UPDATE: National Corvette Museum Sinkhole Buries 8 Rare Corvettes - Museum Accepting Donations

by Andrea L. Algar

News broke Wednesday about the 8 valuable Corvettes that were swallowed up and buried when a giant sinkhole opened up right in the middle of the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky. News was swift, and many enthusiasts were in sorrow to think that these legendary cars were lost forever. But are they?

Photo Credit: National Corvette Museum

General Motors announced yesterday that it will make efforts to restore all eight collector Corvettes. This won't be an easy task, since most are buried in the rubble at the bottom of a gigantic sinkhole that is 40 feet wide and estimated to be between 25 and 30 feet deep!

Structural engineers have reportedly been brought in to assess the site for safety and whether the vehicles can be retrieved from the Sky Dome. If any of the vehicles can be retrieved from the cavern that was created, they will be sent to the Mechanical Assembly facility at GM Design for restoration.

As reported in a General Motors press release, "The vehicles at the National Corvette Museum are some of the most significant in automotive history," said Mark Reuss, executive vice president of General Motors Global Product Development. "There can only be one 1-millionth Corvette ever built. We want to ensure as many of the damaged cars are restored as possible so fans from around the world can enjoy them when the Museum reopens." At least two of the cars have been valued at $1 Million apiece. Values of the other six vehicles have not yet been released.

Since the National Corvette Museum is privately owned and relies on fund raising and private contributions, they're going to need help restoring the facility and the attempts to retrieve the damaged cars. Most contributions come from private individuals and Corvette enthusiasts. The Museum is currently accepting donations on its website to assist in raising funds. Donations are tax-deductible.

As previously reported, the cars missing are:

• 1962 Corvette
• 1984 PPG Pace Car
• 1992 1 Millionth Corvette
• 1993 ZR-1 Spyder
• 1993 40th Anniversary Corvette
• 2001 Mallett Hammer Z06 Corvette
• 2009 1.5 Millionth Corvette
• 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil"