Video: Learn About Every C4 Corvette Special Edition

GM offered numerous limited-production C4 Corvette Special Edition models during production. Here’s the straight skinny on all of them.

The C4 Corvette ran from 1984 all the way through 1996. That’s a pretty long production run. According to Retro Cars Forever on YouTube, there was an average of one special edition, limited-production model for each model year of C4 production.

After the 1984 introduction of the all-new C4 Corvette, 1985 saw the addition of the more powerful L98 Tuned Port Injection engine. By 1986, Chevrolet was ready to spice up the Corvette line with two special edition cars.

For 1986, the big news was the reintroduction of the Corvette convertible after an absence of over a decade. A bright yellow Corvette convertible paced the Indianapolis 500 this year. Every 1986 Corvette convertible is technically a pace car replica, even if they weren’t yellow. Decals were included in the trunk of every 1986 Corvette convertible sold.

However, there was another limited-edition Corvette in 1986, and it was even rarer. Only 50 Malcolm Konner edition Corvettes were built. Malcolm Konner was, at the time, the largest Corvette dealer in America. Konner understood the value of giving Corvette customers a premium experience, separate from the way “normal” Chevrolets were sold. He even built a second floor for his Paramus, New Jersey dealership, explicitly for Corvette customers. When he passed away in the early 1980s, he was honored with one of the rarest C4 Corvettes ever built.

Anniversary Celebrations

A few years later, in 1988, the Corvette celebrated its 35th anniversary with a white-on-white-on-white model that looks like something straight out of Miami Vice. The black targa bar adds some much-needed contrast to the sea of white. This remains one of our favorite limited-edition Corvettes.

In 1993, for the 40th anniversary, Chevrolet produced a limited edition Corvette in Ruby Red with a matching interior and wheel center caps. Due to a factory mix-up, every 1993 Corvette produced had the 40th anniversary logo embroidered on the seat upholstery. Now that’s happy accident.

From 1988 to 1990, specially-prepared Corvettes were built for the Corvette Challenge spec racing series. The cars were fully street-legal, but were intended to be converted for road course racing. Just 129 were built, and each one had special paint on the “sealed” engines to prevent tampering from teams looking for an edge in competition.

In 1990, the Chevrolet Beretta paced the Indy 500, but the Corvette played an important part in the race festivities. Chevrolet provided 80 teal and yellow Corvettes to be used by track officials, drivers, and other folks involved with the 1990 running of the Great American Race.

In 1994, the C4 Corvette returned to Indianapolis again, this time for the Brickyard 400, the first NASCAR race run at the legendary track. While a Chevrolet Monte Carlo paced the field, 25 Corvette convertibles served parade duty.

The next year, in 1995, the Corvette would once again pace the Indy 500, and, naturally, special-edition pace car replicas were built and sold to enthusiasts. While General Motors now maintains an exclusive relationship with Indianapolis Motor Speedway for pace car duties, it was pretty special to see the Corvette get involved with the race so many times in the 1980s and 1990s.

End of the Line

While not an “official” special edition, 1994 Corvettes finished in Copper Metallic are tremendously rare. Due to issues with paint matching between panels, Chevrolet pulled the plug after just three days of production. Only 116 Corvette coupes and convertibles were ever finished in Copper Metallic. Understandably, they demand a premium when they are sold.

1996 was the final year of C4 Corvette production, and Chevrolet sent the car off in a big way. Two separate special edition models were offered. Both were offered with the LT4, a higher-performance variant of the LT1 engine sold with 1996 Corvettes equipped with the ZF 6-speed manual transmission. The LT4 engine helped to take the place of the ZR-1, which had been discontinued the previous year (more on that later).

The Grand Sport featured Admiral Blue paint, with a white stripe and the now-ubiquitous red hash marks over the left front wheel arch. Just 1,000 were built. Additionally, a Collector Edition was offered in Sebring Silver, with just over 5,000 cars produced.

True C4 aficionados will be well aware of the Callaway Corvettes, which were thoroughly tuned to offer world-beating performance. Back in the 1980s and early 1990s, there were few cars that could match the raw power of the Callaway twin turbo Corvettes.

Of course, most would agree that the most special C4 Corvette of all was the mighty ZR-1. Everything about the ZR-1 is larger than life, from its Lotus-designed all-aluminum, quad-cam V8 to its massive, steamroller-esque 11″ wide rear tires. Like the Callaway Corvettes, the legendary ZR-1 was capable of hanging with just about any supercar on the street. Between 1990 and 1995, just 6,939 ZR-1s were produced.

So, there you have it – all of the special edition C4 Corvettes. Which one is your favorite?

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