Stolen Corvette found -~ after 10 years ~ inside a container

Every country has elaborate procedures for bringing in cargo from outside the country [Imports] and for movement of cargo outside the Country [Exports].  There was a time when each and every inbound cargo was subject to physical inspection, assessment and fixing of duty by officers.  The intermodal shipping containers have greatly changed the way goods are moved, handled and the way they pass through official corridors.

A theft of a car, even in a law-abiding country like Australia is no great news ! – but sire this news from Brisbane makes you wonder, whether you appreciate the system for detection or wonder how such a thing can be lying for a decade !!!  -  there is news from Brisbane that a ‘Stolen Corvette is  found in container after 10 years’.  

Australian papers report that a 1968 classic sportscar  was discovered in box that sat on a Brisbane dock for a decade.  The news states that  Wharf inspectors in Brisbane have discovered a stolen 1968 Chevrolet Corvette V8 convertible after prying open the doors of a shipping container that had been sitting on the dock for ten years.  The car was reported stolen 10 years ago, and the 44-year-old, 5.4-litre V8 classic has clocked-up just 77,000km.  The vehicle was built on Boxing Day in 1967, which gives the C3 Corvette a 1968 model year designation.

The redesigned 1968 Corvette featured what became known as the “Coke Bottle” shape, which with its improved aerodynamics, was the originator of a succession of US classic sportscars that became famous around the world.  According to Australian news reports, the original owner of the car is believed to have received an insurance payout after the vehicle was stolen, and it will now be auctioned. The Corvette is expected to fetch around US$20,000.  The auction house said the car appeared to have been in the container for the whole decade it was missing.  The Corvette will be auctioned at Manheim auctions in Brisbane on 25 September, 2012.

a brand new corvette - photo courtesy @ GM Corp.

In 2002, a 1968 Chevrolet Corvette Convertible was stolen from its owner in Australia.  Recently, dock workers in Brisbane came across a shipping container that no one could account for.  It is stated that workers opened the container to find the missing Corvette Convertible, now riding on time-flattened tires.  The Insurer is reported to be  Suncorp Insurance.  Suncorp Group Limited is an Australian finance, insurance, and banking corporation based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It is one of Australia's largest banks and its largest general insurance group,  formed in 1996. 

A car, unattended and lying inside a container for 10 years for sure would not be road-worthy and sure would require great amount of work to make it useable – so the winner of the bid may not be able to drive it away…… still there could be antique value and more attached to it and hence it is expected to fetch a good value in ‘as is where is’ condition.

Chevrolet Corvette is a sports car by the Chevrolet division of General Motors that has been produced in six generations. The first model, a convertible, was designed by Harley Earl and introduced at the GM Motorama in 1953 as a concept show car.  A corvette is a small, maneuverable, lightly armed warship; during the age of Sail, corvettes were smaller than frigates – perhaps Chevrolet named its product after the armed warship. 

With regards -  S. Sampathkumar.