As America’s Sports Car, the Chevrolet Corvette is a very special car that doesn’t really need any special editions. Still GM made a surprising amount of special editions over the years and each one of them has an interesting story to tell.
Of all the generations of the Corvette, the one with the most special editions was the fourth generation. It was a ground-breaking generation for the Corvette and Chevy wanted to make the special car even more desirable with a ton of special order options and packages that could be ordered directly from the dealership. In all, there were around 13 different special editions over the course of the Corvette’s fourth generation. Brad Hansen put together a comprehensive list of all of the C4 special edition Corvettes on his Retro Cars Forever YouTube channel and it is definitely worth watching, especially if you are interested in learning how to spot these cars and want to know their true value today.
Hansen’s list of special edition C4s kicked off with the Malcolm Konner Edition in 1986. This Corvette represents the only time that GM ever named one of their cars after a dealer, an honor that came after Mr. Konner was acknowledged as the owner and operator of the dealership that sold the most Corvettes. That same year GM also had the Indy 500 Pace Car Edition which came standard on all convertible models. As one of the most powerful cars that made the cut, the Callaway Twin Turbo was available through dealers from 1987 to 1991. In addition to the twin turbocharged engine, this package included suspension upgrades and from 1988 on an aerodynamic body kit that helped the car reach a record 254-mph. 
The list continues with a few Anniversary Editions, Indy 500 Editions, and a Brickyard 400 Edition. One of the most overlooked editions is the Corvette Challenge models. These cars were built for a Corvette exclusive race program that was started after the Corvette was banned from SCCA racing in the late 1980s. While you can’t overlook the legendary ZR1 of the early 1990s and the Grand Sport LT4 and Collector Editions in 1996, it is easily forgivable for even the most seasoned collector to not know about one special car that was not really a special edition per say.
In 1994 Chevy added a stunning new color to the Corvette options list, Copper Metallic. This color, although very beautiful, proved to be too difficult to ensure an even color match from panel to panel and was ultimately pulled from production after just 116 examples were produced. For the full list of all 13 special editions that helped to make the Corvette what it is today check out the video here.
Elizabeth is a hardcore horsepower enthusiast with unmatched intensity for making things faster and louder. She wakes up for power and performance and only sleeps to charge up for the next project that’s heading to the track. From autocross to drag racing, Elizabeth is there with you, so stay tuned for her unique perspective on horsepower news, builds, tech info, and installs — with her, it’ll never be boring!
