One-off 1990 Corvette ZR-1 Spyder saved from sinkhole; video shows extraction

You'll have to excuse the National Corvette Museum's timing -- museum staff are excited to report that a one-off 1990 Corvette ZR-1 Spyder has just been pulled from the sinkhole that opened up beneath the show floor in February, and they want you to know that this isn't some sort of cruel April 1 hoax. Don't believe us? Just watch the video below

There hasn't been much headline-making news out of the Corvette museum since the 1 millionth Corvette built was saved from the sarlacc pit in early March, bringing the number of cars returned to ground level to five. But that doesn't mean crews have been slacking off: The remaining three cars, including the '90 ZR-1 Spyder, needed to be dug up before they could be pulled out. Plus, the ground beneath the museum's Skydome structure -- the hall where the eight damaged Corvettes were originally displayed -- needed to be stabilzied to prevent further cave-ins.

Two Corvettes -- the 1.5 millionth Corvette and a Mallett Hammer Z06 -- remain covered by debris; their conditions are unknown. Parts of the 1.5 millionth Vette are visible, but a large boulder and a concrete slab are pinning it down. Our guess? It's going to take a lot of fiberglass resin to get it back in one piece.

National Corvette Museum
It's tough to say if any of the ZR-1 Spyder's features, like its custom billet wheels, can be saved.

The ZR-1 Spyder is reportedly in worse shape than the battered PPG Pace Car, but its interesting history makes it worth restoring. Like the 2009 ZR1 "Blue Devil," the 1990 ZR-1 Spyder was on loan to the museum from General Motors; it was a one-off concept built using a stock ZR-1 that lost its top, got a chopped windshield and had its seats lowered, among other subtle styling touches. It debuted in 1991 with silver paint and an eye-scorching yellow interior; it now wears black paint and sports more subtle red upholstery.

You'll be able to view the cars at the Bowling Green, Ky., museum before they're restored by General Motors, but you might have to wait in line to do so -- as Jalopnik reports, the wrecked Vettes are proving to be a tourist attraction in their own right.

By Graham Kozak