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The Chevrolet Corvette C3 is a sports car patterned
after Chevrolet's "Mako Shark II" (designed by Larry Shinoda), produced
between 1968 and 1982. It is the third and longest-running generation of
Chevrolet Corvettes built and marketed by Chevrolet.
This generation has the distinction of being introduced to the motoring
public in an unorthodox—and unintended—fashion. 1968 marked the
introduction of Mattel's now-famous Hot Wheels line of 1/64-scale die
cast toy cars. General Motors had tried their best to keep the
appearance of the upcoming car a secret, but the release of the Hot
Wheels line several weeks before the Corvette's unveiling had a certain
version of particular interest to Corvette fans: the "Custom Corvette",
a GM-authorized model of the 1968 Corvette.
In 1969, GM enlarged their small-block V8 again to 350 in³ (5.7 L) and
the ZL1 option was offered, with an all aluminum 427 big-block engine
listed at 430 horsepower (320 kW) but generally accepted as delivering
at least one hundred horsepower (75 kW) more than that. [citation
needed] This option cost $4,700 (the ZL1 was a $3,010 option that
consisted of an assortment of aluminum cylinder block and heads on top
of the $1,032.15 L88 race option.), and only 2 were ever built.
In 1970 the 427 big-block V8 was enlarged to 454 in³ (7.4 L). Power
peaked in the 1970 and 1971 models, with the 1970 LT-1 small-block
putting out 370 hp (276 kW) and the 1971 454 big-block having its last
year of big power with 425 hp (317 kW). In 1972, GM moved to the SAE Net
measurement for power (away from the previous SAE Gross standard), which
resulted in lower values expressed in reported horsepower. Along with
the move to unleaded fuel which required lower compression ratios,
emission controls, and catalytic converters, power continued to decline
and bottomed out in 1975—the base L48 engine put out 165 hp (123 kW),
and the optional L82 engine put out 205 hp (153 kW). This was the lowest
power Corvette since the first year of production. Nevertheless, Car and
Driver magazine found the Corvette to be the fastest accelerating
American car for 1976, with a 0-60 time of 7.1 seconds. Power remained
fairly steady for the rest of the C3 generation, ending in 1982 with the
200 hp (149 kW) L83 engine. In 1980, all California-spec Corvettes
received the smaller 305 cubic-inch V8 due to that state's more
stringent emission regulations along with an automatic transmission for
just that one year, while 49-state Corvettes continued with the 350 V8
and a choice of automatic or four-speed manual transmissions.
Styling changed subtly over the generation. In 1973, the Corvette
dropped the front chrome bumpers for a urethane-compound "5 mph" bumper
but kept the rear chrome bumpers. In 1974, The rear chrome bumpers
became urethane, too, making 1973 the last Corvette model year with any
chrome bumpers. 1975 was the last year for the convertible, and 1978 saw
the introduction of a glass bubble rear window to "freshen" the car
appearance for its 25th Anniversary. Corvette production hit its peak in
1979, at 53,807.[2] In 1980, the Corvette got an integrated aerodynamic
redesign that resulted in a significant reduction in drag. 1980 was also
the introduction of many weight-saving components such as thinner body
panels and an aluminum Dana 44 IRS differential (instead of the
previously used but arguably stronger iron GM 10 bolt IRS diff).
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