Buyer’s guide Chevy Corvette C4

The model that moved the game on for America’s home-grown sports car is now the bargain of the breed

General Motors took to heart the flak about American cars not handling properly, and launched the 1983 Corvette C4 into Europe with the confident claim that it could out-corner any European sports car, generating 0.95g in corners where the likes of the Porsche 928 couldn’t hit 0.9g. Uni-directional tyres and wheels specially developed with Goodyear helped, and there was rack-and-pinion steering, aluminium doublewishbone front and multi-link rear suspension, both sprung by unusual glassfibre transverse leaf springs and both with anti-roll bars. Vented discs all round completed the package, which was stiffened even more for the European market.

Combined with clean looks, light weight and good aerodynamics, the Corvette promised much. Just 205bhp from the lazy overhead-valve V8 looked a disappointment, but it had a wide spread of power and a well-tuned four-speed auto ’box: Europe’s testers were impressed, if somewhat dumbfounded by the poor ride on uneven roads. Given a smooth surface the Corvette was unbeatable, but it seems GM had given the testers a bit too much of their own medicine, at least on Euro-spec cars; even the US version was softened for the ’88 model year.

The hatchback C4’s roof was an oddity, being removable but a pain to do so because it was securely bolted in to aid structural rigidity. This led to the return of the convertible in 1985. The C4 also pioneered the introduction of a lot of electronics, including a digital dash that can be costly to rectify when it fails, and electronic ignition and fuel injection that give reasonable economy in everyday driving.

After buying Lotus in 1986, GM tasked the Brits with developing a hot ’Vette. The answer was the ZR-1 with an all-aluminium V8 engine, featuring four overhead camshafts and 32 valves, giving 375bhp. The engine’s complexity plus the wider rear body, bigger brakes, wheels and tyres meant the ZR-1 was heavier than the standard C4 – but it did 0-60mph in 4.9 secs, topped 180mph, and raised the world 24-hour Land Speed Record to 175mph in 1990.

The standard C4’s performance improved dramatically during production: to 230bhp, then 240, then 245, 300 with the LT1 V8 in 1991 and 330 with the LT4. No wonder late cars are worth more, though early ones are still fun and, unlike most ’80s cars, the steel substructure rarely rots.