We've known for a few months the first production 2020 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray was heading to auction and now it's taken place at the Barrett-Jackson event in Scottsdale, Arizona. When all was said and done, C8 Corvette VIN 001 hammered for $3 million, a heck of a lot more than the model's $59,995 base price. As is customary with auctions like this, all proceeds are going to charity and in this case, the Detroit Children's Fund, a non-profit organization working to increase the quality of schools and education in the Motor City.

The red C8 presented on the auction block is actually not the exact vehicle sold, but rather it's a placeholder show car. In reality, VIN 001 hasn't been built yet, but Chevy says it will be a fully loaded black-on-black 3LT coupe equipped with the Z51 package.

The black-on-black colors were not randomly chosen; the final C7 Z06 coupe, itself selling for $2.7 million last summer, also had that combo. Reports claim C8 VIN 001 bidding started at $200,000 and very quickly hit the $1 million mark. When all was said and done, NASCAR team owner and long-time car collector and auction winner, Rick Hendrick, placed the highest bid.

Hendrick will also have the privilege of picking up his completed new Corvette at Chevy's Bowling Green, Kentucky factory and receive a tour of the official Corvette Museum nearby. He will also receive artwork of the car and a certificate of authenticity.

We don't have an exact date as to when C8s will begin rolling off the production line, but it should be happening fairly soon. The UAW strike last year caused production delays for a number of vehicles, the C8 among them.

Meanwhile, 2020 Corvette Stingray coupes have not sold out yet, and the order books just opened for the C8 convertible last week.