A Special Delivery for the National Corvette Museum
Arriving in Nashville
In the space of only two hours, we had left the de-icing facility and a runway carpeted by snow at Toronto Pearson International for the welcoming sunshine in the country music and bourbon capital of the world: Nashville. Then, after a short drive north into Bowling Green, Kentucky, the National Corvette Museum made sure we knew that we’d arrived, thanks to the amazingly epic billboards.
The archive and library
The museum building was much like its contents: bold and prominent. A huge red spire elevating from a bright yellow dome is the first thing most visitors would notice, but if you close your eyes there are enough 1000 bhp V8s in the area that you’re more than likely to have your entrance into the museum serenaded by the culmination of a rich history of American Muscle.
We were greeted by Collections Manager Katie McClurkin, who then invited us into the archive and library, where they protect both official and unofficial Corvette paraphernalia that gave us clues to just how deep the Corvette rabbit hole goes. The archive keeps everything from build sheets for every single Corvette built since ’83 – to a personal account of a road trip spanning over 70 US cities many years ago, and now their latest arrival: the Agora Models 1:8 scale 1963 C2 Split Window.
Stephen takes maximum care in the archive room to unbox the model made by Agora's Expert – Mark Adams.
This was the main objective of our visit. Our very own C2 model had been expertly assembled by one of our most trusted big scale modellers; Mark Adams, and Stephen and I were presenting it to the archive. As we unboxed the car and set it on the table, our model faced scrutiny from some of the keenest eyes in the business, and to our delight, they were blown away by the quality and detail. This really was a proud moment for us at Agora.
Museum Walk
Having transferred our 1:8 scale split window onto a utility cart for safe transportation, the museum team walked us through the exhibition with only one destination in mind: their full full-size, fully restored, 1963 C2 with identical colourways to our model. I had never seen one in real life before, but this instantly took my breath away. It was pristine, the iconic lines of the bodywork were razor sharp, the paintwork was immaculate, and the chrome had me clutching at my sunglasses. It really was as gorgeous as its reputation promised.
The 1:8 scale Agora Models C2 Split-Window sitting next to the real, full sized, fully restored version.
Seeing the 1:8 scale model posed next to the original was the highlight of the experience, and it is well worth visiting the museum just to be in the same room as such a rare piece of automotive history, but the museum had so much else to enjoy, thanks to a superb tour from Katie.
As a huge fan of motorsport, I was blown away by the museum’s collection of former racing cars. The “Sportscar of the Year”, a 1961 C1 in white with blue stripes was proudly sat alongside a bright yellow C5R, and just around the corner from a C8 GT3 car still covered in burned rubber and race debris, showings just how rich the Corvette motorsport heritage is.
1961 Gulf Racing Corvette C1 on loan from the Skokos family. The “Sports Car of the Year".
A part of the exhibition dedicated to concepts, and the design and manufacturing process, was particularly memorable. Corvettes throughout the years have mastered their identity, but it was a delight to see some of the ideas that designers and engineers had created when given the license to be weird and wacky. In 1986 they created the Indy Concept which reminded me of the lovechild between a C8 and an Jaguar XJ220, a real masterpiece.
1986 Indy concept.
The XP 819, or the “Ugly Duckling” (rather harshly named in my humble opinion) was a treat to interact with, as it beautifully showcased the interactive laser scanning software used for digitising the cars, and was extremely reminiscent of our own 3D scans that we use for so many of our models.
Stephen plays with the digitised 3D model (left) on an interactive touch-screen of an XP 819 “Ugly Duckling” (right).
Our final stop in the museum, after admiring the many portraits in their very own “Corvette Hall of Fame”, was the exhibit for Corvettes in Pop Culture. To be standing a mere 3 feet away from Neil Armstrong’s personal 1967 Stingray Coupe made me feel quite starstruck. Other than the poor 1984 PPG Indy Pace Car that was decimated when it fell into a sinkhole, nearly every other model in the museum was perfectly restored and in striking condition, however, Neil Armstrong’s car had all its imperfections preserved, and the wear-and-tear of that made it feel ever more real. Only a few paces from this relic were Corvettes that I instantly recognised from the Transformers movies: Sideswipe and Crosshairs. Optimus Prime is one of Agora’s models that I have had most fun building, so seeing these two really got me thinking…
Neil Armstrong’s Marine Blue Corvette (left, as seen driven by James May on The Grand Tour) part of the Corvette Icons section shares a space with the silver Sideswipe and green Crosshairs (right).
Boulevard and Track
After our wonderful tour of the museum, we arrived back at the “Corvette Boulevard”, an area that allows Corvette customers to be a part of the museum experience. If you’re buying a new Corvette you can opt to have it prepared and displayed in the museum until you are ready to collect it, when you are able to drive it out of the museum yourself. I was really impressed by the dedication to customer service from everyone involved in the Corvette team.
This C8 had just finished detailing and had been moved onto display in the Corvette Boulevard, ready to be collected by its lucky new owner…
But don’t let the neighbouring racetrack tempt you if you want your shiny new Corvette to stay in warranty! You’ll have to take it 500 miles to brake in the engine before thrashing it around the circuit… For the impatient among us, the Corvette track hosts events and corporate days, so I am certain I’ll be spending the next few months trying to persuade the Agora Models bosses that we need the next Christmas party to be a track day in Kentucky.
A selection of track-ready C8s waiting to be unleashed onto the circuit.
I really encourage everyone to make the trip to the National Corvette Museum to meet the team and see some of the amazing cars they have on display there, it really was a treat. Oh, and don’t bring a packed lunch, the Stingray Grill has amazing burgers and bourbon!