1996 would be the final year for for the C4 body style that originated in 1984. Chevrolet knew this was the final year well in advance and to keep up interest and sales, offered some special models and an optional engine.

    The optional engine was the LT-4. It had higher compression than the standard LT-1, new head design, a different cam shaft and it produced 330 H.P. (likely a conservative figure) compared to the LT-1's 300 H.P. Chevrolet's LS-1 which would be used in the '97 new style would be rated at 345 H.P. so it's possible they wanted to keep the rating for the LT-4 lower than what it really might have been . This wouldn't have been the first time that had been done ( if it was done here). One always wonders about the late 60's early 70's with the rating of the L-88 and the aluminum ZL-1 engines with a rating of 430 H.P. each. Chevrolet made this engine only available to the Corvette and it was mated to a 6 speed transmission only. There was no option for an automatic with the LT-4. Along with that  the LT-1 engine was available only with an automatic in 1996. No option for a 6 speed as there had been  going back as far as 1989. Taking a quick look at the interior of a '96 will tell you  which engine the car has without even opening the hood.

    A Grand Sport model was one of the special models available that year. With it's distinctive admiral blue body, white body stripes and red hash marks above the left fender, it is easy to spot. The interior was white. This model came only with the LT-4 engine and was available in either body style - coupe or convertible. Only 1000 units were produced due to application problems with the graphics. All grand sports had ZR-1 style 5 spoke wheels in black finish and all grand sport convertibles had a white top.

    The other special model that year was the Collector Edition. Whereas the grand sport option that had no options, the collector edition allowed for some buyer choices. You could have either engine LT-4 or LT-1 (although remember that either engine had  no option on transmission). The body was painted with Sebring Silver ( no other option) but the interior could be collector black, collector silver, or collector red.

    The sticker price of the base coupe was 37,225 and the convertible started at $45,060

    The LT-4 optional engine added 1,450

    The collector Edition option was 1,250

    The Grand Sport option was 2,880 for the convertible and 3,250 for the coupe . More for the coupes since they had 11" rear wheels and fender flares whereas the convertibles had 9.5" wheels and no flares.

Body colors available in 1996 were Dark Purple, Arctic white, Sebring Silver, Admiral Blue, Black, Bright Aqua, Polo Green, Competition Yellow, Torch Red

Interior Colors included Black, Light Beige, Light Gray, Red Red& Black , Plus the collector series and white for the Grand Sports.

Convertible tops were available in Black, Beige, or white. Although the collector edition came only with Black, The Grand Sport only with white and the Polo Green was not available with White.

Corvettes produced in 1996

Coupes                        17,167

Convertibles                   4,369

5,412 had the collectors edition option  and 1000 had the Grand Sport package.

Only Vic & Pam  (Torch Red Coupe) have a 96 corvette

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