1983 The Forgotten "Vette"

     It seems history doesn't always count properly. While most of the world was celebrating the new Millennium on New Year's Eve, a few pundits were quick to point out that the actual second millennium doesn't roll in until January 1, 2001. Seems we can miscount millenniums just as easily as we can anniversaries.

     Take the Corvette. We’re coming up on the 50th anniversary of Americas favorite sports car. Fifty years of production was officially celebrated in June of 2003, however that's not entirely true. It will actually mark 49 model years for the Corvette, and that's because there was no 1983 Corvette. None were ever built for sale to the public. 

That's not to say that Chevrolet never built any 1983 Corvettes.  Actually, 44 cars were assembled — all pilot cars that cost an estimated $500,000 each to fabricate. These cars represented a new generation of Corvette — a world-class sports car using leading edge technology. The new Corvette was totally different in all respects from the 1982 model with only the L 83 Crossfire engine and the 700R4 automatic transmission carried over.

     Corvette Chief Engineer Dave McLellan’s use of technology and light weight aluminum and magnesium components, combined with GM Design Center stylist Jerry Palmer’s stunning design, allowed the new Corvette to redress the limits of sports car definition. It cut the air more efficiently with a coefficient of drag of .34 and a wind-cheating body that was 23 percent more aerodynamic than the 1982 Corvette. Everything else, from the "zero gloss" dash with digital instruments to the forged aluminum control arms and welded uniframe, was new and leading edge automotive technology.

     The 44 Corvettes built as pilot cars were assigned 1983 serial numbers.  Of the 44 cars built, 11 were retained by the Bowling Green plant for assembly process evaluations and other tests. The remaining 33 went to engineering for crash tests and other engineering appraisals. The cars also saw duty at the long lead press preview at Riverside Raceway in December 1982.

     This new Corvette was due to be released in the fall of 1982, however continued high sales of the 1982 model and ramp up problems at the new Bowling Green assembly plant forced the introduction date to be pushed back to March 1983 as 1984 models. For that reason, all but one of the 44 1983 pilot cars were destroyed.  Only serial number 23 was retained by the assembly plant as a relic of the past.

     Number 23 would be trotted out several times over the years, once painted up as a savings bond for an in-plan campaign. It was finally repainted and placed on display at the rear employee entrance to the plant. There it sat until it was transferred to the National Corvette Museum, where it resides today.

     Now, 17 years after it was built, the ’83 has less than 10,000 miles on the clock. Driving it is an experience in how refined the C4 became in the years after its introduction. You wouldn't snap a vertebra when you mashed the accelerator, but the 700R4 transmission still shifted crisply. The ride is rough to say the least. Suspension and chassis nuances are boldly transmitted to the driver through the seat. The steering also conveys road shocks and variances from the front wheels.