---
title: "This 773,000-Mile C5 Chevrolet Corvette Now Has a Place in the Corvette Museum"
description: "Is this the highest-mileage Corvette in the world?"
date: "2017-11-13"
modified: "2017-11-14"
authors:
  - name: "Kyle Cheromcha"
    job_title: "Editor-in-Chief"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/kyle-cheromcha"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/news/16020/this-773000-mile-c5-chevrolet-corvette-now-has-a-place-in-the-corvette-museum"
categories:
  - "Chevrolet News"
  - "News"
  - "News by Brand"
tags:
  - "c5"
  - "Chevrolet"
  - "chevrolet corvette"
  - "Corvette"
  - "Coupe"
  - "high mileage"
  - "Kentucky"
  - "national corvette museum"
  - "sports car"
---

# This 773,000-Mile C5 Chevrolet Corvette Now Has a Place in the Corvette Museum

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/2017/11/corvette-new-new.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

Typically, the phrase "museum-quality" [means a few things](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/9157/rich-owner-abandoned-this-81-mile-1996-sl500-after-losing-her-keys>) when it comes to cars. Flawless condition. Extreme rarity. Vanishingly few miles on the clock. But sometimes, it means a 2000 C5 Chevrolet Corvette with 773,338 miles on the original engine, like the car owner Mark Blackwell just donated to the [National Corvette Museum](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/9802/corvette-factory-closing-to-visitors-until-late-2018>) in Bowling Green, Kentucky.

[The C5 Corvette](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/12223/is-the-last-chevrolet-c5-corvette-ever-made-worth-a-cool-1-million-to-you>) isn't the most beloved generation of America's longest-running sports car nameplate, though it *is* the last production car to be sold in North America with pop-up headlights. But obviously, today's example is notable for a different reason: Having been driven to the moon and back...and back to the moon again for good measure.

Mark Blackwell bought the red 2000 [Chevrolet Corvette](<https://www.thedrive.com/new-cars/16003/here-is-your-first-look-at-the-2019-chevrolet-corvette-zr1>) coupe brand new back in 1999, and proceeded to use it as a mobile office for the next 18 years as he drove back and forth between Georgia and Florida for business. Over that time, Blackwell and his Corvette covered approximately 43,000 miles each year, or over 100 miles every day. Not every weekday—every day.

https://youtube.com/embed/uhLjVydKkPw

So yes, this Corvette has seen a whole lot of highway over the years. But thanks to what we can assume was a very strict maintenance schedule, it's barely needed any attention over almost two decades of hard use. It's still on the original engine—no mention of the transmission's age or condition—but even more amazingly, the original head gaskets were just swapped out this year at a spritely 750,000 miles.

It's also in pretty fantastic shape on the outside, considering how many insects and small rocks must have been embedded in that front clip over the years. As you might expect for someone who drove the same car over 770,000 miles, Blackwell's got no complaints about the C5 'Vette, calling it a "fabulous car." It's worth noting this is his *second* marathon Corvette, with a previous example he owned lasting for 342,000 miles.

![message-editor%2F1510626959598-corvette.jpg](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/message-editor/1510626959598-corvette.jpg>)
**YouTube | National Corvette Museum**

So one of these things is true: Either modern Corvettes really can be more durable than [your average Duramax,](<https://www.thedrive.com/news/8689/gm-duramax-celebrate-2-million-6-6-liter-diesel-engines>) or Blackwell's got the magic touch. We just hope this one [doesn't fall into a sinkhole.](<https://www.cnn.com/2015/06/10/photos/sinkhole-1-millionth-corvette-museum-repair-update/index.html>)

## Author
Overseeing an expert staff of writers and editors from his lair in Los Angeles, Kyle shapes The Drive’s singular approach to covering the automotive industry and car culture. He’s been with the site as a writer since 2017, taking over as editor in 2019. On a daily basis, Kyle is responsible for directing The Drive's editorial news and car review content strategies, setting special coverage priorities, managing complex reporting projects, and ensuring what you read on the page meets our high internal standards for quality and trustworthiness. He is also the executive producer of The Drive's YouTube channel, which was relaunched in February 2024 to great acclaim and has accumulated over 14M new views in its first year back on the scene. He hosts a biweekly series on the channel where he breaks down fascinating and complicated stories from the automotive world.

### Author social links  
[Bluesky](<https://bsky.app/profile/kylecheromcha.bsky.social>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/kylecheromcha>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/kyle-cheromcha-1550248a/>)