1986 Chevrolet Corvette Indy Pace Car

Technical Specifications:

Details:

• 1 of 732 Yellow Official Pace Cars
• First year for anti-lock brakes
• All numbers matching car

The 1986 Corvette brought along small but significant changes to the C4. By using aluminum heads instead of cast iron on the L98 engine, the weight dropped by over 100 pounds. This move made this the first Corvette in 20 years to weigh less than 3,000 pounds. Anti-Lock Brakes were made standard, along with a new center-mounted rear brake light.

The 1984 and 1985 Corvettes were popular, especially with car thieves. Approximately 7% had been reported stolen over the first two years. Chevrolet added the VATS or Vehicle Anti-Theft System, which used a decoder on the key. Without the right decoder key, the starter relay and the fuel pump would not work. This innovation also helped with the high comprehensive insurance prices. 

The most important change for 1986 was the return of the convertible. Selected to pace the 70th Indianapolis 500, it would mark the second time Corvette was the Pace Car, first in 1978. Cars actually used at the track sported the Yellow color you see here, but all 1986 Convertibles were considered Pace Cars. The open-top option added $5,000 to the price of the car, and just over 7,000 were sold out of the 35,000+ total Corvettes sold that year. 

Our particular car is the newest Pace Car to join the collection. This is one of 732 Yellow Convertibles with only 120 original miles. It uses an automatic transmission and will replace the 9,000+ mile Yellow example currently in the collection. 

0-60 MPH: 5.8 Seconds
1/4 Mile: 14.4 Seconds @ 96.0 mph
Top Speed: 150 mph