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C4 The Forth Generation
National Corvette Museum is a not-for-profit foundation with a mission of celebrating the invention of the Corvette;
preserving its past, present and future; and educating the public about Corvette.
The Corvette's dominance of Showroom Stock competition spawned a marque-specific race series
![]() This new Corvette was a complete new car, unlike the C3 that used the C2 chassis. The wheel base was 96.2 inches down from the 98 inches of the C2 & C3. All of the suspension components were constructed of cast aluminum. The interior was enlarged and the instrument panel was a digital display that gave the driver the feeling of being in a spaceship. The T-Tops of the past were gone and the one piece removal roof panel was introduced. The hood was now a large clam shell style hood that still opened back to front but it exposed not only the engine bay, but also the complete front suspension. The headlights were still the flip up style, but they were no longer the conventional round light but were a single square unit.
The '84 did draw criticism from some that said the ride was to stiff the engine was under powered and they did not like the
digital graphics display for the instruments. Also the new C4 generation Corvette proved itself on the race track in the
Showroom stock racing. More on the history of Corvette's and racing later. The general public approved of the new Corvette
as indicated by the production numbers a total of 53,877 rolled off the assembly line in Bowling Green, which more than doubled
that of the 1982.
Although the introduction of the '84 Corvette was well received the boys at GM decided they could improve on what they had
for the 1985 model.
With the introduction of the 1986 Corvette the convertible returned. This year also marked a return to the Brickyard as a
bright yellow Corvette again paced the Indy 500 for the second time in Corvette history. All Corvette convertibles produced in
1986 were Indy Pace Car replicas. They all came with the decal package in the car as a dealer install item if the customer
requested it. The new Bosch antilock brakes were used for the first time and also this was the first year for the third brake
light to be incorporated into the rear fascia. The new Vehicle Anti theft System (VATS) was introduced and it required a special
key for the ignition that had a coded chip on it. The digital display was angled for a better daytime viewing. Even with the
introduction of a convertible in 1986 production numbers were down again from the previous year, with a total of 35,109
produced.
Horsepower increase in 1987 from 230 up to 240 thanks to new hydraulic roller lifters. There were two additional options
offered and they were a new performance suspension system option Z-52. The overdrive Engaged light was relocated to the
center of the tachometer for easier viewing. The Callaway twin-turbo became an option. This was not a factory installed
option rather it was ordered trough an authorized Chevrolet dealer and the car would be assembled in Bowling Green and then
shipped to Callaway Engineering in Connecticut for the modification. Even thought this option was right at $20,000 there
were still 188 orders, bringing the price to $47,994.00 for just the base car. With a few more options added on, it could be
pushing $50,000.00. Other then these items the car remained the same as the '86 model. Production fell again this year to
just 30,632. Coupes made up 20,007 and convertibles the remaining number of 10,625 of which 27,794 were coupes and 7,315
were convertibles.
The 1988 model year marked the 35th Anniversary for Corvette and a special edition done in a two tone paint with the body
painted white and the roof bow done in black.
Also in 1988 GM produced 56 street-legal Corvette's for the SCCA Corvette Challenge series. Although
I will cover this more in depth in my racing section I thought this was something that needs to be mentioned in the general
history section. I will added this, the reason for this special series was , because the all new C4 was dominating in the
SCCA street production class that they were asked to leave so hence the all new Corvette only class. For all of you out there
that happen to follow Corvette Racing it reminds me of the GT1 class in the ALMS series not too long ago. But that is for
another day. Production number continued to fall with a total of only 22,789 being produced and the coupe accounted for
15,382 and the convertible was at 7,407. With the demise of the Doug Nash
4+3 manual transmission a new 6-speed transmission was introduced in the 1989 model. This new transmission incorporated a
computer aided gear selection (CAGS) and what this did if you were shifting from first gear to second and were below a certain
RPM range, the transmission would force you into forth gear. This was done for fuel economy. A few other changes that year was
the optional hardtop for the convertible models and the FX3 selective ride control for cars that had the optional Z51 suspension
package. The 16x8.5 wheel introduced in the '88 model year was discontinued and the 17x9.5 Z51 and Z52 option of 1988 became
the standard wheel in '89. Low pressure sensors for the tires were available for the 1989 model year. The 1989 model year
marked an end to the specialty built Corvette Challenge cars. Total production increased slightly over the past year with a
total of 26,412 cars built and of these 16,663 were coupes and 9,749 convertibles.
So on to the 1990 model year and the big news for this year was the introduction of the ZR-1 coupe known as the
"King-of-the-Hill".
Also in 1990 the Corvette received a new dash with both analog and some digital gauges, air bags, a better sound system and
better ventilation. The front end was redesigned in 1991 that had wraparound fog-lights, new wheels, the rear fascia was redesigned to look much
like the 1990 ZR-1 rear with the squared off taillights. The price for the ZR-1 increased to just over $64,000. Even though
the base Corvette was similar to the 1990 ZR1, the '91 ZR-1 received wider body panels to allow for the eleven inch wheels and
the third brake light remained on top of the coupe were on the base model it was located in the rear fascia. A power wire was
added for 12 volt devices such as a cell phone. The power delay was added that would allow the radio to continue to play as
well as supply power to the windows after the ignition was turned off. This power lasted for fifteen minutes or until the
driver's door was opened. The "Low Oil" warning was displayed on the driver's information center if the newly added sensor in
the oil pan sensed the oil was low. Production totals were 20,639 with 14,967 being coupes and 5,672 convertibles. The exterior of the 1992 remained much the same as the 1991. The ZR-1 had ZR-1 emblem added to the front fenders. The L98
was dropped in 1992 for the new LT1 that was rated at 300 hp. Reverse flow cooling was used for the first time by Chevrolet and
synthetic oil was installed at the factory with a recommendation for the owners to continue to use it. Traction control was
added to the 1992 Corvette as standard equipment. The power delay feature now also was controlled by the passenger's door also.
A milestone was reached on July 2, 1992 was the day that the 1-millionth Corvette was produced. It was a convertible painted
white with red interior and a black top, just like the first Corvette produced. The Corvette is the only true sports car that
has reached that mark. Production numbers remained consistent with the previous year with a total of 20,479 Corvette's produced
in 1992 and of those 14,604 were coupes and 5,875 were convertibles. Time for another Special Edition and this one is the 40th Anniversary for 1993. The anniversary edition was painted Ruby Red
and had special badges. This option was available on both models, the LT1 as well as the ZR1. The exterior remained unchanged
on the standard coupe and convertible. The ZR-1 engine received a boost in horsepower from 375 up to 405. This was accomplished
by modification to the cylinder heads and the valve train. All leather seats had the 40th anniversary on the headrests. The
1993 Corvette was the first car sold by GM to have the passive keyless entry. Production number totaled 21,590 with 15,898 being
coupes and 5,692 convertibles. Not much happened in '94 to the car, with the exception of a passenger's side air bag a some refinements to the interior and
the steering wheel. The LT1 received sequential fuel injection but the horsepower was unchanged. New wheels for the ZR1 were
a five spoke non-direction design. The four-speed automatic transmission had a safety interlock feature added that required the
brake pedal to be pressed before it would shift out of park. Leather seats became a standard feature as the cloth seat were done
away with. The rear glass in convertibles was now glass instead of plastic. The biggest news was the grand opening of the
National Corvette Museum in Bowling Green Kentucky on September 2, 1994. A total of 23,300 Corvette's were produced in 1993 and
17,984 were coupes and 5,346 were convertibles. The 1995 Corvette received new side grills. There were some minimal changes to the car but nothing major. This was the last
year for the LT5 ZR-1. The large brakes that were previously included on the Z07 and the ZR-1 performance options were now
standard on all 1995 models. Corvette would be the Pace Car for the Indy 500 for the third time and for this occasion Chevrolet
painted them dark purple and white. A total of 522 of these cars would be produced with 87 being used at the Indianapolis festival.
The remaining 435 would have 20 going to Canada and 415 to the top dealers in the US. Total production was 20,742 with 15,771 being
coupes and 4,971 convertibles. The C4 generation was coming to an end with 1996 being the last year. With the ZR-1 no longer available Corvette offer a new
engine the LT4. The LT4 produced 330 hp 30 more than the LT1. The LT1 came with the automatic transmission only in '96. Chevrolet
also offer two special edition for the last year of the C4. The first on was the "Collector Edition" it came in Sebring Silver paint
with ZR-1 style 5- spoke wheels painted silver. |
C4 Paint CodesListed here are the paint codes for the C4 generation. Although I have listed the paint code along with the numbers
of each unit painted that specific color, the actual total will not always match that of the actual production numbers. This is
due mainly to record keeping.
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