• the barrett-jackson auction company got $3 million for the very first 2020 chevrolet corvette off the line at its january auction in scottsdale, arizona, with all proceeds going to a detroit educational charity.
• the mid-engine c8 corvette with vin 001 gets the z51 performance package and the 495-hp 6.2-liter lt2 v-8, and the winning bidder was nascar team owner rick hendrick.
• this same auction house sold the last c7 corvette last spring and took in $2.7 million for a different charity.

update 1/19/20: nascar team owner rick hendrick was the winning bidder, paying $3 million for c8 corvette no. 1 at a high-spirited charity auction event on saturday featuring gm ceo mary barra on the stage. although the car present at the auction was red, barrett-jackson said the actual first car will be "a black-on-black corvette 3lt loaded with every available option, scheduled to be built during the first quarter of 2020."

we've seen this before: automakers offering the first example of a highly anticipated new model up for auction to benefit a charity. this time, general motors will auction off the first mid-engine corvette off the line at barrett-jackson's scottsdale auction in january. all proceeds will go to the detroit children's fund, which benefits underfunded detroit public schools.

vin 001 of the c8 corvette stingray is powered by a 495-hp 6.2-liter lt2 v-8 and is equipped with the z51 performance package, which adds an electronically controlled limited-slip differential with a shorter final-drive ratio, brembo brakes, a performance exhaust, heavy-duty cooling system, and michelin pilot sport 4s summer tires.

there's no doubt this example will go for well over the $59,995 starting price of the c8 stingray. only a few months ago, the final front-engine c7 corvette sold for $2.7 million at the barrett-jackson northeast auction in june, and the first ford mustang shelby gt500 off the line sold for an insane $1.1 million at the barrett-jackson scottsdale auction in january, both also for charity.