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Alan Shepard 1968 Chevrolet Corvette 427

Syzygy
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I've been watching the Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale Auction for years now and today they just rolled a 1968 Corvette 427 across the block. All original, hasn't been restored (pity the fool that would!), in decent shape considering it's age.

What makes this car special, you ask? Apparently a dealership convinced GM to lease a "courtesy car" of their choice to the Astronauts for, get this...$1.00 per year! Shepard requested a Polar White Corvette 427 convertible with Tobacco Brown leather interior, one of 664 of this rare combination. At the end of the lease, GM took the car back and sold it. Luckily the new owner recognized the importance of the provenance the car had and kept it in original condition with all paperwork, including the build sheet that specifically calls out Alan Shepard, and placed the car in the museum rotation, spending time in the Corvette Museum of America and the NASA U.S. Space Walk Hall of Fame Museum, among others. Kudos to whomever that was for having the sense to keep this beautiful piece of history in original condition!

Sold today for $280,000.00 USD (plus auction fees)
Photo Credit: Barrett-Jackson Website
Alan Shepard Corvette.JPG
 
chrisb732
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Interesting to watch the auto auctions and seeing what is out there. I'm not a big Corvette guy but these ones do it for me!
 
Watch my Whisky
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That is a lot of money for what was a pretty horrible sports car. Thankfully, Vettes have come a long way.
 
DaveK
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I’ve heard that The dealership wanted to give the astronauts each a vett, but they couldn’t accept gifts as part of their contract, thus the $1 lease
 
A
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I'm not into the celebrity stuff so that would be wasted on me. Been a car nut all my life and I can appreciate just about anything for what it is so I'd take the Fred Nurk version and save quarter Mil. Buys a whole lot of dreams.
 
kkt
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A ArmbandUhr69
and they say watches are expensive.................

Tell the treasurer of your household about this sale right before you announce that you need a new watch 😀
 
A
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Any watch that I would buy isn't likely to cost more than a set of special tyres or a major service for a car so Mrs isn't likely to be interested in watch purchases, she has much more to worry about. While I baulk at the prices some watches fetch and the reason, the ones that attract me are still in the affordable category.
 
Faz
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Maybe be a horrible sports car but quite significant. There’s something charming about this. The colour. The 427 bulge. Those hubcaps…And come on!1968! An eventful year
 
Foo2rama
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Would have got more on BAT 😉
 
rcs914
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Foo2rama Foo2rama
Would have got more on BAT 😉

Considering people are paying over $100,000 for 7.2L Ford Excursions, I would say you are likely right.
 
A
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rcs914 rcs914
Considering people are paying over $100,000 for 7.2L Ford Excursions, I would say you are likely right.
??????????????????
 
dsio
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Archer Archer
Is there something particularly special about this Ford? Hard to fathom why someone is paying that much for a ~19 year old SUV...
They’re famous even in Australia for the stink they caused when they were released, it’s just insanely large beyond the point of usefulness and drinks gas at a fairly comical rate, the interior is junk even by late 90s / early 2000s ford standards, it’s slow, makes an astonishingly small amount of power for its giant diesel motor, and even the torque is sub-par by modern standard especially for the 4000kg weight it hauls.

It’s the biggest SUV though, and that’s it’s claim to fame, even if it’s basically like driving one of those big yellow school buses for all intents and purposes.
 
vbrad26
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Archer Archer
Is there something particularly special about this Ford? Hard to fathom why someone is paying that much for a ~19 year old SUV...

Power Stroke.
Not to mention that is probably the cleanest one on the planet.
 
Archer
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dsio dsio
it’s just insanely large beyond the point of usefulness and drinks gas at a fairly comical rate, the interior is junk even by late 90s / early 2000s ford standards, it’s slow, makes an astonishingly small amount of power for its giant diesel motor, and even the torque is sub-par by modern standard

Ah I see. So it is essentially the poster car/SUV for the US auto industry then. 😁
 
JwRosenthal
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dsio dsio
It’s the biggest SUV though, and that’s it’s claim to fame, even if it’s basically like driving one of those big yellow school buses for all intents and purposes.
The Chevy Suburban used to hold that title, but that was actually an incredibly useful vehicle. We had a fleet of them at the National Park Service and those things could do some of the most extreme back country duty, loaded with 1k lbs of gear and 5 people traversing rivers and cliff side fire roads with aplomb. GSA took over the NPS motor pool in the late 00’s and tried to replace all the Suburbans with more eco/friendly mini-vans and the parks refused to retire the Suburbans- it was an all out revolt.
 
Archer
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JwRosenthal JwRosenthal
The Chevy Suburban used to hold that title, but that was actually an incredibly useful vehicle.

Yep - we had one at our work that I would occasionally use to transport various large machine parts to be repaired in emergencies. Tons of room, lots of power.
 
Foo2rama
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Archer Archer
Is there something particularly special about this Ford? Hard to fathom why someone is paying that much for a ~19 year old SUV...
Yeah, low miles, and the fact the engine has much much lower operating costs than a modern large diesel, plus the motor is considered indestructible. Plus Excurisions are a little rare in that specification. Unless you purchased the much more expensive custom conversion Centurions that predated the Excursions you are SOL.

Same reason why this one went for 55k, basically the same price as a new one... It all comes down to the indestructible engine, and very low operating costs compared to the modern replacement for that motor.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/2000-ford-f350-super-duty-20/
 
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