1988 Corvette – Vette-net

The arrival of the 1988 model year brought with it the 35th anniversary of the Chevy Corvette. For General Motors as a whole, and especially for the teams of people responsible for the design and development of “America’s Sports Car”, this anniversary was significant not only because of the milestone it represented, but because the thirtieth anniversary of Corvette had passed with barely a whisper.

After all, the Corvette had turned thirty years old in 1983, and, because of engineering decisions that were made to support increasingly high emissions standards, Chevrolet had opted not to build an ’83 Corvette at all. The result was that Corvette had gone a decade without any type of anniversary special edition model to celebrate its ongoing successes.

Pricing: $29,489.00 (Coupe), $34,820.00 (Convertible)

Engine options: 350CI 240/245 Horsepower, Tuned-Port Fuel Injected L98 V8 Engine

Transmission: 4-speed automatic (standard), 4+3 speed manual (optional)

Top speed:

Units Produced: 22,789

Available Colors: Silver Metallic, Medium Blue Metallic, Dark Blue Metallic, Yellow, White, Black, Dark Red Metallic, Bright Red, Gray Metallic, Charcoal Metallic, White/Black

Highlights of the year:

The arrival of the 1988 model year brought with it the 35th anniversary of the Chevy Corvette. So, for its 35th anniversary year, the Corvette was treated to a number of important engine and chassis upgrades. For 1988, the L98 received another 5 horsepower bump in power thanks to the addition of freer-breathing cylinder heads and a re-profiled camshaft. Additionally, Chevrolet introduced a new, less restrictive muffler package for the 1988 model. However, the increased resonance from the mufflers was deemed too loud for the convertible models.

Advances in chassis design included the introduction of larger, 17 x 9.5 inch “Cuisinart” rims that were mated to hefty P275/40ZR-17 Goodyear Eagle GT tires. The new rims featured a freshly designed twelve-slot pattern. Still, side specific (meaning that four-way tire rotation was not possible), this new design was a considerable improvement over the original C4 wheels.

The new tires were classified as “Z-rated” tires, meaning that they could maintain sustained driving speeds in excess of 149 miles per hour, which was a significant advancement in Corvette’s tire/wheel program. While this new tire/rim assembly was only offered as part of the Z51 and Z52 suspension package upgrades in 1988, the standard 16 x 8.5-inch rims were similarly updated, featuring a new six-slot pattern that was mated to P255/50ZR-16 Z-rated tires.

The interior of the 1988 Corvette received few upgrades from the previous model year, such as the modification of the interior air extractors within all Corvette coupes. This was done to increase the flow rate of air through the climate control system, which was now offered with the extra-cost automatic-temperature control that was phased in toward the tail end of the 1987 Corvette’s production run.

For its 35th anniversary, Chevrolet announced that a limited production of 2,000 Special Anniversary Edition Corvettes would be manufactured. The anniversary model would only be available as a coupe. Officially offered under option code Z01, the car featured a bright white lower body (which included color-matched door handles, mirrors, bodyside moldings, and 17-inch wheels) which was set off by a black roof hoop and a transparent black acrylic roof panel. As with every model year since 1985, total Corvette sales continued to decline. With just under 23,000 units sold, the 1988 Corvette was the lowest selling model-year since 1972.

Photos of the 1988 Corvette: