Rare 1969 Corvette Sportwagon Is the Answer to a Question Few Asked

This 1969 Corvette Sportwagon features the original conversion kit and isn’t very common, but will enough people care?

Throughout the course of history, humans have had some pretty bright ideas, but far more not-so-great ideas. That includes plenty of Corvette-related modifications that seek to make the fiberglass wonder better than GM did – some accomplish this goal, while others have fallen far short. the Corvette Sportwagon is a great example of this, an idea that isn’t terrible on the surface – as its shooting brake body style adds quite a bit of utility to the car – though, in reality, it was an abject failure, a fact this very nice 1969 example up for grabs at Bring a Trailer reminds us of.

Chuck Miller created the Corvette Sportwagon conversion kit at the request of a drummer from a rock band, who wanted to be able to fit his equipment in the back of the sports car. It consists of a new fiberglass rear roof section that essentially converts the Corvette into a shooting brake, making it far more practical. However, the original design featured a fixed rear window for some odd reason, an oversight that was later corrected by John Greenwood on his own version of the Sportwagon, which debuted at the 1976 SEMA Show and was subsequently on sale for a number of years.

It’s uncertain how many Corvette Sportwagons actually exist, but this particular example is in fantastic condition with just 25k miles on the clock, though it’s unknown if that number is correct. It features Miller’s original design dubbed the “Panelwagon,” which has a fixed rear window and no side windows, along with a variety of other modifications. One of those most interesting is the car’s fixed headlights, which have been replaced with stationary units located behind the front grille.

The car looks equally nice on the inside, where you’ll find brand new threads from Al Koch Interiors, while a replacement 350 V8 lies under the hood with an Edelbrock carb and intake, which sends power through a three-speed automatic gearbox to the rear wheels via a limited-slip differential.

With just a few days left in the auction, this vintage Sportwagon hasn’t even crested the $10k mark in terms of bidding, which isn’t surprising given how polarizing and controversial it is. But if you dig the look, it certainly seems like a cool and utilitarian driver, at the very least.

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Photos: Bring a Trailer

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