Chevrolet Corvette L88: The First and the Last

Yes, I know — this is the second Chevrolet Corvette story in a row. So what? There's no such thing as too much beauty. Especially since this time we're not talking about ordinary Corvettes, but the most special of the special.

So then. Having started out in 1953 with a rather feeble six-cylinder engine, the Chevrolet Corvette — thanks to the efforts of Zora Arkus-Duntov — dodged an inglorious cancellation and received a new V8 in 1955. In 1965, now in its second generation, came the 396-cubic-inch Big-Block V8, and in 1966 the full 427 — exactly 7.0 liters in metric. In 1967, the year we're interested in, the most powerful engine offered in the Corvette was the L89: 7.0 liters, aluminum cylinder heads, three Rochester carburetors, and 435 hp at 5,800 rpm. A car so equipped cost just shy of five thousand dollars. Yet right next to it in the catalog sat the "merely" 430-hp L88 — a good fifteen hundred dollars more expensive. What that money bought, and why, is exactly what I'm about to tell you — with pictures, 30 photos from a Mecum auction.

When discussing the power figures of 1960s American cars, two things must be kept in mind. First, power back then was measured at the engine's flywheel with no accessories attached. To convert to the modern figures we're used to, you can confidently knock off 20-25 percent. Second, even the resulting numbers can't be trusted: as a rule they were rather loose "rated power" figures, and on top versions they were often understated — taxes, insurance, and so on.

That's why the L88 was nominally rated at 430 hp — so that buyers who simply wanted the hottest Corvette in the lineup would take the 435-hp L89, and only those who knew exactly what they were getting into would bother with the L88. Because the L88 was a full-blooded racing car, and most of them were bought by professional racers.

The engine, which shared essentially nothing but the block with the production unit, did in fact produce 430 horsepower — at 4,300 rpm, exactly as the paperwork said. The catch is that it would happily rev to 6,000-6,200 rpm, where it was already making 550-580 hp, along with 650-700 Nm of torque from down low all the way up. The package also included heavy-duty suspension and brakes and a 4-speed manual — and no air conditioning or radio, not even for extra money.

In 1967 just 20 second-generation cars were built with the L88 engine, making them the rarest Corvettes in history. In 1968-69, roughly 200 more third-generation cars followed. And now, on to the pictures. This pair, as the title says, is the very first of the 20 C2 L88s built in 1967 — and the last L88 ever made, in 1969.