Page 196 - Wayne Carini's Guide to Affordable Classics

With its tapered front end, wedge profile, extreme wheel openings and Kamm-like tail, the C4 represented an all-new and futuristic look but was still immediately identifiable as a Corvette. The “coke bottle” center profile that was so much a part of the C3’s proportions was replaced by a straighter body theme, separated into upper and lower halves by a black character line that climbed gently upward from front to rear. Large glass areas were a key part of the C4’s appearance – the windshield was now dramatically raked at 64 degrees and led, across a one-piece removeable glass or fiberglass hard top (replacing the T-tops used previously), to an opening glass hatch that stretched almost to the rear of the car. In the end, the C4 wound up about ten inches shorter than the C3, riding on a two-inch shorter wheelbase. Overall height was down about an inch, while width was increased by about two inches, providing more room in the interior.
TOP: C4’s wedge-shaped design was significantly differentiated from the C3, but was still very recognizable as a Corvette. ABOVE: C4’s LCD gauges were a significant technological innovation, but some drivers found them hard to read at a glance; four-speed manual had switchable overdrive on top three gears.
One of Palmer’s key priorities to McLellan’s team was to move the engine and the cockpit lower, which meant tucking the exhaust up inside the drive shaft tunnel and relocating the engine lower in the chassis and behind the steering system. One of the downsides of this approach, however, were high rails on each side of the cockpit, which created unglamorous “fall in, climb out” entry/egress challenges.
194Wayne CariniAffordable Classics
“Cross Fire” V8, first installed in 1982 C3, utilized two throttle-body injectors. It was replaced by the 230-horsepower, port-injected L98 in 1985.
McLellan’s own priorities were to improve every aspect of performance: ride, handling and acceleration. Riffing on prior Corvette practice, transverse monoleaf springs were now adopted at both ends of the car, with the independent rear suspension utilizing five locating links instead of three on the C3. Steering was upgraded to a rack-and-pinion design for dramatically improved cornering. The previous year’s 5.7-liter “Cross Fire” V8 (now making 205 horsepower) returned, as did the 700-R4 automatic transmission, though the ‘Vette could now be ordered with a Doug Nash four-speed manual, nicknamed “4+3” for its computer-controlled overdrives on the top three gears. A new Z51 performance suspension was available at launch and helped the C4 approach 1g in lateral acceleration. “We have worked especially hard to design [the C4],” McLellan told Automobile Quarterly, “so that it has good stability under all conditions: throttle-on, throttle-off, and in cornering conditions where the anti-lock brakes dramatically improve stability. We’re fast approaching the production of a car that has dramatic handing stability, under all conditions. That’s something new to all of us in the car business.”
Launched in the spring of 1983, the new Corvette quickly gained attention for its substantial improvements over the C3. “There’s a great deal of thoughtful design evident in this new Corvette,” said Road & Track, “quite enough to bring it to the attention of those who felt previous versions had become increasingly tacky.