For sale is a ready to race 2011 NASCAR race car driven by Jeff Gordon

The 2011 Chevrolet Impala is unlikely to attract the attention of collectors unless it is the NASCAR Cup Series race car driven by four-time champion Jeff Gordon.

Based in Miami Speedart Motorsports is selling the 678 Hendrick Motorsports chassis that Gordon drove in the 2011 Cup Series (then known as Sprint Cup) season. Speedart says it was recently restored to race-ready condition and can be yours for an asking price of $165,000.

The 2011 cars were built to the fifth generation NASCAR Cup Series design that debuted in the 2008 season and was known as the Car of Tomorrow. This design was replaced after the 2012 season by the sixth generation Cup Series chassis, which in turn was replaced by the “Next Gen” car. for the 2022 season.

​​​​​​​Although it is labeled as an Impala and borrows some styling elements from the Impala does not exist now In modern sedan guise, the Cup series car features a custom tube-frame chassis and rear-wheel drive instead of the Impala’s front-wheel drive layout. The carbureted 5.8-liter pushrod V-8 generates approximately 850 hp. and 490 lb-ft of torque and is mated to a 4-speed manual transmission.

A listed 0-60 mph time of 3.3 seconds is slower than some modern supercars, but also a top speed of 200 mph. And this car was designed to go continuously at that speed around a NASCAR oval.

Gordon drove Chassis 678 in three races, starting with the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, where he qualified eighth and finished second. The Impala also raced in the Pure Michigan 400 at Michigan International Speedway, where Gordon placed ninth and finished sixth. The car’s final race, the Geico 400 at Chicagoland Speedway, was also its worst finish. Gordon qualified 23rd and finished 24th.

The 2011 Chevrolet Impala NASCAR Cup car driven by Jeff Gordon (Photo by Speedart Motorsports)

The car was subsequently sold privately to Hendrick Motorsports. According to the seller, it was recently restored by current NASCAR Cup Series team Rick Ware Racing, adding that it is currently set up for road course track competition.

Gordon has retired from full-time racing after the 2015 season. He is currently the vice president of Hendrick Motorsports, but still races occasionally. He won the 2017 Rolex 24 at Daytona driving a Cadillac DPi-VR prototype, and returned to Indianapolis last month for the Porsche Carrera Cup race.