Twice the price of the L71 for five fewer rated horsepower, no heater, no radio and a 12.5:1 compression ratio that demanded racing fuel. Members get the story of how Duntov hid a race engine in the order guide.
CORVETTE MODELS
C2 Corvette L88 (1967):
The Complete Guide
Every C2 Corvette L88, 1967: Twenty 1967 Sting Rays ordered with RPO L88, the aluminum-head 427 rated at 430 hp and making 540 to 580, sold without a radio or heater to racers who understood what it was. The story, every model year, the specs and the figures, how many were built, the colors, what one cost new and what one costs now.
Quick Nav: The Story · The Years · 1967 · Specs · The Cars · Racing · Videos · News · Buyer’s Guide · What to Pay · Known Issues · Market Reports · For Sale · FAQs
The Basics
The Car: Twenty 1967 Sting Rays ordered with RPO L88, the aluminum-head 427 rated at 430 horsepower and making 540 to 580, sold without a radio or heater to racers who understood what it was
Years: 1967 (1 model year)
Built: 20 by GM’s counts
Engine: L88 427-ci V8, aluminum heads, 12.5:1, 850-cfm Holley, 430 hp rated (540–580 actual)
Power: 430 hp
Performance: quarter mile high 11s on slicks · 150 mph (1967, period test)
Price New: $5,337
The Code: RPO L88, $947.90; M22, J56, F41, K66 and G81 required; C48 heater delete
Successor: C3 Corvette L88
Related: Corvette L88 guide, the C2 hub, C2 Corvette Sting Ray
The Overview
The C2 Corvette L88 was built 1967, 20 cars by GM’s counts. Twenty 1967 Sting Rays ordered with RPO L88, the aluminum-head 427 rated at 430 horsepower and making 540 to 580, sold without a radio or heater to racers who understood what it was.
The race engine Chevrolet sold with a straight face: a 427 with aluminum heads, 12.5:1 compression, a forged crank and pistons, a radical solid-lifter cam and an 850-cfm Holley under a cowl-induction hood, rated at 430 horsepower so nobody would order it by mistake and making closer to 550 on racing fuel. It required the heavy-duty brakes and suspension, the M22 and Positraction and deleted the radio, heater and choke. Twenty were built for 1967 before 80 followed in 1968 and 116 in 1969. A 1967 L88 coupe brought $3.85 million in 2014, still the record for a production Corvette, and the 1967 cars raced at Sebring, Daytona and, once, Le Mans.
This page has every model year of the C2 Corvette L88 in its own section with the year page’s account, the specs, the numbers and the posts; the figures by year; the colors; how it compares to its siblings; the site’s guides, videos and news; and a buyer’s guide: which year to buy, what to pay, how to verify one, what goes wrong and the site’s market reports. The Corvette L88 guide has the whole line across every generation.
The C2 Corvette L88 Story
1967: Twenty Sting Rays
The L88 went on sale for the 1967 model year after the Penske COPO car had proved it at Daytona and Sebring, and twenty were built, the only L88s on the C2 body and, with the heater delete, the purest expression of Duntov’s idea. Tony DeLorenzo bought the first one, a Tuxedo Black convertible, at Hanley Dawson Chevrolet in Detroit and raced it with Dick Thompson; Don Yenko helped talk Chevrolet into building one for the Sunray DX team, which debuted the L88 at Sebring with a class win; and a coupe went to Le Mans with Guldstrand and Bondurant. The 1967s sit at the very top of the market: the red-over-red coupe that brought $3.85 million at Barrett-Jackson in 2014 remains the most expensive production Corvette ever sold at auction.
The Engine
The L88 started with the 427-cubic-inch Mark IV big-block, 4.25-inch bore and 3.76-inch stroke, and rebuilt it for the track: a forged, cross-drilled steel crankshaft in four-bolt mains, forged and shot-peened connecting rods with 7/16-inch bolts, aluminum pistons on floating pins and 12.5:1 compression, aluminum cylinder heads with 2.19-inch intake and 1.84-inch exhaust valves on rectangular ports, a solid-lifter camshaft with 0.562/0.584 inches of lift and a third valve-spring damper for stability past 7,000 rpm, and a single 850-cfm Holley four-barrel on an aluminum intake, fed by the functional cowl-induction hood, with a transistor ignition and no choke. Chevrolet rated it at 430 horsepower at 5,200 rpm and 460 lb-ft at 4,000, five below the cheaper L71; the real figure was 540 to 580 horsepower depending on preparation, and on the right tires an L88 ran the quarter mile in the high elevens. The site’s engine guide has the full specification.
The Price of Admission
Checking the L88 box was the beginning. Chevrolet required the M22 close-ratio four-speed (the Rock Crusher, for the whine of its straight-cut gears), J56 heavy-duty brakes with J50 power assist, F41 heavy-duty suspension, K66 transistorized ignition and G81 Positraction, which turned a Sting Ray into something close to a track car and roughly doubled the cost of the option. Then came what you could not have: no radio, no air conditioning, and in 1967 the C48 heater-and-defroster delete, so no heat on a cold morning and no way to clear the windshield. The glove box held a warning that the engine required 103-octane fuel and that regular gasoline must never be used. The 430-horsepower rating completed the strategy: a buyer who did not know better took the L71, and the insurance companies and GM’s own management saw nothing to alarm them.
MORE: THE CORVETTE L88 GUIDE / THE C2 HUB
The C2 Corvette L88 Year by Year
Every model year of the C2 Corvette L88: what changed, how many were built, what it cost and what it made. Each year has its section below and its own research page on the site.
MORE: THE C2 HUB / CORVETTE L88 GUIDE
| THE YEAR | BUILT | PRICE NEW | POWER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
1967 C2 Corvette L88 The first L88: aluminum heads, 12.5:1, forged bottom end, 850-cfm Holley under the cowl-induction hood, 430 hp on paper; M22, J56, F41, K66 and Positraction required, radio and heater deleted; 103-octane only; the only C2 L88s and the purest |
20 | $947.90 option on a $4,388.75 coupe | 430 hp |
1967 Corvette L88
RPO L88 put a racing 427 in a production Corvette for $947.90: aluminum heads, 12.5:1 compression, a forged bottom end, an 850-cfm Holley under a cowl-induction hood, and a deliberately low 430-hp rating. It required the heavy-duty brakes, suspension, ignition, Positraction and the M22 gearbox, deleted the radio and heater, and demanded 103-octane fuel. Twenty were built in 1967, and they are the most valuable production Corvettes ever sold.
MORE: THE 1967 RESEARCH PAGE
The L88 Engine was the closest to a pure racing engine ever produced to be installed in a production model Corvette.1967 C2 Corvette L88: Specs and Numbers
The 1967 C2 Corvette L88 by the numbers, from the 1967 research page and the Compared dataset.
| SPEC | 1967 |
|---|---|
| Engines | 327 ci (5.4 L) small-block V-8 in two versions; 427 ci (7.0 L) Mark IV big-block V-8 in four production versions plus the L88 |
| RPO L88 | 427 with aluminum heads, 12.5:1 compression, forged crank and pistons, radical solid-lifter cam, 850-cfm Holley on aluminum intake, cowl-induction hood; rated 430 hp (actual output 540–560 hp); 20 cars, $947.90; required K66, J56, F41, G81 and M22 and deleted the radio, heater and automatic choke |
| Power / torque | 430 hp / 460 lb-ft |
| 0–60 / quarter mile | high 11s on slicks |
| Top speed | 150 mph |
| Weight | 3,150 lb |
| Built | 20 of 22,940 Corvettes |
| Price | $947.90 option on a $4,388.75 coupe |
1967 C2 Corvette L88: The Posts
Everything tagged to the 1967 C2 Corvette L88, newest first.
C2 Corvette L88 Specs by Year
The figures for every year with a row in the site’s Compared dataset: GM’s where published, otherwise the period road tests.
MORE: CORVETTES COMPARED / THE ENGINES
| YEAR | ENGINE | POWER | TORQUE | 0–60 | ¼ MILE | TOP SPEED | WEIGHT | PRICE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1967 | 427 ci L88, 430 hp rated (540–580 actual) | 430 hp | 460 lb-ft | — | high 11s on slicks | 150 mph | 3,150 | $5,337 |
Every C2 Corvette L88: Editions, Pace Cars, Prototypes and Racers
The C2 Corvette L88 and the cars built from it that the site has guides for, with a picture each.
| THE CAR | YEARS | BUILT | |
|---|---|---|---|
 |
1967 Corvette L88 Twenty cars, the only L88s on the Sting Ray body and the purest: the heater and radio deleted, 103-octane only, 430 hp on paper and 540 to 580 in truth; the 1967 coupe that sold for $3.85 million in 2014 is still the most expensive production Corvette The guide / The engine guide / A 1967 L88 / Year page |
1967 | 20 |
 |
Sunray DX L88 (Sebring 1967) The Don Yenko-brokered L88 built so the Sunray DX team could race Sebring in 1967, where the L88 debuted first in class and 10th overall; first in class at Daytona in 1968 ahead of the new 1968 L88s The guide / The race cars / Year page |
1967 | race car |
|
The Le Mans L88 (Guldstrand and Bondurant) The only mid-year Corvette ever to race Le Mans: Dick Guldstrand, Bob Bondurant and Don Yenko, 171.5 mph on the Mulsanne, out in the 13th hour with a broken engine The guide / Dick Guldstrand interview / Year page |
1967 | race car |
 |
DeLorenzo’s Tuxedo Black L88 (the first production L88) The first 1967 L88 built and the only black one, bought new by Tony DeLorenzo, raced with Dick Thompson and through the 1970s; Bloomington Gold Hall of Fame; $2.5 million in 2021 and half of the $2,585,000 first-and-last pair in 2024 The guide / The first-and-last pair / Year page |
1967 | 1 |
 |
Pickett Racing L88 (Trans-Am) A 1967 L88 coupe campaigned in Trans-Am, one of the few C2 L88s with a documented competition history The guide / Year page |
1967 | race car |
 |
Ten L88s at Amelia Island, 2026 A class of ten L88 Corvettes, nearly five percent of all built, staged at the 2026 Amelia Concours; the site’s report on the cars and their owners The guide / Year page |
1967–69 | feature |
The C2 Corvette L88 at the Races
The C2 racing highlights that involve the C2 Corvette L88 or its engine, from the C2 hub.
MORE: EVERY CORVETTE RACE CAR / THE C2 HUB
| YEAR | CAR | EVENT | RESULT |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | Penske L88 coupe (COPO) | Daytona 24 Hours; Sebring 12 Hours | 1st in GT at both; 11th and 9th overall |
| 1967 | Sunray DX L88 | Sebring 12 Hours | The production L88’s debut; 1st in class at Daytona 1968 |
| 1967 | Dana Chevrolet L88 coupe | 24 Hours of Le Mans | 171.5 mph on the Mulsanne; retired in the 13th hour; the only mid-year to race at Le Mans |
C2 Corvette L88 News and Posts by Year
Everything tagged to the C2 Corvette L88’s model years, newest first.
The C2 Corvette L88 Buyer’s Guide
Twenty cars, every one known, and prices in the millions: buying a 1967 L88 is an exercise in provenance, not inspection. The L88 registries and the NCRS know each car by its VIN, its history and in most cases its racing record, and the tank sticker, the Protect-O-Plate and the paperwork trail decide whether a car is what it claims to be. An undocumented “L88” is a tribute, however correct the parts.
Most 1967 L88s change hands privately or at the headline auctions (Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale set the production-Corvette record with one), and the buyer’s work is done before the car is seen: the registry entry, the judging history, the engine stamp and the block casting date, who restored it and when. The C2 inspection items below still apply; they are the least of it.
What a C2 Corvette L88 Costs Today
Auction and dealer results the site has tracked, by year; check whether a result includes the buyer’s premium, and treat asking prices and unsold high bids separately from completed sales.
The L88s are seven-figure cars and trade privately or at headline auctions: a 1967 L88 coupe sold for $3.85 million at Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale in 2014 and an L88 convertible for $3.2 million at Mecum in 2013, and recent offerings have carried estimates of $3 million and up.
MORE: THE C2 BUYER’S GUIDE / MSRP BY YEAR
| THE CAR | SOLD FOR | WHERE AND WHEN |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 L88 coupe (red over red) | 20 | Barrett-Jackson Scottsdale, January 2014; still the most expensive production Corvette sold at public auction |
| 1967 L88 convertible, Tuxedo Black (DeLorenzo’s) | 20 | Mecum Kissimmee, 2021 (gallery sale); the first 1967 L88 built |
| 1967 L88 coupe, one-of-one color | 20 | Mecum Kissimmee, January 2024 (expected $3.8 million) |
| 1967 Sunray DX L88 racer | 20 | RM Auctions; the Sebring 1967 debut car |
How to Verify a C2 Corvette L88
The VIN positions, the labels, the stampings and the parts that prove a C2 Corvette L88 is what it claims to be, from the year pages.
Verification is everything in a 1967 big block, because the Tri-Power setup, the hood and the badges are all reproduced and a 390 is easily dressed as a 435. Start at the engine pad: a Tonawanda T prefix, the right suffix (JE for L71, JD for L89, IT for L88), a 3904351 casting and a casting date before the car’s build; an L71 needs the four-bolt block and a 1967-series Tri-Power intake, an L89 real aluminum heads with the correct casting number, and an L88 the aluminum heads, the cowl-induction hood, the radio and heater delete plates and a known history, since all twenty are accounted for. Positraction and the four-speed were mandatory with the L71 and L88, so a 435 with a Powerglide is wrong. NCRS judging sheets, tank stickers, Protect-O-Plates, old photographs and ownership records all help, and ask to see dates and scores rather than just the award.
MORE: THE 1967 RESEARCH PAGE
The C2 Corvette L88 Inspection List
What to check on a C2 Corvette L88 before the money changes hands, from the year pages.
The C2 body is bonded to a steel birdcage, and that is where the expensive problems hide: the windshield frame, the door hinge pillars and, on coupes, the rear window frame rust from inside and are costly to repair. The ladder frame rusts at the kickups over the rear wheels and around the trailing-arm mounts, trailing-arm bushings and half-shaft U-joints wear, and the four-piston calipers weep brake fluid unless they have been sleeved in stainless. Most of these cars see few miles, so budget for tires, brakes and fuel-system work on anything that has sat.
MORE: THE C2 BUYER’S GUIDE
What Goes Wrong: The C2 Corvette L88’s Known Issues
The faults a C2 Corvette L88 is known for, the years they affect, what they look like and what the fix is. None of them should stop a purchase; all of them should be on the checklist, and a car with the paperwork for them is the one to buy.
| ISSUE | YEARS | WHAT HAPPENS | THE FIX |
|---|---|---|---|
| Provenance | 1967 | The engine, the paperwork and the registry entry have to agree; original L88 engines are rare (most were raced and replaced) and a correct replacement block is normal. | The registry, the NCRS and the L88 specialists; a documented replacement engine is disclosed, not hidden. |
| Tribute cars | 1967 | Hundreds of 427/435 cars have been built into L88 tributes with the hood, the badges and a crate engine. | A VIN not on the registry is a tribute. |
| The 427 itself | 1967 | An L88 wants race fuel (12.5:1), runs hot in traffic and has no choke, heater or radio. | Buy for the collection, not for the road. |
| Birdcage and frame | 1967 | The C2 items: the windshield frame, the hinge pillars, the frame kickups and the trailing-arm mounts. | Inspect; an L88 restoration will have addressed them. |
| Restoration quality | 1967 | Every L88 has been restored at least once. | Ask who did it and see the photographs. |
The C2 Corvette L88 Options and Editions That Matter
What moves the price of a C2 Corvette L88 beyond mileage and condition: the packages, the equipment groups and the special editions, and what each does to the value.
MORE: THE SPECIAL EDITIONS / MSRP BY YEAR
| OPTION OR EDITION | WHY IT MATTERS | WHAT IT DOES TO THE PRICE |
|---|---|---|
| The L88 package | The engine, the M22, the K66 ignition, the F41 suspension, the J56 brakes, the hood; mandatory with the package. | The car is the option. |
| Coupe or convertible | Coupes and convertibles were both built. | The coupe record stands above the convertible’s. |
| Racing history | Most 1967 L88s raced. | A period race record and the photographs to prove it add value. |
| Original engine | Rare. | The premium of premiums. |
What a C2 Corvette L88 Costs to Own
Running costs are a footnote on a car that costs what a house costs: transport, storage, insurance on an agreed value with a specialist insurer, and a specialist to keep the race engine healthy. Few are driven; most are shown.
MORE: THE C2 BUYER’S GUIDE
The Site’s Market Reports on the C2 Corvette L88
What CorvSport has written about buying, selling and valuing the C2 Corvette L88: the market reports, the bargain hunting, the auction results and the cars it has listed, newest first.
FOR SALE: 1967 Chevrolet Corvette L88 Coupe Heads To Auction As A One-Of-One Collector Icon — 2026
FOR SALE: One-Off 1967 Corvette L88 To Cross The Mecum Auction Block — 2025
FOR SALE: The First And Last Corvette L88 Hammer For Millions — 2024
FOR SALE: First And Last Corvette L88 To Be Offered As A Pair By Mecum Auctions — 2024
FOR SALE: A Rare 1967 Corvette L88 Is Expected To Sell For $3.8 Million At Auction — 2023
FOR SALE: Rare 1967 L88 Corvette Sold at Mecum Auctions! — 2021
FOR SALE: Extremely Rare 1967 L88 Corvette Convertible — 2020
C2 Corvette L88: Recalls, Service Bulletins and Maintenance
The site’s recall, service-bulletin and maintenance-schedule posts for the C2 Corvette L88’s model years and the C2 generation.
C2 Corvette L88s For Sale
The C2s the site has listed for sale, newest first; the C2 Corvette L88s are among them. The for-sale page has every Corvette the site is following and the auctions page the results.
Go Deeper
The pages around this one.
Corvette L88: the ultimate guide — every generation
The C2 Corvette hub — the generation, 1963–67
Corvettes Compared — every year’s figures
FAQs
What years was the C2 Corvette L88 made?
1967. Twenty 1967 Sting Rays ordered with RPO L88, the aluminum-head 427 rated at 430 horsepower and making 540 to 580, sold without a radio or heater to racers who understood what it was.
How many C2 Corvette L88s were built?
20 by GM’s counts.
How much horsepower does the C2 Corvette L88 have?
L88 427-ci V8, aluminum heads, 12.5:1, 850-cfm Holley, 430 hp rated (540–580 actual). 430 horsepower
How fast is the C2 Corvette L88?
(GM’s figures or the period tests; the Compared page has them all).
How much did the C2 Corvette L88 cost new?
1967: $947.90 option on a $4,388.75 coupe. The MSRP by Year page has every year in today’s dollars.
What is a C2 Corvette L88 worth today?
See What to Pay in the buyer’s guide above: the site’s tracked auction and dealer results by year. The figures move, and the for-sale feed shows asking prices now.
How many 1967 L88s were built and where are they?
Twenty, every one accounted for by the registries; most were raced. The first, Tony DeLorenzo’s Tuxedo Black convertible, sold for $2.5 million in 2021 and as half of the first-and-last pair for $2,585,000 in 2024; the red-over-red coupe that brought $3.85 million in 2014 is still the record for a production Corvette.
How do you verify a 1967 L88?
Tank sticker and Protect-O-Plate with the L88 code, the block casting and pad, the aluminum heads and intake, the 850 Holley, the cowl-induction hood, the mandatory options present and the radio and heater absent, and NCRS, Bloomington Gold or CCAS recognition; the L88 guide has the table.
Why was the L88 rated at 430 horsepower?
To keep casual buyers away from a racing engine: rated five horsepower under the cheaper L71 and twice its price, with a warning that only 103-octane fuel could be used.
How much is a 1967 L88 worth?
Millions: the Barrett-Jackson record of $3,850,000 in 2014 and $2,500,000 for the first one built at Mecum in 2021 set the range, and the site’s Values table has the results. Condition, originality and history move a car within it.
How do I know a 1967 L88 is real?
The registry: all 20 are known by VIN. Then the tank sticker or build documentation, the engine stamp and casting dates, the NCRS judging history and the specialists who have seen the car.
Can I buy an L88 tribute instead?
Yes, and many are excellent cars; they trade on the value of the donor 427 plus the work, and must be sold as tributes. The site’s L88 guide covers the difference.
