Corvette Museum to Fill Sinkhole, Fix or Display Damaged Cars

The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky., has decided to fill in the massive sinkhole that swallowed eight historic cars in February. It also plans to restore three of the cars and display the other five in their damaged conditions.

The 60 x 45 x 30-foot sinkhole has been a major attraction for the museum this year. But last weekend the facility's directors reversed an earlier decision to maintain the sink hole. The board now says safety concerns make it impractical to keep the hole open permanently.

Chevrolet will restore two of the damaged cars: a 2009 Corvette ZR1 prototype dubbed the Blue Devil and a 1992 convertible that was the brand's 1 millionth vehicle produced. Chevy also will fund the restoration of a 1962 Corvette by an independent shop to be supervised by the museum.

General Motors Co. and the museum agreed not to attempt to repair the other five cars, which were severely damaged. They concur with enthusiasts who say the damage is now part of each car's history. The museum says it will display those cars as-is.

The damaged cars include:

1962 Corvette

1984 PPG Pace Car

1992 1-millionth Corvette produced

1993 ZR-1 Spyder

1993 40th anniversary Corvette

2001 "Mallett Hammer" Z06

2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil" prototype

2009 1.5 millionth Corvette produced