A 1969 Chevrolet Corvette L88/ZL1 Greenwoood racecar that set a speed record at the Le Mans race half a century ago will soon be heading to an auction in the United States.
The car has a V8 at its disposal, which is mated to a four-speed manual transmission driving the rear axle. Only three examples were produced in the early 1970s, with this one standing out from the rest thanks to a patriotic livery. Its main sponsor was BF Goodrich, which just came up with a new tire design and needed it advertised in 1971–1973.
At first, this particular Corvette had been used exclusively in promotions, but following a crash of another racecar from the same batch, it was repurposed for racing. In 1973, this exact example was able to hit 346 km/h (215 mph) at the Mulsanne Straight, setting a world record in the GT category.