Historic 1 Millionth Corvette Is Saved From Evil, Car-Hating Sinkhole

Seemingly destroyed by the sinkhole that swallowed eight classic Corvettes, this famous 1992 ‘Vette  is back from the dead and ready to roll.

After 1,200 hours of painstaking labor, the white 1992 Corvette convertible that was the millionth Chevrolet sports car ever produced, has been brought back to like-new condition and returned to its place of honor in the National Corvette Museum near the Corvette factory in Bowling Green, Ky.

When the car-crushing sinkhole opened beneath the museum in Feb. 2014, eight Corvettes fell into its evil maw. At least no people fell in, unlike in this recent Chinese sinkhole.

A lightly damaged 2009 Corvette ZR1 was quickly repaired and returned to the museum. But the arctic white ’92 was flattened like a squashed bug, so significant repair work was needed.

“When we disassembled it, we found that each employee involved in building it had signed a part of the car, which was fantastic and moving to see,” reported Mark Reuss, General Motors executive vice president of global product development. “It brought the history to life, and reinforced the importance of the project.”

In the end, enough parts were repaired that only two of those original signatures were lost. Indeed, even the flattened windshield frame, which looked sure to need replacing, was repairable. 

Next up for the restoration team of volunteer GM employees? A damaged 1962 ‘Vette. The remaining five cars are beyond repair and will be displayed at the museum in their damaged condition in memory of the sinkhole.

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Photos by General Motors Co.

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