Rick Hendrick has received a lot of attention recently for his purchase of the rights to the first-off-the-line 2014 Corvette Stingray Coupe and Convertible for a total $2.1M, but his passion for collecting Corvettes goes beyond first-of purchases. A majority of his collection carries a bit of history and has a story to tell, as we see with this feature of his 1967 Corvette Roadster Convertible from TheBlock.com.

This rare 1967 Roadster Convertible was part of music legend Roy Orbison’s Corvette collection and is one of only two known black and red roadsters built with the 435 motor, and the only one known to still contain the original motor. Roy was a big Corvette fan himself, and maintained quite a collection over the years. A few years after his death in 1988, this prized jewel was acquired by ProTeam Classic Corvette, a national leader in classic Corvette sales, service, and restoration.

In 2001, the roadster caught the attention of Corvette enthusiasts Bob and Carol Martin and spent the next decade in their care. It had long been a dream of Bob’s to own a Corvette, and when diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, he and his wife decided to make it a reality. In 2003, the car was stolen from their garage and recovered 10 miles from their home in a muddy wheat field. One year and $14,000 later, it was back to immaculate condition thanks to ProTeam Classic Corvette.

When the Martins finally decided to sell the classic roadster, they again turned to their trusted brokers at ProTeam, where Hendrick recently acquired it. The Martins were happy to see “their baby” go to a fellow Corvette enthusiast who was sure to take excellent care of it. Be sure to read the full article for more details on the history of this cool collectible and how it came to be a member of Rick Hendrick’s private collection of rare and historically rich Corvettes.