This Used to Be a Corvette

Do you live in a wealthy town overpopulated with Italian supercar owners but you don't have the funds to own one yourself? Then you might want to take a look at this 2008 Corvette Valarra that's headed to the Indianapolis Mecum auction on May 15. It looks like something made by Zenvo, or any other extreme supercar brand, but at a fraction of the price.

What is a Corvette Valarra? It's essentially a C6 Corvette with a body kit and some tuning. However, the body kit is extensive and completely transforms the look of the original 'Vette into something much more aggressive and exotic. It isn't as refined as something from Italy but is more closely aligned with ultra-rare, extremely aggressive supercars like the Zenvo ST-1 and Lykan Hypersport. But if stealing eyeballs away from your Ferrari-owning neighbors is the name of your game, this Valarra will surely do the trick.

Since Valarra requires a donor C6 Corvette to create these custom-bodied sports cars, each one will be a little bit different. This specific one started off as a C6 Corvette 4LT with the Z51 package, with a 6.2-liter V8 making 430 horsepower. While Valarra offers various performance upgrades, like turbochargers and so forth, this engine is stock. It also packs a six-speed automatic transmission.

The only performance upgrade this specific Corvette Valarra has is a BC Racing coilover suspension kit. It also sits on 22-inch Ferrada wheels at the back, with 20s up front. And since the Valarra is bound to get some unwanted police attention, it even has a remote-controlled hideaway license plate, so you can pretend you're Jason Statham from The Transporter. While this might not go over too well with die-hard GM fans, this specific car is painted in BMW M's Hockenheim Silver. It even has a removable, transparent roof panel, which is unique to Valarra Corvettes.

Inside, nothing's really changed, so you're still sitting in what looks like a normal C6 Corvette. Which is fine, it's a nice enough interior, but it will remind you that you aren't actually driving something exotic or rare.

It's hard to predict how much this car will sell for at auction, considering it has 77,000 miles on it. Valarra originally charged $18,000 for just the body kit, in addition to the cost of the donor C6 Corvette. However, Valarra no longer builds these kits, so this car's rarity could increase its value. If you want something truly outrageous that can steal attention away from your pesky supercar-owning neighbors but for less money, this Valarra might be for you. Or you can just buy a C6 Corvette and have a great sports car for far less money.

Got tips? Send 'em to tips@thedrive.com