Chevy’s 1979 Corvette Became a Worthy Follow up to the Silver Anniversary Corvette
The 1979 Corvette was bound and determined to follow up a wonderful 1978 Silver Anniversary Corvette that saw wonderful numbers of units move. Because the engineering geniuses at GM knew something more had to be done to the Shark to ensure this, the 1979 Corvette represented an evolution in motion; and a very quick motion at that.
Once again the engines that powered the Vette gained back just a little more horsepower and even the small block was flirting with 200 horses again coming in for the year at 185 to 195 (depending on altitude) horsepower. The impressive L82 engine was now putting out 220 to 225 (depending on altitude) horsepower and a sense of entitlement began to come back to those who owned a Corvette as the winds of change had blown and Vette engines were once again on the horsepower rise. Still with the increased horsepower the more impressive changes came by way of the interior.
The 1978 Pace car replica had featured lightweight seats and those same seats were made standard for the 1979 Corvette. This brought with it a different set of inertia seatback locks and more rearward travel, but the seats still did not recline. Not that this effected performance in any way, but reclining seats were now being offered in even the cheapest Japanese imports.
Also taken from the Pace Car replica of 1978 was the front and rear spoilers, though they were optional. The tungsten-halogen high beam headlights however, were incorporated into all the Vettes for 1979.
It was a good thing that Chevy decided to offer so many little perks with the 1979 Corvette because thanks to a still increasing inflationary time for the country the 1979 Corvette crossed a mark that it wasn’t thrilled about. For the first time in the history of the Corvette, the base model was now over $10,000. While this only represented a mental block, it didn’t deter the Corvette faithful from coming out of the woodworks to buy it.
Of those that reviewed the 1979 Corvette there seemed to be a 50/50 split on the verdict. While no one could argue with the numbers the 1979 Corvette put up in the straits, as it was now covering a quarter mile run in 15.3 seconds at 95 miles per hour and was zipping from 0 to 60 miles per hour in about 6.6 seconds, they could argue that the 1979 Corvette was being put to shame in the corners by many foreign name plates. Names such as the Datsun (now Nissan) 280ZX, the Mazda RX-7, and the Porsche 924 proved much more agile when turning and cornering were involved but still the Vette was king on the straightaway.
While there was still much being said about the next generation needing to come out in order to prove the Corvette’s worth, the sales numbers showed solid gains yet again. For the model ending year the 1979 Corvette moved 53,807 units and showed, as it always had, true tenacity in the face of real adversity.
Tags: 1979 Corvette, Pace Car Replica, Silver Anniversary Corvette
