The Villages - June 2019 - 58

Behind the Wheel

Bi l l

a n d

P e g

B e t o u r n e

P r oP e r ly Vetted
' Vette Fans
story By Mark aNDErsoN | photos By roB WilkErsoN

B

ill Betourne's love for the Chevrolet Corvette runs
deep. Bill and his wife, Peg, own not only a 2001
Corvette Z06, but also a custom golf car
modeled to look like a classic, torch red 'Vette.
Ever since Bill can remember, the car
has held a special place in his heart, even
before he ever owned one.
"I remember the first time I saw one,"
Bill said. "I was 12 or 13 and I never
really paid any attention to Corvettes
much before then, other than I knew
they were different. I was delivering
papers at the time and I just remember
coming around the corner and there was
this silver 1963 'Vette and it was brand new
- the guy had just bought it. I thought, 'Boy,
that thing really looks neat.' I kind of always had this
niche in my mind that that is a neat-looking car."
Though he did not purchase a Corvette until later in life,
Bill did have another classic car when he was younger - a
1970 Dodge Dart Swinger GT.
He recalls an encounter he had with a Corvette as a
teenager that helped spark his love for the car.

58

JUNE 2019

"I had my Dart for maybe a year and I came up to
a streetlight and there was a Corvette pulled up next
to me - I saw it out of the side of my eye,"
Bill said. "(I thought), 'I'm going to blow
this guy off the line.' He caught on to
what I was doing and hammered it. I
was going at a pretty good clip, and
he hit second or third gear and he
went by me like a lightning bolt. I
thought my car quit - I'm waiting
for the gauge lights to come on. He
went by me so fast. So I was always
impressed with that incredible power.
It went by me like I was standing still."
Eventually Bill was able to finally
purchase his own Corvette - his current
2001 Corvette Z06. Upon moving to The Villages,
the Betournes decided to take their love of Corvettes even
further by customizing their golf car and turning it into a
mini-'Vette.
The Villages - June 2019

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