• One of 16,663 Corvette coupes made in 1989
• One of 5,426 Corvette coupes finished in white in 1989
• Almost 80,000 actual miles
• 350 CID V-8 engine with tuned port fuel injection (code L98)
• Hydramatic four-speed automatic transmission (code 700R4)
• White (code 10) exterior with Saddle cloth interior
• Electronic climate control, power rack-and-pinion steering, power four-wheel disc brakes, cruise control, power windows, power locks, power sideview mirrors, tilt/telescope steering column and rear defroster
• Z52 suspension, fog lights and digital gauges
• PASS-key anti-theft system and Bosch anti-lock braking II system (ABS)
Five model years into its run, the fourth-generation Chevrolet Corvette had transformed its image and reputation from an underpowered 1970s sports car into a two-seater that was ready for the 1980s. Since 1984, Chevy had added horsepower in dabs and dollops almost every model year.
Made in August 1988 at General Motors’ Bowling Green, Kentucky factory, this ’89 ‘Vette is dressed in white (code 10). This example is one of 16,663 Corvette coupes made in 1989 and one of 5,426 coupes dressed in this color in 1989.
The paint and trim are in overall very good order. The engine bay is tidy and the car’s body-colored bumpers fit well with the rest of the car’s body. There are foglights fitted within the car’s nose.
This ‘Vette rolls on Cooper Zeon RS3-A radials, size 275/40R17 at every corner. Each tire is mounted to a factory alloy wheel. The wheels and tires are all in very good shape. This was the first model year for stock 17-inch wheels and tires. The car has a forged aluminum front and rear suspension along with monoleaf springs.
Under the forward-hinged clamshell hood is a 350 CID V-8 engine with tuned port fuel injection (code L98). The engine has aluminum heads and a high-lift camshaft. Backing this motor is a Hydramatic four-speed automatic transmission (code 700R4). Driver convenience features include electronic climate control, power rack-and-pinion steering, power four-wheel disc brakes, cruise control, power windows, power locks, power sideview mirrors, tilt/telescope steering column and a rear window defroster.
Safety equipment includes factory PASS-key anti-theft system and Bosch anti-lock braking II system (ABS).
Inside, the car’s Saddle cloth interior is in overall very good order with matching carpet and mats plus a matching headliner. Behind the sport cloth seats is a generous cargo area that is accessible from inside or outside the vehicle. The inner door panels and dashboard look great, as does the center console. Chevrolet cleaned up the digital gauges since 1984 with revised characters, making them easier to read at a glance. The thick-rimmed, leather-wrapped, two-spoke steering wheel looks good and the console-mounted shift lever falls easily to the right hand. A Delco-Bose AM/FM stereo with seek and scan, a cassette deck and four speakers complete the interior.
For the 1989 model year, the Corvette’s seats were restyled with the three choices of cloth, optional leather or optional sports leather were offered. A significant change involved standardizing the Z52 package. While the Z52 option had been optional in previous years, it was now made standard on all 1989 Corvettes. That year, 17-inch wheels and tires replaced the smaller, 16-inch wheels which had been used on Corvettes since 1984. Additionally, all models now included fast-ratio (13:1) steering, Delco/Bilstein gas-charged shocks and a fortified front-end structure.
For the first time in several years, the 1989 model year saw an increase in the total sales numbers of the Chevrolet Corvette. Even with the knowledge that the ZR-1 Corvette’s arrival was certain in 1990, Chevrolet sold a total of 26,412 Corvettes in 1989, of which nearly 10,000 units were convertibles.
Competition to this Corvette in 1989 included Acura’s new-for-1990 NSX, Jaguar’s XJ-S, Maserati’s 228, Mazda’s RX-7, Merc