The 'Purple People Eater' and 3 other stunning Corvettes are up for sale in Arizona

Four exquisite first-generation Corvettes, including the "Purple People Eater" race car and four VIN #001 cars, will cross the block at muscle car powerhouse Barrett-Jackson's annual auction in Scottsdale, AZ this month.

The "Purple People Eater" won a national sports car championship in 1959, and was named for a 1958 number one single that told the tale of a one-eyed monster come to earth to join a rock-and-roll band.

The name would later be used for the 1970's Minnesota Vikings defensive line.

Racing driver Jim Jeffords drove his Purple People Eater Corvettes, sponsored by a Chicago car dealership, to an incredible 29 victories in 42 races over the 1958 and 1959 seasons, never finishing anywhere worse than second place.

The car spent a decade forgotten in the corner of a restoration shop as a paint mixing table, and was restored from dilapidated condition once owners Ken Heckert and Chip Miller discovered its racing heritage. It has been fitted with the appropriate - though limited - racing technology of the era.

The auction will also feature three serial number 001 cars: the first vehicles to roll off the Chevy production line during the 1955, 1956, and 1957 model years.

The Corvettes, which are to be sold as a packaged lot, are excellent representations of a decade of chrome, tail fins, and American economic prosperity.

Also indicative of the era, the cars do not come with seat belts: there were no belts offered on the 1955 model, and they were a dealer-installed option in 1956 and 1957, according to Chevrolet fan site SuperChevy.

For the true Corvette enthusiast, the cars demonstrate three years of transformation for the first-generation, pre-Stingray 'Vette, highlighted by the 1956 introduction of the famous "coves," or sunken fenders, usually painted a contrasting color.