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Looking Back: 1982 Chevy Corvette Collector Edition Test Drive
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Cool car! I'll watch the video tonight (I'm at work).
General comment - today's minivan's (with the bigger engines) are as fast or almost as many of the sports cars from the late 70's and early 80's. Wouldn't it be cool if in 30 or so years minivans (or their equivalent) are as fast as today's Corvettes? Hightly unlikely, but it would be cool!
General comment - today's minivan's (with the bigger engines) are as fast or almost as many of the sports cars from the late 70's and early 80's. Wouldn't it be cool if in 30 or so years minivans (or their equivalent) are as fast as today's Corvettes? Hightly unlikely, but it would be cool!
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This is GM's all time most memorable car. Closely followed by the '70 F cars.
It is literally an archetype of 'auto-erotica' - maybe it was inspired by the Ferrari but Chevy made it more memorable. It's a fantasy mobile - over-the-top phallic.
When the '68 debuted, the illustrator for a Marvel comic - I think Fantastic Four - had a plotline where the torch hitchhiked in a new Vette - and made a note in the text saying he just put that scene in because he wanted to draw the '68.
And I think there was a point where Batman was put into a '70s Vette.
And it looks the part. Totally a Batmobile.
It's a chrome horse from the sexy future like something from out of a Barbarella...
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It is literally an archetype of 'auto-erotica' - maybe it was inspired by the Ferrari but Chevy made it more memorable. It's a fantasy mobile - over-the-top phallic.
When the '68 debuted, the illustrator for a Marvel comic - I think Fantastic Four - had a plotline where the torch hitchhiked in a new Vette - and made a note in the text saying he just put that scene in because he wanted to draw the '68.
And I think there was a point where Batman was put into a '70s Vette.
And it looks the part. Totally a Batmobile.
It's a chrome horse from the sexy future like something from out of a Barbarella...
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The chrome-bumper C3 was gorgeous but I dunno about all that...
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They were beautiful looking cars. It's just that the emission and fuel economy standards hit hard in the height of the 3rd gen production and there wasn't the technology we have today to make them both efficient, low emission, AND keep the legendary performance a Corvette has to have.
150 hp 350 V8 had to be insulting to the 2nd gen owners at the time. I mean, in 1982 a 1967 427 4 speed Stingray is 15 years old. And it's blowing the doors off any brand new Corvette in the showroom at the time. Serious Corvette collectors pass over anything 1973-82, and they're typically priced according to the standard used car market. Meaning you can get one in mint condition with low mileage for $6-7k.
150 hp 350 V8 had to be insulting to the 2nd gen owners at the time. I mean, in 1982 a 1967 427 4 speed Stingray is 15 years old. And it's blowing the doors off any brand new Corvette in the showroom at the time. Serious Corvette collectors pass over anything 1973-82, and they're typically priced according to the standard used car market. Meaning you can get one in mint condition with low mileage for $6-7k.
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That was awesome! Thanks for posting it!
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Hard to think of a more iconic GM car - the ONE car that cannot be mistaken for anything else.
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1973 still offered the 454 motor.....I'm not sure about 1974......
And the acceleration of the L 82 350 wasn't far off the pre 1973 motors...
The killer was when the base engine L49 or L48 rating did drop to a low of 180 hp and in California one year or did run a corvette with a 305 v8 that was possibly rated at 150...
California thankfully was but one state so I never remember one tested by the mags ..
Emissions were tough and the industry as a whole was suffering ...
The insanely fast at the time Porsche 911 turbo around 1976 did zero to sixty in 6 flat from the factory...
Also remember stock factory tires were horrible on most cars...
Back then as enthusiasts we were just ripping smog equipment off most cars and modding the hell out of them....it was simple and uncomplicated ..... We all had friends that managed to get our high performance motors inspection stickers..
We all had fast (modded cars) it was cheap and easy to bring them up and buying older muscle cars/ ponys pre emission strangling was plentiful although insurance was becoming tough on factory hot rods. Hence modding or replacing ponys motors etc was often cheaper
For most beating the insurance company was the goal...and we all managed that trick starting out with base v8 ponys and tearing them down...
Not like today it was relatively common place.
Obd and obd2 was the beginning of the end...and eventually government fines were a real deterrent..
All of my post here .... just rumors of course.
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By 1982 Corvette performance had dropped to 0-60 in 8 seconds and the quarter mile in 13 at 85 mph. GM and Chevy were advertising it as a "touring car" rather than America's only pure sports car. Suspension and tires were tuned for comfort. Steering was soft.
True Corvette performance didn't recover from the 1970s nose dive until 1989 with the ZR-1 and 6 speed stick.
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Are you sure about that quarter mile time?
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I stand corrected..... 16 seconds!
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Last year for 454 was 1974 (270 bhp). 1975 had the lowest bhp - 165 in standard 350 V8, optional 350 V8 was 205 bhp. The one year only (1980) 305 V8 was California emissions and 180 bph. 1980 was also last year of L82 at 230 bhp. 1981 introduced the only available engine - L81 with 190 bhp. Cross-fire injection was added to the L83 in 1982 increasing bhp back up to 200.
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