The 1982 Corvette Collector Edition was Chevrolet's official send-off for the third-generation Corvette, closing out the long C3 run that started in 1968. This one shows just 13,000 miles, believed to be original, and comes with copies of its build sheet and window sticker from the National Corvette Museum, documenting its original factory configuration as it left Bowling Green. Finished in the edition's signature Silver Beige Metallic with the graduated decal treatment and gold pinstriping, it presents as a clean, well-kept, low-mileage survivor inside and out.
Power comes from the L83 350-cubic-inch (5.7L) V8 with Cross-Fire Injection, Chevrolet's twin throttle-body fuel injection system and the only engine offered in the Corvette that year. It is backed by the then-new 700R4 four-speed automatic with overdrive, which made its Corvette debut in 1982, the only C3 model year offered without a manual transmission at all. A limited-slip differential with a 2.87 rear axle finishes the driveline. Factory rated at 200 horsepower, the Cross-Fire car was built for smooth, easy cruising rather than outright pace, which fits a preserved low-mileage example like this one.
The Collector Edition carried a long list of features that separated it from a standard 1982 coupe. It was the first Corvette with a frameless glass liftback rear window, opening here with a remote release, and it wears bronze-tinted removable glass roof panels along with the edition's distinctive turbine-style aluminum wheels. Inside is a Silver Beige full-leather bucket interior with luxury carpeting and color-keyed belts, plus a six-way power driver's seat, power door locks, electric twin remote sport mirrors, automatic speed control with resume, four-wheel disc brakes, and the model's cloisonn? emblems. The interior is excellent throughout, including the carpet, seats, upholstery, dash, and trim, and the paint and undercarriage are reported to be in the same excellent order.
Reported production was roughly 6,759 cars for the model year. As the documented bookend to the C3 era, a low-mileage, well-documented original is the version of this car most collectors are actually after.
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