Collectors Will Fight Over This Super Rare Corvette

Apr. 17, 2021 6:03 AM ET by Jay Traugott Auctions / 10 Comments

It's just one of three built.

There are seemingly an endless number of unique Corvettes out there. The car's nearly 70-year history has produced a ton of interesting examples, but every once in a while something ultra-special appears for sale. This is one of those occasions. What you're looking at is a 1973 Corvette Motion Manta Ray GT scheduled to cross the stage at Mecum Auctions' event in Indianapolis next month. It's only one of three built and the sole survivor.

Built by Baldwin-Motion, a company founded in 1967 by Joel Rosen and Ed Simonin. The two pulled their resources and industry contacts together and managed to build some of the fastest faux-production cars in the US. This lasted until 1974 when the Department of Justice and EPA threatened to shut them down for not even coming close to meeting the newly enacted emissions standards.

Failure to comply would have resulted in a $50,000 penalty per car, nearly $267,000 today. Baldwin Motion had the habit of stripping all emissions equipment in order to focus solely on performance. The feds didn't like that.

The Brooklyn-raised Rosen was a drag racer and hot rodder while Simonin owned Baldwin Chevrolet on Long Island. Before long, the new company was building high-performance cars supplied by GM. Rosen offered customers a money-back guarantee to meet dragstrip performance times. The Motion Corvettes were perhaps Rosen's greatest creations.

Among them were the three Manta Ray GTs. This is the only still around today and comes powered by a 350 4V V8 engine with 425 horsepower - an additional 75 hp over the stock 350 cubic inch V8. That power is put to the ground through a modified Turbo 400 Hydra-Matic transmission.

The exterior differs from stock '73 Vettes thanks to 14 cases of bodywork changes including the hood, headlights and tail. This one has a red-over-black paint scheme, unique wheels, and headers and exhaust. The T-top and center console are signed by Mr. Rosen and the sale includes a letter of authenticity also with his John Hancock. It was restored several years ago and appears to remain in remarkable condition. The car has reportedly been showcased in several TV shows and books over the years and was last up for auction in 2016.

The auction listing does not state an estimated value or whether there's a reserve but some Corvette fan who's already bored by their new C8 Corvette Stingray or even a C7 ZR1 will see this as an extremely tempting purchase.