Iron Man’s ’65 Corvette Lays the Marker for EV-Swapped Sting Rays

At this year’s Mecum Glendale auction, a rather unique second-gen Corvette crossed the block. Overused though the u-word might be, this ’65 indeed has a few factors that set it apart. Previously owned by Robert Downey, Jr and subsequently converted to an EV powertrain as part of his show, Downey’s Dream Cars, this is the first EV-swapped C2 (1963-67) Corvette we’ve seen at public auction. It sold for $77,000, which doesn’t sound like a lot given its electrified-by-Iron-Man background, but it does provide a little glimpse of what’s going on with the C2 market, and what might be to come.

Taking a step back, early Corvettes, particularly second-gen cars, are enjoying a moment. Values remain healthy in the soft post-pandemic market, and it’s not just original or concours-quality restorations fetching top dollar. Restomods are raking in the dough, too. Last year at Barrett-Jackson’s Scottsdale auction, a pristine ’63 Corvette Z06—one of the most sought-after early Vettes—sold for $330,000. The very next car to cross the block, an extensively tweaked ’63 split-window restomod, outdid it with a $412K sale. Rick Carey, our man on the ground, summed it up: “Different versions of the same car for different buyers, then. But the collector car market, which has long favored authentic factory-correct above all else, is now embracing custom creations with open arms.”

That openness to modified early Corvettes, along with their near-universal popularity, means that folks have begun to branch out even beyond the usual restomod builds. Like with many popular collector cars (early Porsches, first-gen Broncos, old Land Rovers) EV conversions are finding their way to the C2 Corvette. Tony Hawk shared his EV-converted Vette with Jay Leno on CNBC a few years ago, and back in 2021 car-design royalty Peter Brock and Ian Callum were reported to be working on a C2-inspired EV with four-digit horsepower. Moment Motor Co., an Austin, Texas shop that carefully restores and converts collector cars of all stripes to EV power, has worked on C2s as well.

The Corvette in question arrived at its converted state by way of actor Robert Downey, Jr and his TV show, Downey’s Dream Cars. The show updated six older vehicles, including some—like this Corvette—from Downey’s own collection in ways that modernize them and make them at least a little friendlier to the environment. Not all of them were EV-swapped—Downey decided to drop a GM-sourced V-8 that runs on biodiesel into his mom’s Mercedes-Benz, and his team modernized an ’81 El Camino by sticking a new 2.7-liter four-cylinder Chevy truck engine under its hood. The builds certainly aren’t lacking in creativity, and after completion they were all subsequently offered up as prizes in a sweepstakes to raise money for Downey’s foundation, the Footprint Coalition.

Originally a 327/300-horse car with an automatic, this Corvette now features two AC motors mounted in parallel driving the rear wheels via a gear reduction unit. At 300 lb-ft of torque, its oomph should feel similar to the 327, albeit without the V-8 soundtrack. Seven Tesla Model S battery modules, mounted in the engine bay and in the rear of the car, provide a total capacity of 37.1 kWh, which reportedly yields about 90-100 miles of range. The suspension, brakes, and steering have been updated. In an interview with Larry Chen, Rob Carlsen, caretaker for the vehicles from Downey’s Dream Cars, shared that the Corvette’s drivetrain uses the factory engine mounts and didn’t cut anything save for some minor bracket work up front, so the car could be completely reverted to ICE power with relative ease.

Cosmetically, the Vette is swathed in satin blue paint—all the vehicles from the show are satin, which evidently is a thing for Downey—and all the trim has been redone with a brushed look. The interior appears to be handsomely refinished, having used a plant-based leather substitute from a company called Evocative. It will turn heads, though like many modified creations, purists may furrow their brows at the modern look.

The person who won this Corvette from Downey’s Dream Cars offered the car up for auction with Mecum, and the hammer fell on what at first seemed to be a less-than-impressive price. We have to admit that our first reaction to the sale price was, “maybe Iron Man would’ve gotten more money with an iron block,” but that doesn’t paint the whole picture. True, at $77K, it transacted for 22 grand less than it did back in 2014, when it was a very nice, if run-of-the-mill example with single-family history and an 18-year old restoration at the time. But the $99,000 2014 sale was an anomaly—that sale price was a head-scratching 2.3 times the condition-appropriate value at the time—so the comparison doesn’t line up.

Instead, taking a look at the EV-swapped Vette’s sale relative to current values and the rest of the market begins to create some usable context. The Hagerty Price Guide currently values a #2 (excellent) condition 300-horse 327/Powerglide-equipped Corvette at $72,630, or about $4400 less than the Downey Corvette. From the pictures and video, Downey’s build appears to be attractive, if not concours quality, so assigning it a #2 or #2- rating wouldn’t be far off the mark.

Following that line of thinking, this Corvette hasn’t been utterly transformed with the outrageous horsepower or the gleaming show-car finishes that many top-flight restomods receive. Bidders appeared to recognize that, and priced it accordingly. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think that a fully decked-out, EV-swapped C2 that was detailed to the nines like an ICE-powered restomod could have fetched more, but given that this was the first EV-swapped C2 to come to public sale, the market isn’t yet mature enough to say for certain.

So, a Corvette that’s been EV-swapped and has celebrity ties fetches healthy, but not extravagant money. It’s ultimately a rational sale (isn’t it nice to be talking about those again?) that demonstrates the C2’s broad appeal as a canvas for the collector hobby’s many tastes. It also lays the first public-sale marker for EV-swapped C2 Corvettes. With companies like Everrati, Moment, and others continuing to find buyers in the EV-swapped collector-vehicle space, cars like these are not going away. Whether they gain the popularity, and the hefty prices, that restomod Vettes have achieved will be answered with time—but we wouldn’t bet against them.