Meet the die-hard Kansas State fan who bought Avery Johnson’s lavender Corvette
Rebeka Weber feels like the mayor of Manhattan whenever she drives around town in her new car.
“I get waves and cat signs everywhere I go,” she said. “It’s so much fun.”
Weber’s popularity spiked in the Little Apple, and beyond, earlier this spring when she purchased one of the most recognizable vehicles in the state -- a one-of-a-kind lavender 2022 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray that previously belonged to Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson.
“The only downside is when I get out of the car,” Weber said. “That’s when everyone gets disappointed. They think it’s still Avery’s car. I have to tell them sorry.”
By now, you probably know the story of how Johnson famously ended up with this flashy sports car. But here’s a quick refresher: Long McArthur Luxury, a Salina dealership, gifted Johnson the Corvette on a lease last summer as part of a NIL deal, and it went viral in college football circles.
Countless college athletes across the Sunflower State get access to cars via NIL deals. But this was different. Only Johnson was driving around in a lavender Corvette — a dream car for any K-State fan.
The car stood out in a crowd, and everyone associated it with Johnson.
But the junior quarterback recently traded in his hot rod for a black Mercedes AMG GT four-door coupe with a retail price that exceeds $100,000.
“This is perfect,” Johnson said in a video showcasing his new ride.
Quarterback Corvette for sale
The race was on for a new owner to purchase the lavender Corvette.
Long McArthur didn’t waste any time putting it up for sale.
Weber, a life-long Kansas State fan who works as an OB-GYN doctor in Manhattan, jumped at an opportunity to test drive the vehicle.
Her husband thought the car was ugly when it went viral last summer, but Weber was smitten. She was raised by a family of K-State fans who have been season-ticket holders since Bill Snyder’s first year as head football coach back in 1989. She got her undergraduate degree from K-State and now has her own club-level seats. She never misses a home game.
In her mind, this was the ultimate “midlife crisis car,” and a big upgrade over the Pontiac Firebird she drove as a college student.
So she acted fast when she came across a Facebook ad for the Corvette last month. A price tag of $69,164 didn’t scare her away.
It just so happened that she was in Salina when she found the advertisement online. She decided to swing by the dealership to check out the car.
Buying an expensive sports car on a whim isn’t something she envisioned doing that weekend. But she figured someone else would buy it if she didn’t act immediately. It was now or never. So she pulled the trigger.
“My husband said, ‘I thought it was hideous when Avery owned it, and now it’s in my driveway,’” Weber said with a laugh. “But I think it’s really cool.”
A car with its own schedule
In some ways, the lavender Corvette is the newest member of Weber’s family.
She jokes that the car has its own schedule, and it can feel busier than her own. One local school has asked to raffle off rides in it at an upcoming fundraiser. A local company has asked to photograph it to help promote an upcoming sale. It also won a prize at a recent car show in Claflin.
When a K-State sports reporter asked to see the lavender Corvette up close outside of Bill Snyder Family Stadium, Weber didn’t blink.
“Do you,” she asked, “want to drive it?”
Weber is not afraid to share her new car with the world. After we met for an interview she said at least 25 people have driven the Corvette since she purchased it.
She suggested I get behind the wheel, drive to the nearest highway and put the pedal to metal. It was a tempting offer, but I settled for one quick lap around the blacktop with a top speed of maybe 50 mph after I revved the engine for a quick second.
The car is in excellent condition. Weber reported that there are only 21,000 miles on its speedometer, and there are no visible dings or scratches to the exterior.
“Avery took fantastic care of it,” she said.
Here’s one thing you might not know about the Corvette. It was originally painted blue, and you can still see that color when you open either car door. The lavender is an exterior wrap. That suits Weber, because even though she has a medical degree from Kansas she likes to cover that up and cheer only for K-State.
The inside feels like a race car, as you might expect. There are two seats, but very little room for anything else. There were so many screens, displays and buttons around the steering wheel that I needed instructions on how to shift gears from park to reverse and then into drive.
Even exiting the car was not self-explanatory. I learned that you press a button to open the doors instead of pulling on a handle.
Everything about the car felt futuristic.
That made for a smooth ride with an engine that roared even at low speeds in a parking lot.
Weber says she has cranked the Corvette up to 110 mph, but she guesses that friends and/or Johnson pushed it to faster speeds.
Living the lavender lifestyle
The car’s presence in the parking lot did not go unnoticed. A handful of motorists drove by the Corvette nice and slow to get a good look at it. A prominent member of the K-State football team also stopped by.
Director of K-State football recruiting Taylor Braet, who owns a purple jeep, spent five minutes chatting with Weber about her new ride.
“This is definitely the fastest purple automobile in the state,” Braet said, “if not the country.”
Braet and Weber are friends.
Weber knows many families throughout the Manhattan area because she delivers babies for a living. Some have joked that the car went from a QB to an OB, or from a pass-thrower to a baby-catcher.
But she is also a die-hard fan of the Wildcats. Braet was thrilled when she made this purchase.
“You couldn’t find a better person to buy this,” Braet said. “She’s all about the Cats. She really cares about this place. It’s awesome to see someone that loves K-State and loves this car get to drive it.”
Weber considers herself lucky to own this kind of car. So she plans to take excellent care of it.
Her primary vehicle is a Range Rover SUV. That is what she drives to work. The Corvette only comes out for special occasions, like game days or car shows or interviews. She likes to show it off, but it will be locked in her garage when the weather turns cold in order to keep it in mint condition.
Johnson made the car famous.
Weber wants to make sure it stays in the K-State family for years to come.
This story was originally published June 4, 2025 at 6:00 AM with the headline "Meet the die-hard Kansas State fan who bought Avery Johnson’s lavender Corvette."