‘Corvette Forum’ Knowledge Base: The Legend of Aztec Gold

With just 15 produced in total, it’s the rarest C5 color of them all.

Rare options work Corvette fanatics up into a frenzy. It’s a fact. Rare colors draw a lot of attention. With the detailed production data available on the Corvette, fans pore over the records, searching for the rarest of the rare.

Rare and unusual colors are the most notable of these rarities. Red, black, and white Corvettes are common. However, some colors only show up for a year, never to be seen again. That’s certainly the case here.

The evocatively-named Aztec Gold was only offered for 1998, in the second year of C5 production. Just 15 were built, making it by far the rarest C5 color and one of the rarest Corvette colors across all models.

What Went Wrong

Like anything else Corvette-related, our forums offer a wealth of information about these mega-rare Corvettes. As it turns out, a big factor in the color’s rarity was the difficulty Chevrolet had with the paint. Getting panels to match was difficult. Chevrolet was constantly adjusting the formula, trying to make things work. It never did.

Chevy built the cars in three batches of five, tweaking the paint formula each time. Legend has it that no two Aztec Gold Corvettes look exactly alike. One member recalls reading an article that stated that the front and rear bumpers of the Aztec Gold cars were painted separately and shipped to Bowling Green, further complicating the paint issues they experienced.

Chevy built all of the Aztec Gold Corvettes in late October and early November of 1997, relatively early on in 1998 production. After just 15 cars, Chevrolet called it quits on Aztec Gold, gone from the options list forever.

The Breakdown

The forum thread lists each VIN and build date, as well as the configuration of each car. Of the 15 cars built, just three were convertibles. One of those convertibles has a six-speed — the only manual transmission Aztec Gold Corvette built. As it turns out, that’s also the only one with the Z51 performance package.

Chevy built over 31,000 Corvettes in 1998, and almost a quarter of a million C5s in total. Seeing an Aztec Gold Corvette is a rare sight indeed. When it happens, our members are all too happy to post about it. Rarely are these posts accompanied by photos. Seeing an Aztec Gold ‘Vette is a bit like seeing Bigfoot or the Loch Ness Monster.

Aztec Gold is an arresting, dynamic, and unusual color. It simply looks great on the C5 shape. It’s a real shame that it turned into fool’s gold for Chevrolet. One thing is for certain, though — it’s a boon to collectors. On the rare occasions that one these cars sells, you can be assured there is a hefty premium.

Photos: Corvette Forum members

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