The cars that populate the concours and other events throughout the world-renown Monterey Classic Car Week are most often prototypical pre-war classics and European sports cars that have established themselves as some of the most collectible on the planet. While Mecum Auctions will present a wide array of such vehicles Aug. 13-15 at its annual Daytime Auction held at Hyatt Regency Monterey Hotel and Spa – Del Monte Golf Course, the auction house will also present something unlike the famed car week has ever seen before: The Ed Foss Low-Mileage Corvette Collection constituting 26 of some of the lowest-mileage and most original examples of America’s sports car in existence; truly the best of the best among Corvettes.
From the 27th 1953 Roadster produced with less than 4,000 miles on its odometer, to a 2003 50th Anniversary Edition with just 135 miles, the Foss Collection is surprisingly diverse for a model-specific assemblage; one thing all do have in common though, save for the two race cars in the group, is that not a single one breaks the 10,000-mile mark, and most are well below that number with 19 sporting less than 5,000 miles and seven with less than 200 miles. The originality of the cars is also astounding, even taking their sparing use into account.
Mecum Auctions recruited David Burroughs—founder of Bloomington Gold, Survivor and Benchmark, and publisher of Prove It Authentications—to inspect virtually every car in the grouping and provide his expert observational analysis. With most cars in this collection boasting 95-percent factory-original condition, Burroughs was able to use his expertise to verify the claims through details and documentation that most would overlook. Together, Burroughs and Mecum Auctions created a stunning portfolio of information, which has been made available for viewing at Mecum.com.
Among the most notable in the collection is an extensively documented and multiple award-winning three-owner 1969 L88 convertible with 6,453 miles. As one of just 116 ’69 L88s produced, the car has participated in both Bloomington Gold L88 Special Collections and was previously owned by Corvettes at Carlisle co-founder Chip Miller for 24 years. An unrestored 1965 four-speed fuelie convertible is another highlight with just 1,652 original miles and Bloomington Gold Benchmark, Survivor and Gold certifications all achieved in 2001. As the first truly ‘expensive’ collector Corvette—selling for $42,000 in 1976—the excellently preserved ’65 was inducted into the Bloomington Gold Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Great Hall in 2010 in addition to earning numerous other awards and recognitions. Others in the Foss lineup include an original and unrestored 1963 Split Window coupe with 4,526 miles, a 1972 convertible with just four miles, and several other Bloomington Gold Benchmark certified cars.
Burroughs shared his thoughts and insights related to the Foss low-mileage assemblage saying, “The Foss Collection is a library of ‘3-D Books’ that can be read to tell the stories of how these cars were actually built. There may be larger collections. There may be more cosmetically perfect collections, however, I know of no other Corvette collections containing more factory-production knowledge than most Corvette judges across the United States combined. These Corvettes are highly reliable sources capable of settling many questions about historic accuracy. The next owners will not only be purchasing wonderful vehicles, they will also be purchasing potential sources of education unavailable through any Corvette magazines or books published to date.”
To view the complete Foss Collection of Low-Mileage Corvettes or to register as a bidder, visit Mecum.com.
