1959 Chevrolet Corvette Italia by Scaglietti

Apr 26

Quick Specs

290 hp.
135 mph.
3 Italias were made; this one was Shelby’s, who declined delivery and instead sold the car.
$15,000 (est., $160,000 in 2024)

Italian Corvette

Primarily known for their coachwork on Ferrari race cars, coachbuilder Scaglietti handcrafted just three Corvette Italias in collaboration with Gary Laughlin, Jim Hall, and Carroll Shelby. The Italia was intended to be produced in limited numbers for sale to affluent buyers who liked the exotic looks of a European sports car, but preferred the reliability and ease of maintenance of a vehicle with American underpinnings. The Italia would have competed in the same market as high-performance European sports cars like Maserati, Aston martin, and Mercedes-Benz, but General Motors declined to support the project.

Pressure on GM and other major manufacturers to de-emphasize high-performance cars and racing reportedly pushed Ed Cole (General Manager of Chevrolet at the time) to cancel the project. The three cars were shipped back to Texas, two with unfinished interiors. Jim Hall took delivery of one of the cars, Gary Laughlin the other, but Carroll Shelby, perhaps discouraged by the politics of the project, reportedly declined the third Corvette Italia – this car – and it was promptly sold. Shelby, not one to remain defeated for long, next turned to British-based AC and Ford to help with his next project, the Shelby Cobra. If not for the “failure” of the Corvette Italia, there may never have been a Shelby Cobra or Shelby Mustang.

Collection of the Petersen Automotive Museum. Gift of the Margie and Robert E. Petersen Foundation

This Vehicle featured in ‘The Vault’.