Top 5 Most Powerful Chevrolet Corvette Engines of the 1980s

The 1980s were mostly ho-hum when it comes to Corvette engines, but the engine that tops our list was a major exception.

The 1970s are finally behind us, but the 1980s was a strange decade in its own right when it comes to the Corvette. There was the transition from the C3 to the C4 generation. There was no 1983 model year Corvette. And the L98 engine pretty much dominated the decade. So, we have only nine years to work with in this decade and we had one engine that was available for most of those years. However, that doesn’t mean there were not a few interesting Corvette engines available in the 1980s.

As it happened to work out there is not much of a power spread between the engines in the second through fifth positions. But the most powerful engine of the 1980s was head and shoulders above the rest. Can you guess which one it is? Hint – the ZR1 was introduced in 1989 but it was a 1990 model year car, so it doesn’t make the cut. Still don’t know? Well, let’s get started on the list.

5. L83 V8 – 205 Horsepower

A Corvette with only 205 horsepower? Yup, welcome to the 1980s. The L83 engine available in the 1984 Corvette managed to produce 205 horsepower and 290 pound-feet of torque. That is a whopping 70 horsepower LESS than our number five engine from the 1970s. Yikes. It took a little while for the C4 Corvette to produce respectable power numbers.