Corvette historian Corey Petersen rediscovered the very first production 'Vette—chassis 3950—from 1953, hidden in a Tulsa restoration shop where it sat abandoned for years.
The automotive world just got a massive shock: the very first Chevrolet Corvette, VIN 001 (internal engineering number 3950), has resurfaced after vanishing for over 70 years. Corvette historian Corey Petersen tracked it down to a dusty corner of Lloyd Miller's restoration shop in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where it languished since the early 2000s when its East Coast owner couldn't pay for work.
Petersen pieced together the puzzle through exhaustive archival digs at GM's Heritage Center. Unveiled in 1953 at New York's Autorama, this hand-built pioneer from Flint, Michigan, served as GM's test mule. Engineers logged 22 modifications on work orders, from carb tweaks to chassis fixes unique scars still visible on the car today. After show duty and brutal testing, it slipped away. Many assumed it got crushed per protocol. Petersen connected dots to a mystery '53 he'd eyed there 20 years prior.
The VIN plate, stuffed in a trunk box, confirmed it: ending in 001. No theft flags, clean title history. A South Carolina owner shipped it for restoration post-VIN 003's glow-up at the same shop. Cash dried up; the car gathered dust. Petersen bought it outright, now prepping full authentication and concours restoration in his Utah collection.
Remarkably intact for its age. Body needs stripping and refinishing. Chassis likely hides rust. But core components endure, positioning it as potentially the priciest Corvette alive eclipsing L88s and ZL1s at auction if papers align.
