In the 1960's, the United States was engaged in an intense “Space Race” with the Soviet Union. It was a race to be the first to step foot on the moon, and return safely. National media and the public were intently observing this race, and the astronauts involved quickly became national heroes. One of these astronauts, Virgil “Gus” Grissom, was part of NASA's very first U.S. manned space program and also was one of NASA's Original Seven Mercury Astronauts. In addition to being part of this team, Grissom was a top notch test pilot and engineer. His hard work and persistence led to his appointment as Commander for the first Apollo flight.
Grissom would become the second man to ever step foot on the surface of the moon. This would be just one of the many career accomplishments he would be known for in the years to come, and surely his ultimate achievement.
On earth, Gus Grissom was often involved in a different type of race. This would be a race to see which astronaut had the fastest Corvette! Grissom was a long time Corvette enthusiast, and he had owned five other Corvettes prior to taking delivery of his '67. In late 1966, Grissom and fellow astronaut Alan Shephard would take delivery of nearly identical brand new 1967 427/435 horsepower Corvette Roadsters.
Knowing that Shephard was the better driver, Grissom called on Jim Rathmann, owner of Jim Rathmann Chevrolet/Cadillac in Melbourne, Florida, (the delivering dealer), for some help. Explaining the situation, Rathmann quickly devised a plan. Adding a 4:56 posi rear end and slightly widening the rear wheel openings to allow room for a set of racing slicks, the already quick Corvette became nothing less than a street terror. Thanks to these improvements, Grissom found himself winning nearly every race, whether for a dinner or for a beer.
Sadly, Grissom's life would come to a tragic end January 27, 1967, when Gus, along with fellow Astronauts Edward White and Roger Chaffee, perished in the Apollo One fire on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy.
The car would remain with Grissom's wife for about a year before being returned to Rathmann's dealership. From there, the car was sold and would not surface for several years. After passing through several dealers and various owners, the car surfaced on eBay where it was offered twice. In 2007 the car surfaced at the Russo and Steele Auction in Scottsdale, Arizona, where it was featured with an incredible display of memorabilia which would be included in the sale of the car. After intense bidding, the historical Corvette and all of the related memorabilia would become part of a significant Arizona collection, where it would serve as the centerpiece.
We are extremely pleased to be able to present this significant bit of Americana and Corvette History, along with the incredible Gus Grissom memorabilia collection at the Muscle Car and Corvette Nationals, November 21-22, 2009.
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