Celebrated Tony Parella Corvette Collection to Headline Auctions America's Collector Cars of Fort Lauderdale Auction

AUBURN, Ind., March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- More than 500 classics, exotics, hot rods and muscle cars will roll into town for Auctions America by RM's Collector Cars of Fort Lauderdale auction, March 16-18, at the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Offerings include a collection of 26 Corvettes from the esteemed Tony Parella Collection. The Corvettes represent every model year from 1953 through '69 plus rare examples from the 1970s, '80s and '90s.

"Tony's cars hold a lot of historical significance," said Donnie Gould, Auctions America's president. "His Corvettes we're offering are a part of a select group of collections that will cross our auction block, making the Fort Lauderdale event one not to be missed."

A telecommunications business executive, Parella has built several companies from the ground up. He is credited with pulling Shared Technologies Inc. out of bankruptcy and on to Fortune magazine's "100 Best Companies to Work For" for four consecutive years.

The highlight of his collection is a 1953 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster, the 64th Corvette built. After debuting its new sports car at General Motors' traveling Motorama show in January 1953, Chevrolet quickly put the fiberglass-bodied Corvette into production. The first year's tally of 300 identical white roadsters makes any 1953 one of the rarest Corvettes in history.

The 1955 Corvette came with Chevrolet's first V-8 engine. Parella's 1955 Chevrolet Corvette Roadster comes fitted with a proper 265-cid, 195-hp V-8 engine coupled to a Powerglide automatic transmission and is finished in the desirable factory color of Harvest Gold.

"The Parella Corvettes represent some of the best examples of their model years," noted Gould. "From the first year the Corvette was introduced to the very last Stingray built in 1976, these Corvettes are highly coveted rides. Serious Corvette enthusiasts will not want to miss our March auction."

Another Corvette that demands attention is the 1976 Chevrolet Corvette Coupe, which is the final Corvette to leave the assembly line wearing the Stingray name. This example has fewer than 25,000 original miles on the odometer and is highly equipped.

This year marks the 10th anniversary of the Collector Cars of Fort Lauderdale auction. Internet, absentee and telephone bidding options are available for those unable to attend and real-time coverage is available online at www.auctionsamerica.com. Full event details and a list of auction offerings, including additional Tony Parella Corvettes, are available online or by calling toll free 877-906-2437 (or +1 260-927-9797 outside North America).

About Auctions America by RM
Formed in July 2010, Auctions America by RM specializes in the sale of American classics, European sports cars, Detroit muscle, hot rods, customs and collectible motorcycles. To learn more about Auctions America, visit www.auctionsamerica.com, find us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter @auctionsamerica.

SOURCE Auctions America by RM