The precursor of all Super Sport models will be hitting the auction block soon.

The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 is an amalgamation of technological advancements that the brand has carried out through the moniker's long and rich history. Some might argue that this continuous development process began right here, with the one-off 1957 Chevrolet Corvette Super Sport Show Car. This unique creation was never offered as an official product but rather put together to show off just what the designers and engineers were capable of.

The good news is that this extremely exclusive car is now heading to the auction block, at this year's Mecum Kissimmee event. This pristine piece of Chevy history is expected to fetch an estimate of $1,750,000 to $2,000,000. That's a tall price to consider but when you look at how important this particular creation was for the brand, it's a rather hard sum to argue with.

This car is the first ever to bear the now-famous Super Sport moniker which later found its way to iconic models such as the Nova, Impala, and Chevelle. The main reason for this show car was to showcase Chevrolet's use of the Rochester Ramjet fuel-injection system. With this attached to the 4.3-liter V8 engine, a power of 283 horsepower was claimed.

The model you see here began its life out as a 1956 Corvette with Venetian Red paint, a three-speed manual gearbox, and a hydraulically operated soft top. Before being subjected to the engineers, it was a display model that was used in the General Motors Building in Detroit.

Apart from the fuel injection system, the Corvette Super Sport Show Car was given custom-mixed pearlescent white paint with a longitudinal metallic blue stripe. This was inspired by the SR-2 Corvettes that took to Sebring earlier that same year. These racecars also inspired the anodized brushed aluminum side accents that feature integrated scoops.

For a sleeker, aircraft-inspired look, the standard windscreen was swapped out for a pair of cut-down Plexiglas screens with a bespoke fiberglass cowl. At the rear, the taillights were given a chrome divider trim that fit flush into the lenses. Keeping to the theme of exclusivity, the Show Car also bears a set of US Royal XP-140 non-DOT narrow Whitewall tires with Corvette cross flags on the sidewalls. It's believed that only five of these sets exist.

Things are just as special within the cabin of the Corvette Super Sport Show Car. Here you'll find a blue-dyed leather applied to the seats, dash pads, gear shifter boot, and center console, while a custom die-stamped metal floor pan has been joined to ribbed blue leather heel pads and chrome trim. This piece also proudly bears a motif that is used on the leather door panels alongside sculpted aluminum recesses.

Other notable details include a ribbed metal tunnel cover, knurled-look steel gas, clutch, and brake pedals, a tachometer in a custom column-mounted housing that was built just for this car, and a solid-spoke, wood-rimmed steering wheel. There's also a special glovebox with cushions for a Thermos bottle and magnetized wells designed to hold a pair of included blue anodized drinking cups (arguably the coolest feature on the Show Car).

If you've got the cash and love the designs of an era obsessed with rocketships and the expanse of space, the auction runs from January 6-16, where it is listed as the main attraction

After earning a degree in media and writing, Nikesh went to work in the traditional world of print for CAR magazine. After seven years, he decided to make the jump to the digital world and join the CarBuzz team specialising in longform car reviews. Outside of this, he has spent the past two decades exploring the oddities of the car world which includes attempting to daily drive a 1974 Austin Mini, expanding his Hot Wheels collection to a level that would make any child green with envy, and obsessing over how much he can maximize the mpg figure on his 2007 Honda Fit.