Muscle Car of the Week: 1968 Corvette L88

The L88 was so badass that Chevy tried to hide it from the general public. They didn't promote it and gave it a generic tag number because they didn't want the Average Joe behind the wheel of a stripped down racing monster capable of 171 mph at Le Mans.

Naturally something this spectacular doesn't stay off the public radar for long. The L88 is an american muscle car legend. Originally sold for $6500 a fully restored, all original L88 can sell for deep into the 6-figures. Yes, that much!

This racing machine boasts a 427 V8 and featured aluminum intake heads, an 850 CFM dual-feed Holley carburetor, transistor ignition and 12:1 compression. In addition, the L88 package included an aluminum radiator, heavy duty brakes, suspension, and the Muncie M-22 “rock crusher” transmission. It was so powerful it came with a warning sticker on center console that emphasized that only racing fuel was adequate for the big valves and radical timing. Running on racing fuel with the exhaust removed the L88 was capable of over 600 horsepower. And even at pure stock settings it ripped out 550-570 bhp during chassis dyno testing.

There were only 216 L88 models produced in three years. It didn't have airconditioning a radio or any other creature comforts. As mentioned the L88 was meant for the track, not the road. But, damn it looks nice on the road.



Photo Credit: topmusclecars.blogspot.com