By JIM PARKER
The Post and Courier
The trip from Lynchburg, Va., was eight hours, but that didn’t stop Claudine Langhorne and Sereina Paynter from driving down in a 2001 Corvette.
“She wanted to come,” said Paynter, of car owner and fellow Corvette Club member Langhorne, who had never visited the Charleston area before.
The pair had plenty of company April 21. Their signature Chevrolet sports car was among 210 models at the fifth Vettes Doin’ Charleston all-Corvette show at Tanger Outlets.
So what’s the attraction with ’Vettes? “They are fast,” Langhorne said.
Coastal Carolina Corvette Club launched the North Charleston-based show in 2008, and it has grown steadily since then.
Participants drove in from 10 states. One of the larger out-of-state contingents was the Skyway Corvette Club of Sarasota, Fla.
“We were happy with the turnout,” said Chuck Sheldon, the club’s vice president of membership.
About the only numbers that were down were pre-1962 editions, possibly due to the chance of inclement weather.
More than making up for it were everything from classic Stingrays to late model Z06s. Many of the ’80s and’90s Vettes were refurbished with beefier engines and paint jobs.
Bob Barron, vice-president of the Myrtle Beach Corvette Club, was one of a number of showgoers from the Grand Strand.
“We’ve enjoyed (the show). It’s a great city,” he said.
Jeanette Siebert arrived from the Crossflags Corvette Club in Spartanburg in a 2002 model.
She attended the show last year, too. “It’s real nice, and the charities they support.” Proceeds this year benefit the National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green, Ky.
For more information on the show or club, visit www.4cccc.org.
Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.