CAFÉ RACER 76: 1968 CHEVROLET L-88 CORVETTE

This 1968 Chevrolet L-88 Corvette is considered by many Corvette aficionados to be the most victorious racing Corvette in history.

The car packs a 685hp (at 6,600 rpm), 427 CID L-88 big block Chevrolet racing engine, a Muncie M-22 “Rockcrusher” transmission, independent front and rear suspension, coil springs on the front, and transverse leaf on the rear with Koni adjustable shock absorbers at each corner. These specifications also make it one of the most vicious racing Corvettes ever made.

This particular L-88 was originally built from a Corvette chassis by Tony DeLorenzo and Jerry Thompson, two men who need no introduction to any fan of ’60s and ’70s era motor racing in the USA.

The car’s impressive list of achievments include results include the 1969 and 1972 SCCA National “A” Production Championships, 1968 and 1970 SCCA National “A” Production Runner-Up, second place in GT at the 1969 12 Hours of Sebring, and the 1969 and 1970 GT Class wins in the 24 Hours of Daytona. In the 1970 event, it finished sixth overall, behind two Porsche 917s, a Ferrari 512, and two Ferrari 312s, but ahead of a Ferrari 250 LM in seventh and a Ford GT40 in eighth.

The Corvette also has an unbroken ownership history, it was restored professionally in 2000 and has been turning heads at autoshows since.