Well that’s something you don’t see every day. Browsing through the car social media world and I came across a screenshot of a Carfax advertisement for a 2007 Chevrolet Corvette. Sure enough, I found the listing from RP Exotics LLC via Carfax. You don’t know how bad I wanted it to be CarMax.
From the Carfax listing:
“This 2007 Chevrolet Corvette 2dr 2dr Convertible features a 6.0L 8 CYLINDER 8cyl Gasoline engine. It is equipped with a 6 Speed Manual transmission. The vehicle is Black with a Ebony Leather interior. It is offered As-Is, extended warranty is available. – Air Conditioning, Climate Control, Dual Zone Climate Control, Cruise Control, Power Steering, Power Windows, Power Mirrors, Leather Steering Wheel, Power Drivers Seat, Power Passenger Seat, Clock, Digital Info Center, Driver Airbag, Passenger Airbag, Side Airbags, Keyless Entry, Security System, Fog Lights, Intermittent Wipers, AM/FM, CD Player, Leather Interior Surface, Carpeted Floor Mats, Center Console, Cup Holders, Heated Mirrors, HID Headlamps, Roll Stability Control, Sport Seats, Tire Pressure Monitor, Vanity Mirrors, Xenon – Contact Alex Long at 309-202-9335 or alex@rpexotics.com for more information.”
I went looking for the original listing as well and found it. The seller provides a bit more information.
“RP Exotics is pleased to offer this one of a kind 2007 Chevrolet Corvette! Built around a professional, full-strength roll cage, this Corvette “Buggy” is like nothing you have ever seen before! This is positively the funnest, most exhilarating driving experience in our inventory. There is literally nothing like it. Time to roast the tires!
Powered by a 6.0-liter V8 paired with a six-speed automatic transaxle and a limited-slip differential, this car is a BLAST. The cockpit features heated bucket seats upholstered in black leather with perforated central inserts. The leather-wrapped multifunction steering wheel frames a tachometer with a 7k-rpm redline, a 200-mph speedometer, voltage gauge, gas gauge, oil pressure, and coolant temp. The digital odometer indicates 97k miles.”
RP Exotics is out of St. Louis and, as the name implies, primarily a peddler of higher end supercars. This Corvette creation is one of the cheapest cars on their website and they don’t provide a lot about it’s genesis.
It should come as no surprise that the Vette has a sketchy past, back on 11/23/2017 it was listed as a total loss while living in Texas with “Water damage reported”. I’m sure someone can align a specific storm or flood to that time period, but someone decided to just tear it down to the basics and build a “buggy”. While I would have rather seen a desert runner like this 1999 Corvette Buggy that crossed the virtual blocks at Bring-a-Trailer for $24,000, it’s still pretty wild. Sad that the builder couldn’t be bothered to do a manual swap though.
If anyone can find more info, we’d love to see it. In the meantime, here’s a big gallery so you can look at the build in detail in case the listing goes down.
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