Have you ever dreamed of driving a Corvette that looks like it came straight out of a corny old 70’s movie? Well, you’re in luck, because there’s a 1977 Stingray that was (allegedly) made for the film Corvette Summer starring Mark Hamill and Annie Potts. It popped up for sale on the Corvette, Buy, Sell, Trade Facebook Page. The movie was released in 1978, made $36 million at the box office, and Annie Potts was nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

Let’s Refresh Your Memory

Kenny (Hamill), a car-loving high school senior, rebuilds a Corvette Stingray as a class project. When the car is stolen, he sets out to Las Vegas to find it. Along the way, he meets Vanessa (Potts), a self-proclaimed “prostitute trainee.” Kenny discovers that his teacher is behind the theft and works for a car thief. Kenny manages to take back the car, rescue Vanessa from adult filmmakers, and return home with the girl.

Annie Potts and Mark Hamill

Beauty Is In The Eye of The Beholder

To many, this is the ugliest Corvette ever built, to others, it’s the epitome of cool. Whatever your thoughts, check out the backstory of this car. According to the seller, this 1977 Corvette has been heavily modified with a tilt hood and a front end that would look good on the front of a Polynesian war canoe. The rear has a huge bow tie grafted in place of where the four round tail lights once lived. It’s running a built 350cid and a four-speed transmission.

According to the seller, the ‘Vette has 44,000 original miles and has spent most of its life on display, being showcased in museums. It did stints at the Imperial Palace in Las Vegas to promote the movie before it came out. Currently owned by a celebrity collector of movie cars, this Corvette is fully serviced and ready to drive.

Memorabilia Included

Included in the sale of the Corvette is the original license plate that was displayed on the vehicle signed by Annie Potts, A framed Corvette Summer Movie poster, and a Certificate of Authenticity from the Barris Star Collection, as well as a photography negative of one of the promo photos.

Two movie cars were built and each had to be right-hand-drive, because that way, the driver could get close to the girls on sidewalks. A chain and hardware from a Harley-Davidson motorcycle connected the end of the steering shaft to the box, and this contraption remained out of sight on the left side of the car.

We believe the seller, but a bit of sleuthing might result in raised eyebrows. According to our research, the two Corvettes made for the film were 1973 models, not 1977. The “main” car and a “backup” model, were both built for MGM by Korky’s Kustom Studios. The main car was often displayed during the film’s publicity tour, and both cars were later sold by MGM to private parties.

The main car was sold to an Australian collector and altered to look different from how it appears in the movie. An original mold of the car from the film was displayed at the Corvette Americana Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and is now part of the collection of the National Corvette Museum. Mike Yager, of (Mid America Motorworks) fame, owned one of the cars at some point as well.

This car is a 1977 and doesn’t have right-hand drive so what gives?  We’re not sure but we would ask to see documentation and be very diligent about the verification process, especially since the seller is asking $100k for the car.

In the meantime, expect to cause quite a commotion wherever you go.  Drive carefully as the crappy interior sightlines of the C3 ‘Vette, married with the ginormous saw tooth hood scoop could prove to be troublesome. On the other hand. who cares when you’re suddenly car show royalty and drawing a crowd at every stop?