First 'sinkhole' Corvette resurrected

When a 12-metre wide sinkhole appeared in the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky, USA, in early 2014, it damaged eight highly prized vehicles and the news went global.

But now the first car of those swallowed by the sinkhole has returned from the depths, gleaming under the bright lights of the SEMA show in Las Vegas.

The 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 'Blue Devil' joins the hundreds of modified vehicles of the SEMA – or Specialty Equipment Market Association – show, some nine months after it dropped 10 metres into the bowels of the earth back in February 2014.

It took three weeks to pull the ZR1 Corvette out of the sinkhole, yet the car's engine fired up and was driven out of the museum in Bowling Green.

"After that unprecedented event, the ZR1 was the first car to be lifted out of the sinkhole," said Jim Campbell, U.S. vice president, performance vehicles and motorsports for Chevrolet.

"It was great to recover it, bring it back to Chevrolet and begin the restoration of this significant Corvette," he said.

Campbell said the car was displayed in its damaged condition at the National Corvette Museum until September, at which point the restoration process began in earnest. Several major issues had to be resolved, including cracked carbon-fibre body kit addenda, a busted rocker panel, front fender, not to mention cracks in both doors.

The windscreen and headlights were also damaged and mechanical damage included bent rear suspension control arms and damage to the supercharged (LS9) V8 engine's dry-sump oiling system.

Ed Welburn, the Vice President of GM Global Design, is overseeing the repair work which takes place at GM's Mechanical Assembly facility in Warren, Michigan.

After six weeks of repairs, the ZR1 was back to showroom standard. The car was on loan from Chevrolet and was in fact one of two show cars that made the model's debut at the Detroit motor show in January 2008, adding to its rarity.

The 'Vette ZR1 Blue Devil  is the first of three models that will be restored, the next two to head for the repair shop in 2015. They include a 1962 Corvette and also the one millionth Corvette.

Decision makers at the National Corvette Museum have decided to retain and display the remaining five sinkhole Corvettes in their damaged state, "to preserve their historical significance".