1978
Chevrolet Corvette Limited Edition Pace Car Coupe
To celebrate the Corvette's silver anniversary, Chevrolet presented the most significant redesign since 1968. The 1978 Corvette had new fastback rear styling, creating more passenger space and a larger rear window. The interior was also modernized. On the exterior, all 1978 Corvettes had a 25th Anniversary emblem. Not only was 1978 the Corvette's 25th birthday, but also the first time it was selected to pace the Indianapolis 500. To celebrate the event, Chevrolet built a limited series of pace car replicas. It was a proud moment as the Corvette was the first pace car to use a completely stock drive train, the first to be built from a one piece fiberglass body and the only pure two-seater post World War II. These pace car replicas had their own Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), separate from the standard Corvette, another first for the marque. The difference between the VIN number for the standard Corvette and pace car replica is in the eighth digit, the pace car replica has a 9; the standard Corvette a 4. The silver anniversary brought a classic two-tone body scheme with a black upper and a silver lower, set off by sport side mirrors, red pinstriping, aluminum wheels and 25th Anniversary emblems. The extremely high demand for the pace car continually increased. In the end, Chevrolet decided to build one for every Corvette dealer totaling 6,502.
