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Stolen Classic Corvette Recovered In Container After 10 Years

[1]Car thieves are among the lowest form of life on planet Earth, and unfortunately they are all too common. Some of the most vulnerable victims of car theft are also some of the most valuable cars; we are referring of course to classic cars, many of which no longer even have clear titles of ownership. Thanks to clever tactics like re-bodying, VIN-swapping, and off-shore exports, recovering a stolen classic can be almost impossible.

But sometimes, the good guys get lucky. An Australian Corvette owner thought his car was lost forever when it was stolen back in 2002. But as Drive.au reports [2], workers at a Brisbane, Australia port were unable to account for a certain shipping container. When they opened it up, they found the missing Corvette, with flat tires but otherwise in excellent shape.

The owner of the 1968 Corvette convertible has since received an insurance settlement, so the stolen Corvette will actually be put up for auction, rather than returned to its rightful owner. With just over 47,000 miles on the odometer, this classic Corvette has a 327 V8 backed by a four-speed manual transmission. While not the most desirable engine setup, in Australia these cars are worth their weight in gold.

That said, this Corvette has sat for 10 years in an Australian shipping container, and we don’t doubt that it could use some tender loving care. Still, we have more than a few questions, like what happened to the thief? What was the original plan for this stolen car? We can tell you that the insurance company believes they’ll recover between $14,000 and $17,000 from the auction, a relative bargain for a Corvette of this vintage.

So we guess this qualifies as a semi-happy ending?