APPRAISER: Hot, hot, hot!
GUEST: Thank you.
APPRAISER: I mean the car, of course.
GUEST: (laughs)
APPRAISER: The car, what a beautiful ride. A 1970 Corvette Stingray. America's sports car. How did you get this?
GUEST: It was really a stroke of luck. There was a radio contest for who could get the most famous celebrity to call in on their behalf. And I was working for a catering company at the time and we were gonna do Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp Annual Gala, ah raising money for his camp for the kids with cancer. And I asked my boss if I could ask him, he laughed and said, "There's no way he'll do it for you, but go right ahead and ask." So I asked him, and he remembered me from the years before, having helped him out with things at other parties that we've done, and he called. And he was voted the most famous out of the 24 celebrities that had called in. Some of the other famous celebrities were, David Hyde Pierce and Kelsey Grammer called in together, Whoopi Goldberg called in, Rosie O'Donnell called in, and this was the prize. And so then, the following spring, I drove it out to another Hole in the Wall Gang party we were doing, and I asked him if he would autograph the dashboard, and he did for me. And I have pictures of doing the autographing of the dashboard.
APPRAISER: It's just incredible, because Paul Newman, one of America's greatest actors, is well-known for being reclusive and private. I think there's a lot people don't know about Newman behind the face. One of it is his great philanthropic efforts: Newman's Own, which he's given away, I believe, all the profits. The first Corvettes came out in 1953.
GUEST: Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER: And that's the first generation. They had a body style from '53 to '62. '63 to '67, they had the second version. This body was actually based on a concept car called the Mako Shark II. So you can see these sort of sleek, powerful lines here sort of emulating the shark, because who wouldn't want to have that feeling of, of sleekness and sexiness and power, which, which really makes, is the essence of the Corvette? These cars were so popular that this body style stayed relatively the same from 1968 to 1982. So 1970 was the last year of what they call high performance, before emissions took over some of the power of the car. It was one of the last years that they have chrome bumpers, because in '73, they start with the rubber bumpers. And what you also have here is what we call the basic motor, a 350, which was stock for these. You got an automatic transmission. They also made manuals, of course. You've had this since 1998, right?
GUEST: 1998, yup.
APPRAISER: So have you had anything done to it since then? It's got about 82,000 miles.
GUEST: Just tune up kind of stuff.
APPRAISER: This was repainted at some point.
GUEST: I think it was.
APPRAISER: Without the Newman association, I'd probably put an auction estimate about $18,000 to $24,000. I think a retail price would probably be starting somewhere around 25. But the reason why we're here and talking is the Paul Newman value.
GUEST: Right.
APPRAISER: There's another side to Paul Newman, which I think even, beyond his fame, beyond his philanthropy, increases the value even more for a celebrity, and it's the fact he was a race car driver!
GUEST: And he raced Corvettes.
APPRAISER: I would probably put $30,000 to $40,000 on this, auction. And I would insure it for at least $65,000.
GUEST: That's where I got it. (laughing)
APPRAISER: Can you take me for a ride?
GUEST: Absolutely! Get on in!
APPRAISER: I'm in! (engine starts)
APPRAISER: (laughs)
