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Have you ever dreamed of owning a pristine, Motion Performance-modified Phase III Corvette? Well, now’s your chance, since this unbelievably clean ’69 is up for auction. The last time this particular car was sold, it crossed the auction block for a whopping $198,000 in 2005, The car is up for auction again [2] in Fort Lauderdale over the weekend of March 22-24, 2013.
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The Baldwin-Motion Performance Group was a partnership between Long Island auto dealership Baldwin Auto Company (a Chevrolet franchise) and Motion Performance, a local, well-known speed shop owned by Joel Rosen. From 1967 to 1974, Baldwin-Motion Phase III cars could be built from a Camaro, Nova, Chevelle, Corvette, or Biscayne. They were delivered with either a 427 or 454 big-block Chevrolet engine, and a written, money-back quarter-mile performance guarantee from Rosen himself that they could crack an 11.50 at 120 MPH or better on an NHRA or AHRA dragstrip.
They were billed as “completely streetable, reliable machine that will run these times off the street”, and according to Baldwin-Motion’s website [5], there was never a single comeback. Cars could be ordered from either Baldwin Auto Group or Motion Performance directly, and were financed and delivered by Baldwin Auto Group.
Although this car does not carry the provenance of being purchased through Baldwin Auto Group, all of the performance modifications were performed at Motion Performance and it has a letter of authenticity from Rosen himself. The car has a number of unique features, like the 482 cubic inch, 600 horsepower ZL/X “Elephant” engine, the only one known to exist today. Over 20 more Motion “Phase III” options were installed on the car, which was purchased originally from Reedman Chevrolet in Pennsylvania and driven straight to Motion Performance back in 1969. A neat story about a unique car, and if you’ve got pockets deep enough, you can own the only one!