Ah, the Corvette, America’s sports car. On the market since 1953, it was named after the fast strike ships used in the Second World War in a bid to make it more appealing to American men who served. The vehicle has become an icon of the industry in particular and the world in general and established a name for itself as being a driver’s car.
What that means is that people buy Corvettes to drive them for the fun of it, because there’s no greater pleasure than doing that in a two-seater packing a mighty punch. There’s no actual study behind this, but I’m pretty certain no one ever purchased such a car out of necessity.
Station wagons, on the other hand, are quite the opposite. Although there is such a thing as a performance wagon, and the same Chevrolet went as far as trying to make them stylish with the Nomad, this type of vehicle, utilitarian in nature, has been purpose-made to be practical and used when in need to transport bulky stuff from place to place, alongside plenty of people.
In a normal world a sports car and a station wagon would have nothing in common, but we live in a reality where the passion for cars of all shapes, sizes, and uses is so great it shatters barriers. And that’s probably how this here Chevrolet Corvette station wagon was born.
But first, let’s answer a really important question: did Chevrolet ever make such a thing? The short answer is no, but the longer one is that yes, it thought about it. Especially given how the above-mentioned Nomad can force a connection with the Corvette.
The classy station wagon Chevrolet started making in the mid-1950s first came to be as a concept vehicle that was loosely based on the Corvette, with the front end of the sports car mated to a two-door station wagon body. However, when the Nomad did enter production, it kind of cut pretty much all ties with its forefather.
Photo: Mecum
The original Nomad concept with 'Vette cues is now lost to history, and the sports car line has stayed just that. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t people trying to revive it by constantly trying to cross the two breeds. And it’s exactly the result of such work you’re looking at now.
As I was going through the countless cars that are waiting to go under the hammer at auctions across America, I stumbled upon this thing here. It sits on the lot of cars auction house Mecum will be sending under the hammer later this month in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
The car is officially titled a 1955 Chevrolet Corvette custom wagon because, deep down, it is a first-gen sports car customized to look like a Nomad station wagon. We don’t know who is responsible for the vehicle coming into the world, but we do know such a design is something we could have lived with.
The body of the build is an impressive play of imagination. The front end is a pure C1 Corvette, with the round headlights and telltale grille making people oblivious, when looked at head-on, that what comes next is a less-performance car and more people-mover.
When seen from the side, the car is a Nomad true and true, with a chopped top stretching backward to form a wagon rear end. When you see it from the back, there is little indication this is something other than a Nomad.
Back to the front end of the car, the forward tilting hood no longer hides the car’s original engine but a 5.7-liter LT1 sourced from a 1992 Corvette. We’re not told if the powerplant was modified in any way, but we do know it works with help from a ZF six-speed manual transmission.
Photo: Mecum
The engine is not the only thing that was sourced from a C4, as the dashboard, airbags, and the ABS system come from the same place – it’s probably why the car is selling complete with a 1992 Corvette owner’s manual.
The three-stage white pearl body moves on five-spoke chrome wheels shod in speed-rated tires. Under the white panels, a black leather interior with bucket seats was devised.
The wagon Corvette has been out and about on the used car market before. In the summer of last year it was sold by Barrett-Jackson for $66,000, and this April it tried to sell again, this time at the hands of GAA Classic Cars. It failed to do so, despite the $55,000 bid placed for it.
Mecum will try to get rid of it with no indication of how much the vehicle is expected to fetch. There seems to be a reserve on it (undisclosed), and we’ll have to wait and see if it's met when the ‘Vette meets the bidding crowds on July 27.
Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies. Full profile
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