Autographed Earnhardt Signature Series Monte Carlo Is Rare 2000s Gem

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, NASCAR was arguably at its peak in terms of popularity among general audiences. Chevrolet exploited the "win on Sunday, sell on Monday" axiom and created the Monte Carlo SS Dale Earnhardt Signature Series with styling inspiration from the race car. This one has come up for sale on Classic Cars with Earnhardt autographs under the trunk lid.

This 2002 Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS has the signatures of Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the passenger-side dashboard. Popping the trunk reveals the autographs of team owner Richard Childress, crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine, crew chiefs Andy Petree, team gas man Chocolate Myers, and Danny Lawrence, who was an engine tuner and pit crew member. Childress also signed the engine cover.

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Beyond the signatures, the Monte Carlo SS is a one-owner vehicle with 29,923 miles on the odometer. Other than a new battery, it's all original. An included certificate of authenticity identifies the car as the 1,935th unit of a 3,333-example production run.

The owner was a Chevrolet dealer employee when purchasing the Monte Carlo SS and collected a binder full of documentation about the car. The paperwork includes items that a normal buyer wouldn't usually have access to. There are two window stickers, a certificate of authenticity,  the customer letter, build sheet, trunk sheet, parts content sticker, all of the assembly plant documentation, and more.

Unfortunately, even by the standards of the early 2000s, the 2002 Monte Carlo SS wasn't much of a performance car. Power comes from a supercharged 3.8-liter V6 making 200 (149 kilowatts) and 225 pound-feet (305 Newton-meters) of torque. The only gearbox choice was a four-speed automatic sending the power to the front wheels.

Later years of this generation of the Monte Carlo SS received an upgraded version of this powerplant making 240 hp (179 kW) and 280 lb-ft (380 Nm). For the 2006 and 2007 model years, Chevy offered a transverse-mounted 5.3-liter V8 that made 303 hp (226 kW) and 323 lb-ft (438 Nm).

This 2002 Monte Carlo SS Dale Earnhardt Signature Series is for sale in Apex, North Carolina. The seller is asking $21,833.