Preserved pace cars aren’t limited to Corvettes and Mustangs. This 1995 Chevy Monte Carlo is a special edition Brickyard 400 Pace Car, one of 400 such examples created in homage to the NASCAR race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1994. These were basically a cosmetic dress-up kit but the low production volume has kept them somewhat interesting. This example is claimed to be owned by a dealership that simply kept it on display with next to no miles. Find it here on craigslist for $19,500, and go here if the ad disappears. Thanks to Barn Finds reader Pat L. for the find.
While I will never be able to wrap my head around paying more money for what amounts to some extra stickers, I can understand why collectors may think these are worth preserving. However, as history has shown us again and again, the most valuable collector cars are the ones produced in excruciatingly short supply or that offer a driving experience that immediately puts it into the gearhead hall of fame. While this may be a Z34-trim Monte Carlo, it falls short in both regards. But if you’ve always wanted Pace Car from the ’94 Brickyard, this is likely the best one available.
As you would expect, the interior remains in mint condition with the Brickyard-embroidered leather seats still showing as new. Barrett-Jackson sold one of these for just under $15,000 with 2,300 original miles, so perhaps the seller’s asking price is reasonable; however, I still believe you have to be a huge fan of this particular race (or NASCAR in general) to justify $20K for a Monte Carlo that’s not entirely different from the one you could buy in any Chevy showroom. Still, they wouldn’t keep making Pace Cars if there wasn’t demand for them, but I do wonder if they will become a thing of the past once the Baby Boomer generation moves on.
The seller notes: “Vehicle was properly maintained by Chevrolet and runs / drives perfect . Has all original paperwork including the MSO from Chevrolet. Front Monte Carlo window decal still in box in trunk.” If there was a better chance that this generation of the Monte Carlo was set to appreciate, I might give it more of a thumbs up that it’s worth the investment. But given even the high-end trims of the mid-90s Monte failed to set enthusiasts’ hearts on fire, I wonder if this preserved pace car will see close to the asking price. What do you think?
This version of the Monte Carlo to me was, in today’s lingo “meh”! As stated in the write up: Maybe a DIEHARD race fan would pony up for it, but otherwise, it really doesn’t light my fire. :-)
The Pace cars never really impressed me, just a car with graphics on it.
An old fellow at work had the navy blue Jeff Gordon edition with all of the tape stripes as his daily driver. Not for the subdued personality.
I think I’d rather have a monte cristo sandwich than this sub. But hey, to each they own.
Monte Cristo from Cheddars is awesome. I actually lol at your post. Made me hungry as well.
400 miles? Now that was a good investment plan! Put that right next to the buggy whip collection.
What do you think this cost new? Maybe $25k in 1995 dollars? Not a good investment for whoever bought it as an investment. And that’s to say nothing of paying for 20+ years of taxes, insurance, registration, upkeep, etc., all without ever getting to drive it. Kind of bums me out….A monte cristo sandwich would cheer me right back up though ;)
Closest I could find was a Motor Trend article testing a fully loaded Z34. That car had an MSRP of just over $20k.
So using that as a working number, if you put that in a mutual fund in 1995, and it averaged 10% interest, you’d have about $163,000 in the bank now.
I bought a ’96 Monte for the kids beater in ’06 from Florida with 85k miles on it, just turned 200k. Good car, easy to work on.
Another kind of car where of the 400, probably 350 of them were locked away as “future collectibles.” Everybody saved them. If you like these cars (I loved my ’01) buy it and drive it.
my dad and dad in law had black 95s coincidently. Same taste i guess but they were just cars and this is just a used car that really looks dated to me.
I find the saying, “The market has yet to catch up with the asking price.” very applicable here.
Well said Chuck.
This is basically a brand new car! You can’t get a car anywhere equal to it for less money! I say if I could I would buy it just for a daily driver! If I couldn’t get over the graphics a hair dryer and a plastic scraper would cure that!
Since the ’94 Brickyard was the first running of that race, I could see where a few people might think these could become collector’s items.
Nope.
There is a pic of the window sticker in the CL ad, and it shows that the total price, when new was $22,186….would be extremely lucky to break even on it, today.
Anyone remember the Lumina Z34? I thought they were a much nicer looking ride than these MC’s, and (at least here on the East Coast) you cannot find a Lumina Z34 anywhere.
I think the stickers alone would get the hot chicks running to ya! think about it!
FYI this is my vehicle and it’s time to move on to another toy …had a great time with it at Goodguys and other shows.
$16500 firm
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