It's the end of an era. 66 years after the original C1 Corvette was introduced in 1953, the final front-engined Corvette has rolled off the assembly line. A photo posted on Twitter by Chevrolet shows the last-ever C7 Corvette at the Bowling Green Assembly Plant. Finished in black, it's based on the potent Z06 model and is equipped with the 3LZ trim package and the Z07 Performance Package, which adds Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes, level 3 aerodynamics, and Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires.

If you were hoping to own this commemorative C7 Corvette, you're out of luck because it was recently sold at a Barrett-Jackson charity auction for an eye-watering $2.7 million, setting a new record for an automaker-donated car. That's significantly more than the C7 Corvette Z06's original $80,900 starting price.

All proceeds will go to the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation, which supports America's first responders and seriously injured service members. The foundation builds mortgage-free homes for service members and pays off the mortgages for families of first responders that were killed in action.

The C7 Corvette Z06 is powered by a supercharged 6.2-liter V8 producing 650 horsepower and 650 lb-ft of torque. 0-62 mph takes 3.2 seconds before the Z06 tops out at 195 mph. The final example is equipped with a seven-speed manual transmission, but the Z06 was also offered with an optional eight-speed automatic.

Replacing the C7 Corvette is the new mid-engined C8 Corvette, which starts production next February after suffering a delay. Currently, the only available model is the entry-level Stingray model, which packs a naturally-aspirated 6.2-liter V8 generating 495 horsepower and 470 lb-ft of torque.

Eventually, a new, more powerful Z06 will join the lineup, which is rumored to have a twin-turbo V8 based on the Blackwing engine with an output of over 800 horsepower and 700 lb-ft of torque, but it isn't expected to arrive until 2020.