First two Corvettes pulled from Kentuky sinkhole

The recovery of eight classic cars swallowed by a huge sinkhole has begun at the National Corvette Museum in Kentucky.

The first car was pulled out of the giant hole Monday by a crane at the Bowling Green museum.

Cheers went up when the engine of the 2009 Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 Blue Devil was cranked up and the prize vehicle was driven a few feet.

Museum Katie Frassinelli says workers hope to recover a second vehicle — a 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette — later Monday.

About 100 people watched the recovery work.

Frassinelli says workers hope to recover a third car--a 1962 black Corvette--on Tuesday. Others won't be pulled out until workers further stabilize the sinkhole. That could take three weeks.

Chevrolet will oversee restoration of the cars at a Michigan plant.

[UPDATE: 2:47PM]

Workers have pulled up the second Vette, a 1993 Ruby Red 40th Anniversary Corvette. According to Chevrolet spokesman Monte Doran, the second car has more extensive damage, and body panels will need replacing. See the updated gallery for details.