What just happened? We've seen plenty of NFTs change hands for six-figure sums, so you'd imagine bundling one with a unique, real-life Corvette Z06 would make a piece of digital artwork a lot more appealing. Chevy certainly thought so, but the car manufacturer's NFT/vehicle auction failed to attract a single bid---twice.
The non-fungible token, created by Nick Sullo (aka xsullo), depicts a lime-green Corvette Z06 screeching through a cyberpunk-style city. It's a nice picture, as NFTs go, but what separated this from other expensive digital tokens was that it came with a real version of the car in the image.
The Corvette Z06 in question would have been the only one in a Minted Green color, which the winner would "own." It was also set to feature an option code RFN that would associate it with the NFT auction, and a binary Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
The auction, held on NFT marketplace SuperRare, started on June 20 with a minimum bid of 206 Ethereum, which at the time would have been equal to around $238,960. DonorsChoose, an education charity, had been designated as the beneficiary of the sale.
The auction closed on Friday 20 without a single bid. Undeterred, SuperRare blamed the lack of bids on the "craziness of NFT.NYC," claiming users expressed disappointment at missing the Corvette auction window. As such, the event would be reopened for another 24 hours. It's unclear where these disappointed users were during the second auction; it finished without any bids, again.
Due to the craziness of https://t.co/ShvX5bq8r8, we had users' express disappointment they missed the Corvette Z06 NFT artwork auction window. We're opening the auction for 24 more hours for all collectors.https://t.co/jgRVIiVN9u pic.twitter.com/WcZQlFkr8K
--- SuperRare ' (@SuperRare) June 24, 2022
Another possible factor behind the apathy was discovered in the terms of the auction. GM said it planned to deliver the Corvette in September 2022, subject to change. The terms were later changed to specify that "the Vehicle is not currently in existence, and will not be built, fulfilled, or delivered until after the completion of the Auction."
But it seems Chevy might not be done with NFTs. In a statement to Corvette Blogger, Trevor Thompkins, a spokesperson for the car company, said, "Our first step into Web3 has been educational, and we will continue to explore ways to leverage technology to benefit our customers."
Thanks, Corvette Blogger