’59 Benchmark
The slight deterioration in the finish of the steering wheel and the paint only add to the ageless beauty of Steve Hendrickson’s Benchmark-winning ’59, meaning it epitomizes the standard by which other ’59s should be judged. To earn this highest honor, it needed to corral a Gold Certification and pass all four categories of Survivor judging on the same day in Bloomington.
Steve has one of the most impressive collections of Corvettes in the world, and he knew this car would only enhance it. He bought the car from Carter Perkle, who’d had the foresight to remove the original Firestone 6.70-15s and have them hermetically sealed when he’d purchased this Corvette in the early ’80s. They’re slightly weather-cracked, but still serviceable. Under the hood, a 270-horse, dual-quad 283—intact and completely original—has seen just over 20,000 miles of wear.
Partly by luck and partly by design, this special ’59 is absolutely, totally unchanged by time, earning it the right to set the standard for its peers, of which there are very few.