Description: In 1990, automotive designer Larry Shinoda partnered with Jim Williams and Rick Mears to produce a special aftermarket body kit for fourth-generation Corvettes. In the 1960s, Shinoda worked for both General Motors and Ford Motor Company and was instrumental in the design of the 1963 Corvette Sting Ray Coupe and Ford Mustang Boss 302. During the 1989 Long Beach Grand Prix weekend, Shinoda showed Mears a drawing of his new Corvette design and Mears expressed interest in purchasing the car. After some conversation, Mears decided to lend his name, and the project became the Rick Mears Special Edition Corvette ZR1. The Shinoda-designed 11-piece body kit offered a sleeker look was aerodynamically superior to the standard Corvette. 

Jim Williams Motor Sports produced seven Rick Mears Special Edition ZR1 Corvettes. Team Penske sponsor Marlboro offered three cars painted in "Marlboro Red" as part of a give-away promotional program, and Roger Penske purchased the remaining four Mears Edition Corvettes. Penske gifted this Charcoal Metallic Gray version to Danny Sullivan, who owned the car for 12 years.