Like buried treasure, 36 Chevy Corvettes sat in several garages for 25 years. They belonged to artist Peter Max, who had planned to use the vehicles for an art project that never came to fruition. In 2014, they were finally purchased by two families of auto aficionados with intentions of examining each car individually for its potential.
As it turns out, the tale of how 36 Chevrolet Corvettes can go instantaneously from making TV headlines to disappearing in plain sight for a quarter-century isn't as nefarious as one might suspect. Back in 1988, long before VH1 dumped actual music for reality-based programming, the network figured it could tap into its then baby-boomer demographic and snag some ratings with a mega promotion based on the iconic Corvette. So the network enlisted a producer to gather 36 Vettes, one from each production year from 1953 to 1989 (the 1983 model year was skipped when production was halted to prepare for the launch of the '84 C4). The giveaway was a call-in affair that required contestants to enter by dialing a 900 number at the cost of $2 per call. By the time VH1 had milked this promotion for all it was worth, more than a million people had entered.
Max bought the whole collection from the contest winner, but never did anything with them. The story has been updated. Five years on, some of the cars have been completely restored, while others have been simply "spruced up." And you could get your hands on one, if you're lucky.
The owners of the collection, the Heller and Spindler families, formed the Corvette Heroes entity to raffle off the cars with proceeds going to the National Guard Educational Foundation (NGEF) and numerous additional charities that benefit veterans. Each entry is good for one car, and you cannot pick the car you wish to win; the deadline for entries is 12:00 p.m. Pacific time, April 30, 2020. The drawing will take place at an independent auditors' firm on or about 14 days later.
See more pictures of the Corvettes and enter the raffle at the Corvette heroes website. Tickets are $3 each, or less if you buy multiple tickets. You can also enter without a donation by instructions on the rules page. -via reddit