Harley Earl’s custom Corvette Sting Ray runs to auction — and a potential record

As a gift for retired long-time General Motors design chief Harley Earl, the GM design staff he had once overseen plucked a 1963 Corvette Sting Ray from the St. Louis factory and customized it to his tastes — from sporting side exhausts to a second instrument panel. Next month, that Corvette will go up for auction at Mecum's event in Chicago, and given the booming market for classic cars and the record $3.4 milllion Vette sold earlier this month, the debate has already begun about whether this Sting Ray will challenge those heights.

After a thorough restoration and years of careful preservation, Earl's Sting Ray sold for $980,000 in 2010; that it's back up for sale three years later highlights how the rising values of classic cars makes many collectors reassess just how many vehicles they need in their garage. And the seller can highlight the one-of-one nature of Earl's personal ride, which he once used as a pace car at the Daytona 500.