The first 200 production C5 Corvettes were painted red, not the traditional white color for the first production run.| History | C1: 53-62 | C2: 63-67 |
| C3: 68-82 | C4: 84-96 | C5: 97-00 |
|
The 1997 Corvette features several first-time high tech innovations, such as black lights for the instrument panel and a "plastic" (composite) intake manifold.
The first 200 production C5 Corvettes were painted red, not the traditional white color for the first production run.
The 1997 Corvette is the first one designed from the ground up as a Corvette, with very little borrowing of parts from other cars. One of the few "Off the Shelf" parts are the exterior door handles which are the same ones used on the Oldsmobile Aurora.
The first use of a transaxle in a production Corvette occurred in the '97. However, the first plans for one were in the Q-Corvette in 1958, planned for the 1960 model. Transaxles showed up in Corvette prototypes in the mid '60s in running models.
The first 4 speed in a Corvette was built by Borg Warner in 1957. The first transaxle in a production Corvette was also built by Borg Warner, forty years later in 1997. Both were introduced late in the model year.
Borg Warner has produced a transmission for each generation of Corvette: C1 - 1957 to 1962, C2 - 1963, C3 - 1980 to 1981, C4 - 1984 to 1988, and C5 - 1997 to 1998.
The 1997 Corvette is the first Corvette to have windshield wipers that sweep in the same direction instead of opposing directions.
The 1998 Corvette convertible is the first to offer the same sport suspension package as the coupe. Since the C5 was designed from the start as a convertible model, the ragtop is nearly identical in structural rigidity to the coupe.
The first Corvette to sport a real trunk since 1962 again appeared with the 1998 Corvette convertible.
November 4, 1997 - The 9752nd 1998 Corvette rolled down the assembly matching the total 1997 Model production run.
The last "Fairway Green" C5 came down the assembly line as a '98 model on November 10, 1997. The color was discontinued due to poor sales.
It takes 55 hours to build the new C5 Corvette, down from 70 hours for the previous C4 model.
For the first time in history, the 1999 Corvette is available in three disctinct body styles... Coupe, Convertible, and Hardtop (aka, "Fixed Roof Coupe").
The performance axle ratio for C5 Corvettes with automatic transmission is 3.15:1 (the standard ratio is 2.73:1).
The 2000 Corvette will feature new color choices to celebrate Y2K... Millenium Yellow and Polo Green (aka Dark Bowling Green) Metallic... plus a new Torch Red interior option!