Special exhibit through January 2027 showcases racing suits, pedal cars, pinball machines, and everyday artifacts around America’s Sports Car
Beyond the exceptional and historic cars themselves, Driven to Preserve, now open in the National Corvette Museum’s Limited Engagement Gallery, features a carefully selected group of non-vehicle artifacts. (Photography courtesy of the National Corvette Museum)
Most enthusiasts who visit the National Corvette Museum are there for the cars. However, the Kentucky museum’s newest exhibit, “Driven to Preserve,” shows the human side of Corvette history.
This history of “America’s Sports Car” is rich and resolute. It lives in the suits worn by racers; the toys that inspired a generation of future enthusiasts; and the everyday tools that kept the cars in motion.
Among the special features:
Dick Guldstrand’s pre-Nomex racing suit
Dick Guldstrand’s pre-Nomex racing suit is an early safety feature in the blood sport of motorsports.
Guldstrand went from racing Ford hot rods in high school to setting a record at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Guldstrand’s racing suit offers a direct window into how early motorsport protected its drivers. His suit was made by Indianapolis-based Hinchman, which pioneered race suit design as early as 1925. The Goodyear badging on the suit is a reminder that even then, sponsorship and sport were inseparable.
Ed Cole’s office desk
Ed Cole, GM’s president and CEO from 1967 to 1974, introduced the small-block V-8 in early Corvettes.
Cole, president and CEO of General Motors from 1967 to 1974, is known for his engineering-focused leadership. He was the driving force behind the small-block V-8 engine, and he used that V-8 to revitalize early Corvettes.
His desk, on loan from the Cole family, connects visitors to one of the most consequential figures in automotive history.
Following his retirement from GM in 1974, Cole became the Chairman and CEO of Checker Motors Corporation. He tragically passed away in 1977 while piloting his private plane to a meeting in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Paint ‘frogs’
Paint ‘frogs’ help color designers’ decisions long before a car ever rolls off the assembly line.
Designers used these small models to evaluate how solid, metallic, pearlescent, matte, satin, and tint-coat finishes behave under different lighting conditions. On loan from General Motors, they offer a unique window into decisions made long before a car ever rolls off the line.
UAW-GM Motorsports jacket
The UAW-GM Motorsports jacket illustrates the working relationship of labor, corporate sponsorship, and the personalities of racing.
It is autographed by Corvette racing legends Tommy Milner, Oliver Gavin, Jan Magnussen, Antonio Garcia, and Dario Franchitti. The jacket illustrates the intersection of labor, corporate sponsorship, and the personalities of racing — something the museum rarely gets to show.
Corvette pinball machine
The colorful graphics on the machine’s playing surface show the eight special-edition ZR-1-themed machines that debuted at the museum in 1994.
This machine, donated by the Midway Manufacturing Co., ran continually during the museum’s 1994 grand opening. The colorful graphics on the machine’s playing surface show the eight special-edition ZR-1-themed machines that debuted at the museum.
IF YOU GO
“Driven to Preserve” is now open and will be displayed through January 2027. Museum admission is $25 for adults 13 to 61; $14 for youths 5-12 years; and $23 for those 62 and older. And there are several packages, including guided tours ($10 per ticket), the Corvette Legacy Bundle, and the Full Museum Experience (which includes the Corvette racing simulator). See all the pricing here.
The National Corvette Museum is a mile from General Motors’ Bowling Green Assembly Plant. Off Interstate 65 in Bowling Green, Ky., an hour north of Nashville. The plant is where the Corvette has been built since 1981. The museum campus has 115,000 square feet of exhibition and event space. The exhibits showcase more than 100 historically significant Corvettes, 50,000 Corvette artifacts, and the NCM Motorsports Park.
To plan your visit, go to corvettemuseum.org. And follow the museum on Facebook, TikTok, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, and X.
For more information, visit CorvetteMuseum.org.
GM claims to have produced more U.S. military vehicles than any manufacturer in history.