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Smashed Spyder is Sixth Corvette to Leave Sinkhole

National Corvette Museum

The National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green hosted another rescue mission Tuesday.

A 1993 ZR-1 Spyder was lifted from a 50-foot sinkhole that opened up beneath the museum in February. 

The Spyder was one of eight cars swallowed by the sinkhole, and becomes the sixth to get removed.

Marketing and Communications Director Katie Frassinelli says the black Spyder is the most damaged of all the cars recovered so far, but doesn't know if it's beyond restoration.

"That car is on loan from General Motors, so it will be their call what they do with it.  It is a prototype vehicle, so it's not like they just have these parts laying around to fix it," explained Frassinelli.  "A lot of people feel that we should display them as is, because if you restore 85% of a car, is it really the car it once was."

The 2009 1.5 millionth car is partially visible through the mounds of dirt, and will be pulled out Wednesday or Thursday. 

"We don't have high hopes of it being in really good shape.  It's got not only a boulder but also a slab of concrete on top of it," added Frassinelli.

The last of the cars to be removed, a 2001 Mallett Hammer Z-06, has not been seen. 

A video of the Spyder's retrieval can be viewed here.

Lisa is a Scottsville native and WKU alum. She has worked in radio as a news reporter and anchor for 18 years. Prior to joining WKU Public Radio, she most recently worked at WHAS in Louisville and WLAC in Nashville. She has received numerous awards from the Associated Press, including Best Reporter in Kentucky. Many of her stories have been heard on NPR.