Since practically day one, Corvettes and racing have been inextricably linked – Corvette Racing’s 24 Hours of Le Mans win last year is proof that the tradition continues. That means that there are a lot of Y-Bodies out there with track pedigrees, and as we found out from CorvetteBlogger, one of these famed Corvette race cars recently crossed the auction block at the Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island event. If its race heritage wasn’t enough to pique interest, its rarity was.

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Originally purchased by George Reed of RRR (Reed’s Race Rat) Motors, this ‘60 Corvette was ordered specifically to compete in the 12 Hours of Sebring. Wanting the best options available, Reed ordered the car new from Chicago’s Nickey Chevrolet with a fuel-injected motor, four-speed transmission, hefty brakes and a heavy-duty suspension. The car was also ordered with a 24-gallon gas tank, making it one of only ten Corvettes built that year with the “big tank” option.

After the car was race-prepped on arrival, Reed took the car to the 1960 12 Hours of Sebring race. With Chuck Hall and Bill Fritts behind the wheel, the car took its class win, finishing 16^th overall. It was the only Corvette to finish within the top 25 cars in the field.

After being passed to several different owners, the car underwent a complete restoration to as-raced condition in 2004. As it sits, the car is complete with its 1960 race livery and boasts a National Corvette Restorers Association American Heritage Award.

The car crossed the auction block at the Gooding & Company’s Amelia Island sale on Friday March 9^th with impressive results. When the hammer dropped, the winning bid on the car was $440,000, just shy of the projected $450,000 mark.

This “tanker” Corvette racer is definitely an asset to any automotive collection and we look forward to potentially seeing it at shows in the future.

For more information about the Corvette and its history, visit CorvetteBlogger’s review of the race car.