History of the Corvette Part 4: From Brains to Braun
When the time finally came to replace the third-generation Corvette, Chevy engineers put every bit of technology into the 1984 ‘Vette. Everything from a new type of plastic on the body panels, to the first TPI fuel injection, to a digital speedometer went into building GM’s next supercar. In fact, they put so much effort into the 1984 model year Corvette, they forgot to release a 1983 model.
That’s right, the awesomeness of the C4 Corvette was so intense the factory actually had to take time off to get ready. Chevy left no part unturned in the new car, which meant no part of the assembly plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky, could be left unchanged. Granted, they did manage to get 44 cars assembled for testing, but none were ever sold. Only one of the cars remains today, at the Corvette Museum in Bowling Green.
Although the engine had virtually the same power as the previous model (200 vs. 205 h.p., respectively) the thrill factor had increased dramatically in other ways. In 1985, Road & Track magazine had named it “America’s fastest production car,” and it tied with the Porsche for best roadholding (as per a skidpad test). When it wasn’t racking up awards, it was racking up firsts for GM’s “cool stuff department.” By the end of the 80’s, it had one of the first all-digital dashboards, a revolutionary automatic/overdrive transmission attached to each manual transmission, and one of the first electronic air conditioning systems. And that was just the beginning.
One of those revolutionary firsts was the first (and so far only) time that an outside firm was allowed to tinker with the Corvette before it reached buyers. For the 1987 model year, a Connecticut-based specialty car manufacturer called Callaway was given the task of creating a higher-performance car for more demanding customers. They accomplished this by adding twin turbos to the existing 5.7 litre engine, bringing the total horsepower to 345, and eventually increasing that to 450 horses. Each car came with twin hood scoops and optional custom 5-spoke wheels. Since the added cost was so great, very few were sold. The partnership between GM and Callaway lasted until Chevy had perfected the LT-1 reverse flow engine and released it in 1992.
In the meantime, General Motors acquired Lotus, the British consulting and performance car firm. Soon afterwards, the Corvette development team approached the little English company with a goal: to build the world’s fastest production car. What resulted was the ZR-1 performance package. The centrepiece was an all-new engine with four overhead camshafts pushing 375 horsepower. The engine was assembled by Mercury Marine in Oklahoma, and shipped to the Bowling Green assembly plant. In addition to all that power, Lotus toyed with the steering and suspension, while Chevy added 11″ wide rear tires to keep the car shiny side up. The ZR-1 became one of the most legendary and sought after new car of the 90’s. So much so that the namesake was resurrected in 2008 when Chevrolet built the most powerful Corvette ever.
If there’s one thing that the 4th generation was notable for-other than the innovative technology-was all the special editions. In 1986, the Corvette was named as the official pace car of the Indianapolis 500, for which GM built the first Corvette Convertible in eleven years. All of the 1986 convertibles were sold as pace cars.
In 1988, the Corvette brand’s 35th anniversary was celebrated with a limited edition run of white hardtops with black roofs. Five years later, the 40th anniversary was celebrated with a limited edition in Ruby Red with matching interior. In 1995, the Corvette was again named the Indy 500 pace car, and 527 convertibles were built as replicas.
In 1996, as the C4 was about to be replaced by the next generation, Chevy produced two special models of the Corvette-the Grand Sport, and the Collector’s Edition. The Grand Sport was outfitted with the biggest motor they had-the 330 horse LT4, with an exclusive white-on-blue paint scheme and black 5-spoke alloy wheels. The 1996 collector’s edition, on the other hand, was released in the tradition of the 1982 collector’s edition Corvette. It featured a similar silver paint scheme and special trim.
Although the fourth generation didn’t sell as well as the third generation, the C4 was nonetheless an important step in the Corvette’s history. It was a launching pad for many high-performance technologies such as traction control and the 6-speed manual transmission introduced in later models. It was also a launch pad for technologies that made it into other GM models, such as electronic air conditioning and electronic anti-theft devices. When the C4 had finally reached retirement age, it had blown off the Corvette’s reputation as a compact muscle car and cemented a new reputation as a world-class wondercar.
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