Throwback Thursday: 1962 C1 vs 1982 C3 Corvettes on Track

Car and Driver re-shares some perspective from the end of the C3 era with this 1962 C1 vs 1982 C3 Corvette track comparison.

Occasionally, our friends over at Car and Driver raid the archives and publish something truly interesting from their past. In this case, they republished a piece from March of 1982 where they compared the 1962 Corvette to a then-new 1982 model as they raced around Willow Springs International Raceway, just an hour north of Los Angeles.

Their purpose was to reflect on the state of the Corvette on the eve of its 30th anniversary. Of course, no 30th Anniversary model would be produced, as the C4 was delayed until the 1984 model year, with production starting in January of 1983.

At that point, the Corvette was just three generations old. The choice to compare the final C1 model to the final C3 was a smart one. Think of it as a State of the union address for America’s Sports Car.

Still the One

Even in the early 1980s, the C1 Corvette was already a bona-fide classic, thanks in no small part to the wave of 1950s nostalgia sweeping across America at that time. Meanwhile, the outgoing C3 Corvette has weathered the fuel crisis by transforming from a hard-edged sports car into a luxury grand tourer. Was it still good enough to represent America on the world stage?

In a word, yes. Despite the lack of a manual transmission, the addition of a catalytic converter, and a weight penalty of around 300 pounds, the 1982 Corvette ran circles around the best 1962 Corvette the Car and Driver team could find.

It’s hard to do a one-to-one horsepower comparison, since the change from SAE gross horsepower to SAE net horsepower happened well after the 1962 Corvette rolled out of the St. Louis Assembly Plant. Any way you slice it, though, the 1962 “Fuelie” Corvette had the ’82 model beat on raw power.

So what made the 1982 faster? Like all true sports cars, the secret to the Corvette’s success has never been solely about what’s under the hood – leave that to the muscle car stoplight warriors. The Corvette excels by making the most of each corner by way of superior suspension and brakes.

In fact, the 1982 model they tested was a full five seconds faster around Willow Springs than the 1962. When the C4 Corvette debuted shortly after, you had better believe that that gap widened considerably.

Photos: Car and Driver