Sporting a pre-auction estimate of $1.25 million to $1.75 million, this 1967 Corvette L88 coupe is sure to be among the big stories at the annual Mecum Indy auction on May 15-20. Let’s take a closer look. 

Among admirers of the 1963-1967 C2 Corvettes, the L88 is currently regarded as the very top of the pile. According to Hagerty.com, three of the top five selling Corvettes in auction history have been 1967 L88 models, led by one example that hammered down for $3.85 million at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2014—the most expensive Corvette ever sold at auction. Only 216 Corvettes with the L88 package were manufactured by Chevrolet over three model years from 1967 through 1969, and the ’67 version is the rarest of all with only 20 units produced.

The example headed to the auction block at the annual Mecum Indianapolis auction this month is rare on one more count: it’s finished in Sunfire Yellow, the only L88 produced in this color, reportedly. Purchased new on July 5, 1967 at S&K Chevrolet, the coupe was drag raced from Kansas to California for several years, was damaged in a towing accident, and then, like so many old race cars, spent a decade or two in hibernation.

A Minnesota collector eventually acquired the coupe and launched a ten-year restoration, saving the chassis, original L88 engine, M22 four-speed transmission, and running gear, while new old stock parts and a Corvette donor body allowed the project to be completed. The finished restoration received the stamp of approval of NCRS, the National Corvette Restorers Society, which awarded the car its Bloomington Gold certification in 1997.

The coupe’s cabin is all business with a four-speed shift lever, a block-off plate in lieu of a radio, and spartan black vinyl upholstery. All L88 Corvettes were also equipped with heater delete, a so-called “mandatory option” (one of our favorite oxymorons) that carried the RPO code C48. Along with the hairy 427 CID L88 powerplant of song and story, all L88 Corvettes were dealt a full list of performance equipment, including J56 heavy-duty brake calipers, J50 power brakes, K66 transistor ignition, and F41 suspension package. Air conditioning was not available, it seems almost needless to add. The L88 was built for fun of a serious kind.

Of course, the L88 package was built around a very special engine that bore the Chevrolet production option L88. Displacing 427 cubic inches and sporting the most radical aluminum cylinder heads and flat-tappet camshaft offered in a Chevy production big-block V8 to that point, the L88 was was rated at a rather arbitrary 430 horsepower. However, it was no secret that the hairy V8 was easily capable of 550 hp with a little careful tuning. Domed aluminum piston forgings provided a compression ratio of 12.5:1, nearly unheard of in a factory street engine at the time. Drivers were alerted via a decal on the console that gasoline with a research octane of at least 103 was required.

With full documentation, a complete provenance dating back to the day of purchase, and NCRS Bloomington Gold certification, the experts at Mecum Auctions have assigned a pre-sale estimate of $1.25 million to $1.75 million to the Sunfire Yellow coupe. Given the history of L88 Corvettes at auction in recent years, the forecast  seems entirely realistic.  Photos and catalog descriptions courtesy of Mecum Auctions.