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Out of Sinkhole, ZR-1 ‘Blue Devil’ Drives in Museum
First of eight historic Corvettes from 30-foot drop has only minor damage
2014-03-03
Workers use a crane to recover the first Chevrolet Corvette, the 2009 Corvette ZR-1 "Blue Devil,"
from the sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum on Monday, March 3, 2014 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The vehicle, along with seven other Corvettes, fell into the sinkhole February 12. The ZR-1 appears to
have sustained minimal damage after its nearly 30-foot fall. The "Blue Devil" started up and drove out of the
museum under its own power. (Photo by Adam Boca for Chevrolet)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The recovery of the first of eight historic Corvettes that fell into a sinkhole under the National Corvette Museum last month began Monday with the successful extraction of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 "Blue Devil." The car was in good enough condition to drive 20 feet to the doorway of the museum’s Skydome.
Based on initial inspection, the ZR-1 sustained minimal damage, despite falling nearly 30 feet when the hole opened beneath an exhibit area on Feb. 12. The ZR-1 emerged from the depths of the sinkhole, where workers test-lifted the car on Saturday, at about 11:35 a.m. EST Monday.
"The 'Blue Devil' is in remarkable shape," said John Spencer, manufacturing integration manager for Corvette. "Cosmetically, the carbon fiber running boards are shattered, there's some minor paint damage, and a small crack in the windshield. Mechanically, the worst damage is a split in the oil-supply line for the 6.2L LS9 V-8. If you fixed that, you could drive the ZR-1 back to Detroit."
The team plans to recover the 1962 Corvette and the1993 40th Anniversary Corvette this week, and the remaining cars in the next 60 days.
"The recovery of the ZR-1 went incredibly well," said Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy & Daniel construction. "Obviously, there's a lot of work still to do. But, watching the ZR-1drive out of the museum was a great start to the recovery effort."
When the cars are recovered, they will be shipped to the Mechanical Assembly facility, a small specialty shop within GM Design in Warren, Mich., where the best restoration approach will be determined. Mechanical Assembly has been part of GM Design since the 1930s, and today maintains and restores many of the vehicles in the GM Heritage Collection and GM’s historic concept cars.
For more information on the National Corvette Museum sinkhole, visit www.nationalcorvettemuseum.org.
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
First of eight historic Corvettes from 30-foot drop has only minor damage
2014-03-03
Workers use a crane to recover the first Chevrolet Corvette, the 2009 Corvette ZR-1 "Blue Devil,"
from the sinkhole at the National Corvette Museum on Monday, March 3, 2014 in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
The vehicle, along with seven other Corvettes, fell into the sinkhole February 12. The ZR-1 appears to
have sustained minimal damage after its nearly 30-foot fall. The "Blue Devil" started up and drove out of the
museum under its own power. (Photo by Adam Boca for Chevrolet)
BOWLING GREEN, Ky. – The recovery of the first of eight historic Corvettes that fell into a sinkhole under the National Corvette Museum last month began Monday with the successful extraction of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 "Blue Devil." The car was in good enough condition to drive 20 feet to the doorway of the museum’s Skydome.
Based on initial inspection, the ZR-1 sustained minimal damage, despite falling nearly 30 feet when the hole opened beneath an exhibit area on Feb. 12. The ZR-1 emerged from the depths of the sinkhole, where workers test-lifted the car on Saturday, at about 11:35 a.m. EST Monday.
"The 'Blue Devil' is in remarkable shape," said John Spencer, manufacturing integration manager for Corvette. "Cosmetically, the carbon fiber running boards are shattered, there's some minor paint damage, and a small crack in the windshield. Mechanically, the worst damage is a split in the oil-supply line for the 6.2L LS9 V-8. If you fixed that, you could drive the ZR-1 back to Detroit."
The team plans to recover the 1962 Corvette and the1993 40th Anniversary Corvette this week, and the remaining cars in the next 60 days.
"The recovery of the ZR-1 went incredibly well," said Mike Murphy, CEO of Scott, Murphy & Daniel construction. "Obviously, there's a lot of work still to do. But, watching the ZR-1drive out of the museum was a great start to the recovery effort."
When the cars are recovered, they will be shipped to the Mechanical Assembly facility, a small specialty shop within GM Design in Warren, Mich., where the best restoration approach will be determined. Mechanical Assembly has been part of GM Design since the 1930s, and today maintains and restores many of the vehicles in the GM Heritage Collection and GM’s historic concept cars.
For more information on the National Corvette Museum sinkhole, visit www.nationalcorvettemuseum.org.
Founded in 1911 in Detroit, Chevrolet is now one of the world's largest car brands, doing business in more than 140 countries and selling more than 4.9 million cars and trucks a year. Chevrolet provides customers with fuel-efficient vehicles that feature spirited performance, expressive design, and high quality. More information on Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.
