It never fails to fascinate me when the younger generation falls in love with the iconic 71-year-old Corvette, even more so when they strive to own one in their teens. Perhaps some of this fascination is because I was a “late bloomer,” waiting until 31 to consummate my Corvette addiction with my first brand-new purchase.
CorvSport recently found and featured a 19-year-old who bought a brand new C8, and at the time, he was believed to be the youngest C8 owner in the country. That was until we stumbled upon Mike Wimmer on a popular Corvette Facebook page. When I confirmed his birthday, I had to do a double take and check the math. This remarkably talented engineer, who credits an iPad at 18 months old for igniting his fascination for technology, was born on March 11th, 2009. As the old saying goes, I have underwear older than him!
Mike turns 15 in March of this year!
Mike and his 70th Anniversary Corvette
What makes Mike so special (besides his taste in vehicles)?
- Mike was a child engineer, famous for graduating from high school and college at the same time, at the age of 12!
- At 14, Mike is already the CEO of two companies, Next Era Innovation and Reflect Social.
- Mike started to code at only 5 years old and founded Next Era Innovation at 7.
- One of Mike’s favorite projects was an education app connected to a physical robot, which helped children interactively learn about the US presidents.
- Mike is also well versed in the “Internet of Things” (IoT), and his second company, Reflect Social, develops software that easily interacts with IoT devices.
- In 2019, Mike was the first minor (kid) ever to be awarded a contract position by the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).
- Mike sees the next era in history beginning now with major advancements in the symbiosis between humans and AI robots.
- Read Mike’s full bio here.
Yikes, this was Mike from just two years ago (full video below).
Mike received a warm welcome on social media.
Enjoy your new Corvette, Mike, and remember to keep the shiny side up and save the wave!
Do you find Mike’s story inspiring? Do you think he’ll be able to keep his foot out of it long enough to transfer that learner’s permit into a permanent license? We have the fastest-growing Corvette community on our Facebook page, with over 172,000 followers (53,000 since January 2023!). Come join other hardcore enthusiasts and say hello, Douglas B.
