There are a few Corvettes that rightfully deserve their place at the very top of the pecking order and this 1957 Corvette is one of them. Most importantly it's a factory fuel injected car which by itself would make it the star of any show but add in the gorgeous black-over-red color combination a 4-speed transmission and a high-quality restoration that's already won a bunch of big awards and you have a car that even at this price could be considered a smart investment.Fully restored seven years ago this gorgeous fuelie offers what is arguably the most attractive of the early solid axle styling with single headlights just enough chrome and a gently rounded tail that has exactly the right look for America in the late 1950s. The Tuxedo Black finish is quite nice not perfect but exactly what Corvette judges look for. Gaps are even all around the fiberglass underneath is in excellent shape and even when you're working with fiberglass it's critical to get it super straight if you're going with black. Fortunately it appears that this car has always been special to someone which is just as it should be with a unique find like this. The side cove could be a second color in 1957 and the combination of the fuel-injected engine 4-speed and a minimum of options strongly suggests that it was built for combat. Of course none of that really matters today because the restoration is of such high quality that all signs of stress have been completely and professionally erased.The bright red interior was surely high style in 1957 regardless of what you were going to do with the car. Handsome patterned upholstery stays cool and looks great and aside from some minor wear on the driver's seat cushion it's extremely crisp inside. The big three-spoke steering wheel is color-matched to the rest of the interior and recalls the great sports cars of Europe which was entirely intentional on Chevy's part. You got a full array of gauges along the center of the dash but this one came sans radio heater and defroster preferring instead to stick to just the parts that make it go faster. That's also true with the top which is a removable hardtop only so there's no folding soft top to add weight and slow things down. Like I said this car was purpose-built for a reason and it's just as cool today as it was in 1957.For numbers junkies this fuelie checks out. The engine is the original 283 cubic inch V8 and carries a 3731548 casting number and an 'EL' suffix on the stamping pad denoting a manual transmission fuel-injected 283 with 283 horsepower. Only 756 283/283 '57 Corvettes were built making this a very rare piece no matter how you slice it. And if that's not enough all the ancillary parts check out too including the fuel injection unit itself the distributor generator and starter. It was rebuilt to stock specs and runs superbly so you can forget all those rumors of these units being troublesome. The 4-speed was new for 1957 and this appears to be the original transmission for the car and it feeds the stock rear end and they highlight a chassis that was obviously detailed for show. A correct dual exhaust system cackles and barks like you'd expect and it sits exactly right on 6.70-15 wide whites with hubcaps and spinners just as it was in 1957.Fully documented including restoration receipts photos and other important information this is a high-quality Corvette that passes all the tough tests. We might venture to suggest that even at this price it represents a very smart buy for the right collector. Call today!