1980 4-Door Corvette America
Once upon a time, a company known as California Custom Coach created a total of six (6) four-door 1980 C3 Corvette sedans. The car was developed around the belief that many Corvette owners were selling their beloved possession for “something more practical” when the realization set in that a growing family superseded the Corvette lifestyle. California Coach’s creation – which included one prototype and five production vehicles – was to become an entirely new iteration of the Corvette brand.
Chevrolet had planned to take over production of the four-door C3, which they planned to call the “Corvette America.” However, due to the economic climate of the time and the fact that a base model Corvette sold for approximately $13,000 in 1980, the four-door variant was considered too-expensive at a price-point of $35,000.
Still, the four-door Corvette was revolutionary for its time. Because of the extremely limited production run, each car was custom-built for its future owner. While a recognized practice today, custom fabrication of a car in that era was far-less commonplace. Also, while manufacturers like Porsche now offer four door versions of their sports car platforms (the Porsche Panamera, for example, which shares elements with the 911 platform), an affordable four-door sports sedan was virtually unheard of in 1980.
Chevrolet had actually planned on making this family minded sports car at a rate of 40 per year, and to call it “Corvette America.”
