Page 195 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

THE BACKSTORY
As a replacement for the short-lived “midyear” 1960s C2 Sting Ray, the 1968 C3 Corvette sported sensuous curves penned by Bill Mitchell and Larry Shinoda that endured through the mid 1970s, but started to fade as federal mandates chipped away at the original design theme. Making matters worse were increasingly stringent emissions regulations that dragged the C3’s peak output down from over 400 horsepower to, at one point, less than 200. Though it wasn’t obvious from the outside, the C3’s chassis was largely derived from the C2, a design that was approaching 20 years of age as the C3 headed toward the end of its lifecycle.
In spite of these manifold challenges, Corvette sales remained strong through the late 1970s, reaching in 1979 a then-lifetime peak of nearly 54,000 units. Behind the scenes, though, changes needed to keep the C3 competitive were becoming increasingly unavoidable. The retirement of the Corvette’s primary keepers – Zora Arkus- Duntov in 1975 and Bill Mitchell two years later – encouraged the need to kick off a fresh iteration of Chevrolet’s flagship.
Chevrolet Corvette C4
increasing numbers of legal requirements as well as a host of new competitors, including the Porsche 944 and 928, the Ferrari 308 and the Lotus Esprit. Technical stewardship for the program was handed over to Dave McLellan, who succeeded Arkus-Duntov as chief engineer, while Jerry Palmer was placed in charge of interior and exterior design.
Through the 1970s, there had been much discussion within various camps at GM about a mid-engine Corvette, spawning several tantalizing show cars. But when it came to transforming an innovative concept into production reality, powertrain limitations (a turbocharged V6 was likely, for example, instead of a V8 due to packaging limits), as well as the 1977 launch of the front-engine Porsche 928, pushed aside the riskier mid-engine concept in favor of a more conventional approach. Styling development began in 1978 with several key priorities, including more interior room and cargo capacity, reduced drag and increased dash-to-axle (the spacing between the front wheels and the cockpit of the car). Palmer’s team came up with the basic theme direction that year and their final design didn’t stray far from that original concept.
Planning for the C4 originally assumed a 1982 model year
launch, but that was pushed back due to the continued strong
sales of its predecessor. Given the C3’s outdated architecture, the
C4 started with a clean sheet, the better to deal with both the proceeded smoothly on the development of the C4’s exterior.
ABOVE LEFT: The C3 Corvette was showing its age by 1982, engine output was down to 200 horsepower. ABOVE: Following the decision to drop the mid-engine approach in favor of a more conventional front-engine design (shown below), styling work
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