1962 Chevrolet Corvette: Sunday Drive

1962 Chevrolet Corvette 

OWNED BY THE NELSON CLASSIC CAR MUSEUM 

DRIVEN BY MIKE WILSON 

PHOTOS & WORDS Mike Wilson 

Ever dreamt of being an astronaut? For most of us it seems like an impossibility as vast as space itself. What if there was a way to at least feel like an astronaut while here on Earth? 

This stunning Chevrolet Corvette from the Nelson Classic Car Museum is almost identical to one given to NASA astronaut Alan Shepard in 1961 – after he became the second person in space. The US government didn’t like their employees getting gifts so GM soon offered NASA crews Corvettes for a $1 yearly lease. After that, astronauts and Corvettes became synonymous and their antics racing around the otherwise quiet roads of sun-bleached Cape Canaveral, Florida are legend. 

For the full astronaut experience, find a private stretch of hot black tarmac, strap in, prepare for launch, feel the G-forces pin you to your seat as you accelerate, and listen to the V8 roar like an Apollo boost rocket. Or, if you’re less of a space pilot and more of a cruiser, try a leisurely run along the coast, top down, aviator sunglasses on, your significant other in the passenger seat, and the V8 thrumming gently behind the Beach Boys crooning on the 8-track.