The 1979 Corvette became the best-selling Corvette ever—but it wasn’t the fastest. So what were buyers really paying for?
This deep dive into Car and Driver’s road test, real-world performance data, and Bring a Trailer sales reveals the surprising truth behind Corvette’s biggest sales year.
👉 Click through to see why 1979 changed Corvette forever.
Car Life loved the new 1968 Corvette—but Car and Driver refused to test theirs. What went wrong? This deep dive compares early and late C3 Corvettes, exposes the truth about build quality, and shows how a modern C8 stacks up against both.
Car and Driver didn’t hold back in its 1980 Corvette review—and the tone was anything but kind. In fact, this “grumpy” road test captures the frustration of the malaise era, when emissions rules choked performance and expectations still ran high. So, what did they get right—and what did they miss? Download the original PDF and judge for yourself.
In 1976, John Greenwood pushed Corvette performance to its limits at Sebring, while Chevrolet delivered a very different vision of the C3 to the public. This rare PDF explores the fascinating contrast between Greenwood’s race-prepped “Spirit of Sebring” Corvette and the production 1976 model—highlighting the engineering, performance, and purpose that defined two very different Corvettes from the same year.
The Astro II Corvette (XP-880) ignited GM’s mid-engine ambitions. Fast, exotic, and flawed, it previewed a future that wouldn’t arrive for decades.
The 427 big-block L88 Corvette was never meant for the street. With brutal big-block power, racing hardware, and thunderous open headers, it became one of the most feared Corvettes ever built. L88 Corvettes dominated road racing from 1968 to 1973.
In 1972, the Rebel Corvette L88 driven by Dave Heinz and Bob Johnson delivered one of Corvette racing’s finest endurance victories, winning the GT class at the Daytona 6 Hours.
The 1971 24 Hours of Daytona marked Corvette’s finest endurance-racing hour. Behind the win was the legendary Owens-Corning Fiberglas L88 program—and the end of Chevrolet’s quiet factory support.
