![]() The interior and dashboard of a 1986 Corvette C4 Coupe with grey upholsteryįrom the 1984 model year (available January 1984) through the 1988 model year, the Corvette was available with a Doug Nash "4+3" transmission - a 4-speed manual coupled to an automatic overdrive on the top three gears. ![]() The emergency brake, located between the door sill and the drivers seat, was moved lower and toward the rear of the car in 1987 for easier entry and exit. The targa top bolted into place, becoming a structural component, rather than simply latching on like T-tops. This required extremely tall side rails on the frame to maintain chassis rigidity, and as a result, the door sills were quite deep, with entry and exit likened by contemporary auto journals to a "fall in and climb out" experience. Due to a styling decision to use a targa top instead of T-tops, there was no structural member tying the windshield frame to the halo as on the C3. This was not a unibody assembly, as none of the exterior body panels were structural members. Instead, it used what GM termed a "uniframe", which consisted of a traditional perimeter frame, with the door posts, windshield frame, halo U-shaped frame overhead behind the seats and the rear portion of the floor pan integrated into one welded assembly. The C4 did not use separate body-on-frame construction like its predecessors. Spring rates were sequentially softened for the 1985 model year. The price of the emphasis on handling was ride comfort, especially with the Z51 performance and handling package. The front suspension saw the C3's coil springs replaced by a transverse fiberglass mono-leaf spring, which was only 1/3 of the weight of the coil springs while also introducing an anti-roll bar-like effect on the front. The primary design emphasis at launch was therefore focused on handling and braking, with an all-independent light-weight suspension and wheels and all new brakes with aluminum calipers. Since emissions regulations were still changing and electronic engine management was in its infancy, engine power output was low compared to earlier generations. For the first time since 1957, the Corvette used single headlights instead of quad units, but they were still retractable. It displayed a combination of graphics for speed and RPM, fuel level, and used digital displays for other important engine functions. The Corvette C4 came standard with an electronic dashboard with a digital liquid crystal display instrument cluster. The roof panel made from fiberglass or optionally from clear acrylic was removable. ![]() The C4 fastback coupé was the first general production Corvette to have a glass hatchback (the limited edition 1982 Collector Edition being the first Corvette equipped with this feature) for better storage access. In a departure from the fiberglass panels of its forebearers, the C4's rear bumpers and panels were made from molding plastics, a sheet molding compound. It was the work of a team under chief Corvette designer Dave McLellan, who'd taken over from Duntov in 1975. The C4 Corvette represented a clean break from the Zora Arkus-Duntov-designed C3, with a completely new chassis and sleeker, more modern but still evolutionary styling.
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