The fourth generation of the Corvette appeared as a 1984 model (after a Corvetteless '83 MY at Chevy) and it was long overdue. The outgoing C3 'Vette, which had been around since 1968, was itself riding on a platform that was essentially a heavily refreshed C2 Sting Ray, which dated back to 1963.
The C4 was all-new for '84, except it carried over the L83 Cross-Fire Injection 350 small block V-8 from its 1982 predecessor, so named because it had twin diagonally-opposite throttle body fuel injectors mounted to the intake manifold. The chassis, brakes, and big 16" rims and Goodyear Gatorback tires promised big performance, but the 205hp L83 had a hard time delivering.
It fell to the 1985 model year, like this Bright Red example, to bring back performance and put an end to the Malaise Era, and it did it with a bang.
Under the hood of the '85 Corvette was the L98 350 small block, fitted with Chevy's new Tuned Port Injection setup, which featured equal-length runners sprouting from a central plenum and individual fuel squirters for each intake port.
The new intake setup raised the output of the 5.7L small block Chevy to 230 SAE net horsepower and 330 lb-ft of torque, which pushed Corvette performance numbers to levels that hadn't been seen since the demise of the big blocks in 1973.
Car and Driver tested a brace of '85 Corvettes, a base coupe with the 4-speed automatic and a car with the Z51 suspension package and the 4+3 speed Doug Nash gearbox. (The funky four-speed manual with an overdrive unit bolted to its ass end was because Chevy didn't have a 5-speed transmission that would hold up to the L98's torque output.)
The manual car ran zero to sixty in six seconds flat and did the quarter in 14.4 at 95 mph, while the automatic car cracked off a 5.7 second 0-60 and flirted with the thirteens in the quarter, smoking it in 14.1 seconds at 97 miles per hour. Both 'Vettes ran to an honest 150, too. C/D hadn't recorded Corvette acceleration numbers like that since the last time they tested a 454 Stingray back in 1972.
On top of that, the optional 3.07 rear end let the motor get closer to the meat of the powerband in top gear, enabling that 150mph top speed while still giving EPA Highway numbers in the low 20s. The new Corvettes also cornered at 0.84g and stopped from 70 in 182 feet.
These new TPI Corvettes out-accelerated the Porsche 928 or Ferrari 308 at a fraction of the price. The Malaise Era was over.
The one in the photo was captured with an Olympus OM-D E-M1X and Panasonic 12-60mm f/2.8-4 zoom lens in September of 2024.
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