Some men live their whole lives in the pursuit of a singular quest. Every step leads them closer to that one goal in mind. This dedication often borders on obsession, but no one can deny the passion such men hold. Chip Miller, a well-known collector of Corvettes, made it his life’s work to track down all of the famed Briggs-Cunningham Corvettes that ran in the 1960 24 Hours of Le Mans, with an intensity few could match.
But Chip died in 2004, passing on his desire to reunite these famous racing Corvettes to his son Lance, who documented it in a 2011 film called simply “The Quest.” And Lance has, for the most part, uncovered all of the remaining Corvettes, save one. But the New York Times reports that this last car may have been found… though there doesn’t appear to be much left.
Chip Miller had one important clue to the last remaining, undiscovered Briggs-Cunningham Corvette, the all-important VIN. Chip kept the VIN to himself until he died, at which point it was posted to a website documenting the search for these cars. For eight long years, not a single word surfaced about this last remaining Corvette, until a stroke of luck intervened.
A Florida man was cleaning out a warehouse he inherited from his late father when he came across some sort of custom drag car. It didn’t even resemble a Corvette anymore, but the serial number on both the frame and steering column led the man to Miller’s website. While the details are being withheld until the official unveiling at the August 23rd Corvettes at Carlisle show, from the sounds of it there isn’t much left of the last Briggs-Cunningham Corvette.
But, it if is indeed real, it would finally bring to a close Chip Miller’s long, exhaustive quest to uncover all of these famous former race cars. Perhaps now he can finally rest in peace.