Regular Production Option (RPO) L89 was a standard option on the 1967 Corvette that turned it into the ultimate C2 road car. It used the competition cylinder heads from the L88 racecar and combined them with the L71 427 in³ engine. This provided around 475 hp which was only eclipsed by the race cars of the period.

Included with RPO L89 was the L71 427/435 HP Tri-Power engine. In standard spec, it offered 450 bhp, but the RPO L89 added $389.65 to the price and raised power by 25 bhp. Furthermore the aluminum heads saved considerable weight, so much so the engine was lighter than the cast-iron 327.

Only 19 Corvettes in 1967 were ordered with the L89 option.

Ed Cole Car

At their Bloomington Gold Corvette Auction, Mecum Auction, Inc. offered this Goodwood Green L89 and it reached a top bid of $550,000 USD. It was personally ordered by Ed Cole for Mr. R.H. Pohl. Mecum describe the car:

“Pohl’s Corvette was generously outfitted by Cole for the ultimate driving experience, with finned wheels, F41 suspension and a 3.55 Positraction rear end. That gear ratio would enable a top speed of 142 mph, a figure backed up by Pohl, who reported having seen 135-140 on the speedometer.

A February, 1986 Auto Week story described the car as then belonging to Phillipsburg, NJ Ford dealer Mark Kenyon. It was subsequently offered on consignment by a dealer in Pompano Beach, FL, from whom it was seized along with the rest of the inventory by the federal government in a law case. It was later recovered from a government asset sale, and then restored in 1996 by D&M Corvette in Downer’s Grove, IL.”