1978 Silver Anniversary Edition
Chevrolet announced that it would commemorate the 25th anniversary of Corvette with a special “silver edition” model. It was one of three, separate models produced that year: the standard production (base) model, the 25th Anniversary Edition, and the Replica Indianapolis 500 Pace Car (which will be featured separately later in this series of articles.)
The 1978 Silver Anniversary Edition Corvette was developed to offer consumers a “collectible” model that commemorated one of Corvette’s milestone production anniversaries (its twenty-fifth anniversary in this case) in a way that had ever been done previously with any Corvette model year that had come before it. Although the car was mechanically identical to all of its 1978 counterparts, the “Silver Anniversary Edition”
Inspired by Bill Mitchell and designed by Jerry Palmer, the 25th-anniversary car was finished in two-tone paint, with the upper section in a bright silver paired with a charcoal gray below the accent line. The two paint colors were separated by a single silver/gray pinstripe that wrapped around the entirety of the car. Special “25th Anniversary Edition” badges were installed on all versions of the 1978 Corvette, regardless of the package. The car’s interior could be ordered with one of three color trims: black, oyster, or red. Although the 1978 Silver Edition Corvette did not come with any notable mechanical upgrades to differentiate it from its base model and pace car counterparts, all Corvettes that year could be ordered with either the standard L48 V8 rated at 185 horsepower or an upgraded L82 V8 rated at a slightly more stout 220 horsepower.
MRSP for the 1978 Silver Edition Corvette was $10,130.85, marking one of the first times that a production Corvette exceeded the $10k threshold.
When ordering a “Silver Anniversary Edition” model, consumers could also opt for one of three interior colors – Black (code BK), Oyster (code O), or Red (code R). (NOTE: The interior color of the Silver Anniversary Edition models is an important differentiator today as there were a number of 1978 Corvettes purchased with silver exterior paint that had blue interiors. Although the blue interior was available to consumers who ordered a silver Corvette, it was not an option when purchasing the two-tone Silver Anniversary Edition model.)
