Chevrolet and the National Corvette Museum will work together to restore three of the Corvettes damaged earlier this year after they fell into a sinkhole that formed underneath the floor of the Museum.
Chevy will restore the 1-millionth Corvette manufactured, a white 1992 convertible, and a 2009 Corvette ZR1 prototype, also known as the Blue Devil, according to a company press release.
A 1962 Corvette will also be restored by Chevrolet, which the National Corvette Museum will oversee.
A restoration shop has not been decided on yet.
General Motors will provide $250,000 in total to help the Museum recover from the sinkhole incident.
"Our goal was to help the National Corvette Museum recover from a terrible natural disaster by restoring all eight cars," said Mark Reuss, GM executive vice president, Global Product Development, according to the release. "However, as the cars were recovered, it became clear that restoration would be impractical because so little was left to repair. And, frankly, there is some historical value in leaving those cars to be viewed as they are."
The National Corvette Museum celebrates its 20th anniversary this weekend, according to the automaker.
The five other Corvette vehicles swallowed by the sinkhole will remain in their as-recovered state to preserve the historical significance of the cars.
They will eventually become part of a future display at the museum.
"There has been an outpouring of messages from enthusiasts the world over, asking us not to restore all of the cars," said Wendell Strode, executive director for the National Corvette Museum, according to the release. "For Corvette enthusiasts, the damage to the cars is part of their history, and part narrative of the National Corvette Museum. Restoring them all would negate the significance of what happened."
On Feb 12, a sinkhole was discovered under the Skydome area of the NCM by museum personnel, measuring about 45 feet wide, 60 feet long and up to 30 feet deep.
Security camera footages showed the Skydome's floor collapse, which has since been viewed over 8.3 million times on YouTube.
Eight Corvette vehicles were swallowed by the sinkhole- two on loan from GM and six owned by the museum, including:
-1993 ZR-1 Spyder (on loan)
-2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil" prototype (on loan)
-1962 Corvette
-1984 PPG Pace Car
-1992 1-millionth Corvette
-1993 40th Anniversary Corvette
-2001 "Mallett Hammer" Z06
-2009 1.5-millionth Corvette.
See Now: OnePlus 6: How Different Will It Be From OnePlus 5?
