buy This Special Edition Chevy C8 Corvette That GM Forgot To Destroy © Buy This Special Edition Chevy C8 Corvette That GM Forgot To Destroy

If you're after a rare one-of-one C8 Corvette that nobody else has, this listing on Bring a Trailer could be right up your alley.

As covered by Hagerty, the car in question is a Chevrolet C8 Corvette in the IMSA GTLM Championship C8.R Edition trim. That was a $6,595 package released for the 2022 model year in a limited run of just 1,000 cars. It celebrated the success of the Corvette Racing C8.R after it swept the manufacturer's, driver's, and team titles in the 2020 IMSA championship.

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This example is special because it's not one of those 1,000 cars. Nor was it built for the 2022 model year. Instead, the car was built in 2021 as a pre-production example of the C8.R Edition trim. The car's owner, Randy Kent, bought the vehicle at a Barrett-Jackson auction in July, noting that it appeared to be the special edition model sans the graphics pack. Only once he got inside after taking delivery did he notice the plaque, which read "C8.R EDITION 01EX," designating its pre-production status.

As per the Barrett-Jackson listing, the car was from "the Chevrolet Collection" and had been shown off at events, including Six Hours of the Glen and the 2021 Detroit Grand Prix. A reissued window sticker indicates the car was initially delivered to General Motors in Warren, Michigan. Some images show residues on the body panels where the C8.R graphics were originally placed.

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After reaching out to a member of the GM Design team, Kent learned that the car was never meant to leave the company. It was used as a display at various motorsport events and as a photo car. After those duties were complete, it should have been stripped for parts or crushed, but somehow it dodged those fates. GM sent a tech to Kent's vehicle to remove some proprietary testing software and add warning stickers, making the car street-legal and fully insurable.

Overall, the C8.R Edition is a very nicely equipped Corvette, with the package offered for range-topping 3LT models only. It added a big rear wing, yellow calipers, and Black Trident wheels with "Jake" logo center caps and black lug nuts. It also featured black rockers and splash guards, and mirrors finished in Carbon Flash.

Performance-wise, it sported the usual LT2 6.2-liter V8 that's good for 495 horsepower. The special edition had to be ordered with the Z51 Performance Package, including a performance exhaust upgrade. Cars were available in Accelerate Yellow or Hypersonic Grey, with contrasting grey or yellow graphics depending on the color chosen.

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Kent bought the car as a daily driver but later realized it was better off preserved because it had less than 100 miles on the clock. Thus, he elected to auction the car on Bring a Trailer so it could ideally find its way into a collection. Notably, it comes with a set of the missing C8.R graphics if the next owner desires them.

If you want an eye-catching C8 Corvette with a killer story, it would be hard to go past this one. There are only a few hours left to bid, with the current price at approximately $113,000. We suspect it might take just a little bit more to secure this unicorn for yourself.

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