One of the rarest Corvettes of all time is headed for auction in central Pa.

In 1953, the first year of the Chevrolet Corvette's production run, only 300 C1 Corvettes were produced.

During the following 70 years, nearly 2 million Corvettes have been built and sold.

Corvette serial number 100, the 100th Corvette ever produced, will be crossing the auction block today at the Spring Carlisle Collector Car Auction at the Carlisle Expo Center.

Here's how much one of the rarest Corvettes of all time sold for at auction in central Pa.

This rare vehicle also comes with a storied history:

Assembled in mid -October 1953, this Corvette was delivered by Tom Hoskins of Hoskins Chevrolet in Chicago to a prominent man of the time, Cyrus Rowlett (C.R.) Smith. Smith was the founder and CEO of American Airlines from 1934-1968 and again from 1973-74. Smith also was a Major General in the Air Force and as the wartime deputy commander of the Air Transport Command during World War II. He also served under President Lyndon B. Johnson as the United States Secretary of Commerce.

While the car has changed hands multiple times since Mr. Smith's ownership, there is meticulous documentation of its ownership record.

Its engine number is 535454 and there are many original elements to the car too, including valve cover (one of 305 produced), 3836066 special Corvette cylinder head, body, and specially engineered open drive shaft two-speed power glide automatic transmission, which was all-new for the Corvette only.

The ‘53 also retains its original vacuum bag molded fiberglass body made by Lunn Laminates of Huntington, New York which is currently adorned by a 2019 repaint in acrylic lacquer formulated in the Delaware factory of E. I. du Pont de Nemours.

Under the trunk bulkhead is the #100, further solidifying its place in the production line. This is not a restoration piece, though it has been re-painted. It's also won numerous awards, including as recently as 2021 when it was tapped as the National Corvette Restorers Society Top Flight Award winner.

"This 1953 Corvette is an excellent unrestored/first year Corvette with full provenance," notes Alan Blay, editor of On Solid Ground, the Solid Axle Corvette Club magazine and columnist and historian for six-cylinder Corvettes built in 1953, 1954, and 1955.

"Its body has never separated from the chassis and other than a 2019 repaint, its emulated as close as possible to the car's original finish and appearance," continued Blay.

"It’ll roll across the auction block with all original hardware still intact and drives as it did when it was brand new 70 years ago. In fact, its current owner still drives it and has logged about 5,000 miles in the past 18 years. This car is not a trailer queen," concluded Blay.

The National Corvette Restorers Society (NCRS), the premier authority on all things Corvette, has judged only 60 ‘53s all time, and rarer yet, over the last five years, only 16 ‘53s are known to have sold.

Currently, there's only one other known active sale for a ‘53 and its part of a non-auction/boutique dealership sale.

Location:

Carlisle Expo Center, 100 K St., Carlisle, PA

Hours:

12 noon auction starts

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