1993 Chevrolet Corvette C4

1993 marked the fourth decade since the 1953 introduction of the Chevrolet Corvette. The Corvette endured a tenuous beginning before earning the title of America's Sports Car and becoming a national icon. In celebration of the 40th Anniversary, Chevrolet announced a 40th Anniversary edition available in both standard and ZR1 models, adding $1,455 to the base price. The package included a sparkling Ruby Red Metallic exterior finish, Ruby Red leather sport seats with 40th-anniversary embroidery on the headrests, a power driver seat, special wheel-center trim, and 40th-anniversary emblems inside and out. Convertible body styles had foldaway soft top construction of a matching Ruby Red material. All non-40th Anniversary convertibles could be ordered with Black, White or Beige cloth top. The hatchback coupes came with a removable body-color roof panel.

The prior year, Chevrolet engineers had tuned the base 5.7-liter LT1 engine to produce an additional 55 horsepower, bringing output to a full 300 hp. Both the LT1 and the LT5 had a 5.7-liter displacement, with the LT1 having a bore of 4 inches and a stroke of 3.48. The LT5 that powered the ZR-1 had a bore of 3.9 inches and a stroke of 3.66 inches. The LT1 was available with a standard six-speed manual transmission or a no-cost four-speed automatic. All ZR1s still incorporated the Lotus-designed, Mercury Marine-built LT5 350/405 HP 32-valve DOHC engine with MN6 6-speed manual transmission, FX3 Electronic Selective Ride and Handling and low tire pressure warning indicator.

The base engine continued to offer 300 horsepower in 1993 and the ZR-1 had 405 horsepower and 385 lb-ft of torque. Engineers reduced engine noise by using new thermoset-polyester valve covers with isolated mounts, self-damping 2-piece exhaust heat shields, and a modified camshaft exhaust-lobe profile to reduce exhaust-valve closing velocity.

General Motors introduced a Passive Keyless Entry system on the 1993 Corvette. The system automatically locked or unlocked the Corvette by simply leaving or approaching the vehicle. It was also the first North American automobile to use recycled sheet-molded-compound body panels.

Chevrolet produced 448 ZR1 Corvettes in 1993, the same amount built for 1994 and 1995. 15,898 hatchback coupe Corvettes were built in 1993 with a base price of $34,600. 5,712 Corvette Convertibles were built that year with a base price of $41,200. The ZR1 had a staggering $66,278 base price, nearly double the cost of a base Corvette powered by the LT1 engine. However, it was much less expensive compared to the Ferrari 512 TR with similar output from its 12-cylinder engine that had a base price of nearly $200,000.

The RPO Z25 40th Anniversary Packard was added to 6,749 Corvettes with 2,043 of those being Convertibles.

Car and Driver magazine named the 1993 ZR1 the winner of its '10 Best' issue Top Speed category at 179 MPH.

by Daniel Vaughan | Jul 2020