1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Pace Car Tribute Hammers For $61K

A Chevrolet has acted as pace car for the Indianapolis 500 more times than any other automaker giving it a special place in history at The Greatest Spectacle In Racing. While Corvettes and Camaros have dominated the pace car landscape over the last 30 years, that wasn't always the case. In fact, this 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible is a stunning example of what the pace car looked like at the 39th running of the Indianapolis 500.

The actual pace cars used that year featured a red and white paint job, but Chevy dealers apparently sold these replicas in any paint scheme a customer wanted. This fully restored Bel Air pace car tribute wears a black and white paint job with an accurate pace car livery, and despite not being an authentic pace car, it still fetched top dollar through GAA Classic Cars selling for $61,000.

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Although this Bel Air isn't wearing the race-correct pace car livery, it's still a stunning example of a Tri-Five Chevy. It isn't clear when this car was restored, but this was definitely a high-quality restoration job. The exterior paint and chrome work is amazing, while the Indy 500 lettering is a dead-ringer for the actual pace car. All of the details are there to match the pace car, too, including the bumper guards, fender skirts and the white, power-retractable soft top.

Under the hood, this 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Convertible is powered by the same 265 CID V8 that the pace cars did that year, but one major difference is this car uses a two-barrel carburetor while the pace cars featured Rochester dual quads. One especially significant piece of information about this car is that it was formerly on display in the Auburn, Cord and Duesenberg Museum located in Auburn, Indiana.

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This beautiful 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air Pace Car Tribute found a new home during GAA Classic Cars' November 7-9 auction event, and someone definitely took home a high-caliber historically accurate pace car tribute.