Eight Cool Special Edition Corvettes from the Past
Some special edition Corvettes are well known, while some others not so much. Here is a nice sampling of both, including some you may have forgotten about.
Special Corvettes
Special editions and Corvettes go together like peanut butter and jelly. And there have been a lot of them over the years. Some have left a lasting impression, of course, but others have all but been forgotten. This list contains a little of both - some common special editions and some that you might've forgotten about. Regardless, they're all incredibly cool in their own unique way.
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2011 Z06 Carbon Limited Edition
What separates the Carbon Edition Corvette from most other special editions is that it actually came with some performance upgrades. Limited to 500 units, the attractive ride came with the ZR1's carbon-ceramic Brembo brakes, spoiler, carbon-fiber hood, and rocker panels. It also introduced Magnetic Selective Ride Control to the Z06 and came with sticky Michelin PS2 tires. Altogether, GM claimed that the Carbon Edition could lap Laguna Seca up to three seconds faster than a standard Z06.
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2009 GT1 Championship Edition
The '09 GT1 Championship Edition Corvette was essentially an appearance package designed to pay tribute to the car's 70+ wins and 8 championships in GT1 racing. It was available in black or yellow with special graphics, chrome wheels, GT1 emblems, a unique spoiler, and even a windshield banner owners could install themselves. Each color and model combination was said to be limited to 100 examples each.
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2007 Ron Fellows Championship Edition Z06
Ron Fellows is both a successful former Corvette factory racer and the owner of a Corvette performance driving school, but he also has a special edition 'Vette to his name. A total of 399 were built, with 300 being sold in the U.S. All Ron Fellows Championship Edition Z06 Corvettes were painted Arctic White with twin red fender stripes and red seats.
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2004 Commemorative Edition
Like many Corvette special editions, the '04 Commemorative Edition was designed to celebrate the brand's racing success. In this case, GM paid tribute to their Le Mans efforts with a Le Mans Blue paint job, Shale interior, special exterior badges, and cross flags embroidered in the headrests. Those opting for a Z06 Commemorative Edition could also get a carbon fiber hood with silver stripes.
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1996 Collector's Edition
The year 1996 was the swan song for the C4 Corvette, so GM wanted to send it out in a special way. They did so by creating the Collector's Edition, which sported unique badges, Sebring Silver paint, special seat trim, and five-spoke wheels. The package cost a mere $1,250, which explains why over 5,400 of them were built.
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1995 Grand Sport
Everyone remembers the C4 version of the Grand Sport, a model that resurrected a legendary nameplate affixed to an ultra-rare car. GM produced just 1,000 of them, 190 of which were convertibles. On the outside, these Grand Sports wore Admiral Blue paint with white stripes and red fender hash marks, along with wider wheels. And under the hood, they packed the higher output LT4 producing 330 hp and 340 lb-ft of torque.
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1986 Indy 500 Pace Car Convertible
The 1986 Corvette convertible brought a drop-top back to a model that was synonymous with them, and what better way to promote that fact than by building a convertible Indy pace car? Painted bright yellow with pace car graphics on the doors, the '86 version was incredibly popular in its time, for good reason.
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1978 Silver Anniversary
By the late '70s, the performance was hard to find, even for the Corvette. Regardless, GM soldiered on and celebrated the car's 25th anniversary with a special edition. These cars wore special badges and two-tone silver and charcoal paint. Despite their lack of power, the Silver Anniversary C3 proved to be incredibly popular, selling a whopping 15,283 examples.
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