Four-Door Chevrolet Corvette

Metaphorically speaking, the Corvette has gone in and out of focus several times during its storied 50-year history. It's been Chevrolet's performance flagship, and it's been the victim of forces, inside and outside of GM, that have attempted to kill it numerous times. It's been a purposeful, two-seater sports/musclecar packing a V-8. Conversely, it nearly wound up as a mid-engine exotic with a rotary engine. Then, there was this.

The late '70s was a scary time, from an automotive standpoint, as the kit-car industry matured into serving up neo-classic replicars to people with bad facelifts, too much money, and not much taste. California Custom Coach, an outfit in Pasadena, which built Ford-sedan based Auburn boattail Speedster knockoffs, dreamed up the double T-topped wonder you see here. A Corvette coupe was cut in half, and approximately 30 inches--in the form of a second passenger compartment--were spliced in. Simple. Strange.

The additional midsection contributed about 500 pounds to the car's overall weight, which did nothing for its already flagging performance. Cost? A mere 35,000 1979 dollars. Our editors reported that "rear-seat legroom is adequate, even for over-six-footers." Wonder if those six-footers--or anyone else--actually bought one.