Historic Corvette Race Cars at the The 2025 New England Concours October 2025
Pictures to promote this corvette event were wiped out by the author except for only one.....
and details of the event were also wiped out...unfortunate...
By
Tara Hurlin
Get ready to rev your engines! The annual
New England Concours d’Elegance is back by popular demand,
Get ready to rev your engines! The annual
New England Concours d’Elegance is back by popular demand, and in celebration of the event’s featured marque for 2025 – the 1953-2026 Chevrolet Corvette – spectators will be dropping jaws over an impressive collection of six historic Corvette race cars. Get a sneak peek of the vintage Corvette race cars followed by each vehicle’s rich racing history below, before witnessing the icons in person.
The car show will take place on Sunday, October 12, 2025, at The Farmington Polo Club in Farmington, Connecticut. It’s not too late to get your tickets
at this link.
1960 Corvette Briggs Cunningham Le Mans Racer #1
The #1 1960 Corvette racer, entered by Briggs Cunningham at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is a significant piece of American motorsports history. The car, chassis number 3535, was prepared with unofficial assistance from Corvette lead Zora Arkus-Duntov. The #1 Corvette, along with the other two Cunningham Corvettes (#2 and #3), were the first Corvettes to compete at Le Mans. The Cunningham Corvettes were equipped with high-performance features, including a 283-cubic-inch fuel-injected V8, sintered-metallic brake linings, and quick-ratio steering.
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Driven by Briggs Cunningham and William Kimberley, the #1 car was the first of the Cunningham entries to retire from the race, skidding off the track due to heavy rain on the 32nd lap. After the race, the car’s engine was returned to Chevrolet, and Bill Frick handled the sale of the car. It was later converted for drag racing and eventually ended up in a junkyard until it was rediscovered in 2012.
Thought to be lost for decades, the #1 Corvette was rediscovered in a St. Petersburg, Florida warehouse in 2012 by a man who recognized its VIN during a Google search. The car became the subject of a legal battle over its ownership, involving various parties who had laid claim to it. By 2015, a judge ultimately ordered the sale of the car, with the proceeds to be divided among the claimants. The #1 Cunningham Corvette was sold at an RM Sotheby’s auction at Amelia Island in May 2021 for $785,500. The car’s title has been cleared, and it since underwent a restoration, bringing it back to its original 1960 race condition and livery.
1960 Corvette Briggs Cunningham Le Mans Racer #3
Although the #1 and #2 cars did not finish the 1960 Le Mans race, the #3 Corvette, driven by John Fitch and Bob Grossman, went on to win its class and finish eighth overall despite overheating issues during the race. It was the first time in history for a Corvette to win 1st in Class at the famous 24 Hours of Le Mans, and the race car held this title for over 40 years.
The race was plagued by hours of rain, which the car’s drivers expertly navigated. However, the team faced a major setback when a mechanic accidentally removed the radiator cap, causing most of the engine’s coolant to escape. Because race rules prohibited adding fluid to the radiator within the last few hours, the team resorted to packing the engine bay with dry ice at every pit stop to keep the car cool. This ingenuity allowed Grossman to cross the finish line and secure the historic victory.
An irreplaceable piece of motorsports history, the 1960 Corvette Briggs Cunningham Le Mans Racer #3 is the only one of the three Cunningham Corvettes that raced and finished. After its triumphant return to the US, the #3 Corvette was converted for street use and sold to an unsuspecting private owner, fading into obscurity for years. Its story was chronicled in the documentary The Quest, which followed Corvette enthusiast Chip Miller’s long search for the lost race car. Miller’s quest was aided by restorer Kevin Mackay, who located the car’s VIN through the Le Mans archives.
Though Chip Miller passed away in 2004 before he could complete his dream of returning the restored Corvette to Le Mans, his son Lance fulfilled the wish in 2010 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic win. Driver John Fitch, who was 92 at the time, was able to ride with Lance for the momentous return to the circuit. The restored Corvette has since been part of the Irwin Kroiz collection after being sold by the Miller family in 2022.
1966 Roger Penske Corvette
The 1966 Roger Penske Corvette was the first L88 Corvette produced and marked the beginning of the legendary Team Penske. Having retired from driving the previous year, Roger Penske established his own racing team in 1966 and acquired the C2 Corvette coupe from Chevrolet. The car was a developmental model used by Chevrolet engineer Zora Arkus-Duntov to test the new 427 cubic inch L88 big-block engine.
Penske’s new team, which consisted of only six employees at the time, entered the Corvette into its inaugural race, the first 24-hour version of the Daytona Continental. Wearing factory red paint, the car sustained heavy front-end damage during the night portion of the endurance race, knocking out its headlights. Despite the setback, co-driver Dick Guldstrand famously followed the taillights of a competitor to continue racing. Driven by Guldstrand and George Wintersteen, the Corvette went on to finish first in the GT class and eleventh overall.
Following its success at Daytona, the Corvette was repainted in the now-iconic Sunoco blue livery at the request of Penske’s sponsor. Later that year, the team entered the car in the 12 Hours of Sebring with drivers Wintersteen and Ben Moore. It won its class again and finished ninth overall, tying the record for the highest finish ever for a Corvette.
The Corvette’s victories in both Daytona and Sebring helped launch Team Penske to prominence and cemented the L88 engine’s racing legacy. It became recognized as one of the most historically significant Corvettes ever produced. The car’s success in 1966 was the first of many for Team Penske, which would go on to become one of the most successful racing organizations in the world. After its brief but triumphant racing career, the Penske Corvette has been recognized as a landmark achievement and has since been restored.