First Corvette ever made, VIN 001, vanished for decades and was then found by chance in a Tulsa repair shop

This is the very first Chevrolet Corvette ever made, and it was recently uncovered in a workshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

It is VIN 001, literally the first ‘Vette to leave the factory floor all those years ago.

For decades, no one had any idea where it was, but then, not long ago, it was discovered by pure chance in a workshop in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

And the most surprising part is that it seems to have aged better than expected.

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Imagine being able to recover the first Corvette ever made

Unveiled in 1953 at GM’s Autorama in New York City, the Corvette kick-started a revolution that’s still ongoing after several generations and several supercars.

We’ve witnessed the Corvette transition from the old front-engine layout to the new mid-engine configuration.

There’s also a hybrid now.

But, interestingly, the first-gen wasn’t that popular.

The first 300 units were hand-built in Michigan, and most went unsold, including the car you see here, chassis number 001.

At that point, the car apparently just vanished.

This sounds unbelievable today, but that’s because we have modernized ways to inventory everything.

Today, Chevrolet probably knows exactly where each and every single one of its bolts, nuts, and screwdrivers is.

But back then, everything was touch-and-go.

This is how one enthusiast managed to track this down

Corey Petersen, a hardcore Corvette historian, spent hours doing exhaustive research with archival dives until he figured out that the VIN 001 Corvette, the first Chevrolet Corvette, was probably in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

And he was right.

Now, under Petersen’s stewardship in his private collection, CN 001 is poised for restoration.

Amazingly, the car looks relatively fine.

The bodywork is cooked and needs to be redone, and presumably, there’ll be rust on the chassis.

But that’s not too horrible for a 70-plus-year-old car that’s spent the last few decades in a workshop.

And, assuming everything goes the right way and assuming the owner can whip up together some vaguely coherent documentation and paperwork for the car, this could potentially be the most valuable Corvette ever.

Or certainly one of the most valuable ones.