Corvette Forums C4 (2025)

FAQs

What year is the fastest C4 Corvette? ›

Enter the Sledgehammer, an 880-hp monster that would earn the title of fastest street-legal Corvette in 1988 and retain the crown for eleven years. #51 is the one-off, 255-mph king of Callaway, and it's up for sale right now on Bring a Trailer.

The earliest Chevrolet C4 Corvettes aren't necessarily the best-looking or best-performing variants, but they are the cheapest to purchase today; average examples in good condition are found for well less than $10,000.

Tested performance figures by Road & Track magazine include a 0–60 mph (0–97 km/h) acceleration time of 4.9 seconds, a quarter mile time of 13.4 seconds, braking distance of 132 ft from 60 mph and 233 ft from 80 mph along with skidpad acceleration of 0.94 g.

A number of Corvette C4 models have also experienced the hold-down springs for the brake pads snapping, which is more than a little inconvenient. And if a power window suddenly fails to operate then you won't be alone – they're known to go on strike from time to time. A new regulator sorts out the issue.

What year Corvette is the least desirable? There were many problems with the performance of the Corvette in 1953, 1975, and 1979, getting listed as the worst years.

We recommend staying away from the 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, and 2013 models. These may require pricey fixes, especially since the car is one of the rarer choices. The biggest fault in these models of the C6 Corvette is in the transmission. Unfortunately, this part is expensive to handle, along with the engine.

There are C4 owners with more than 380,000 miles in them. The pieces don't line from the factory, don't worry about that. They'll last as long as your pocket book or wallet does. Mine has 236,000 miles and still going strong..

Another strike against the C4 is build quality. GM cars of the 1980s weren't known for their superior fit and finish and the C4 is no exception. However, if you can get past the rattles and low stock performance level, the C4 offers a lot for the enthusiast.

The performance of the generation 4 Corvette was also impressive with top speeds ranging from 140 mph to 180 plus mph and quarter mile elapsed time performances reaching the 12 second range with the introduction of the ZR-1.

Are C4 Corvettes easy to work on? ›

Unlike the newer generations, however, the C4s were still old-school American sports cars, that were designed to be worked on by the owner with basic tools, unlike the later C5 and up generations, which turned gradually into exotic cars crammed full of needless electronics etc that no owner could work on in their ...

Juris Mindenberg, the owner, was able to achieve this via the help of a 9.5-liter V8 pushing out 1,100 horsepower. One naturally aspirated, heavily modified, C4 then became the fastest Corvette in the world hitting an astonishing 270.04mph and a 2-way average speed of 266.45 mph.

The giant-slaying C4 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 is still fast by modern standards, and the current market has early examples priced more reasonably than you might expect. It's the last '90s supercar you might be able to afford, so let's take a closer look at the only front-engined overhead-cam Corvette.

Those figures set no Corvette records, but the 154-mph top speed we measured makes the new car at least 3 mph faster than any of its predecessors.

On the track at the GM Proving Ground, this powerplant with available 4-speed manual and Z51 suspension has delivered top speed of 142 MPH and 0 to 60 MPH times of 6.4 seconds. When you're cruising down the highway, ECM provided a set of instructions to the TBI and transmission overdrive to enhance fuel economy.

Chevrolet Corvette C4 ZR1 (produced 1990–1995) Chevrolet Corvette C6 ZR1 (produced 2009–2013) Chevrolet Corvette C7 ZR1 (produced in 2018 + 2019 as a 2019 model)