The 1988 Corvette Challenge Series was created by John Powell of Powell Motorsports. Below are some of the specifications that made them unique from regular GM Corvettes.
Chevrolet built fifty-six identical Corvettes for the first year of the Corvette Challenge in 1988. Each was equipped exactly the same, with all standard equipment, the 245hp Cross-Fire fuel injection engine, Doug Nash 4+3manual transmission, Z51 Performance Handling Suspension package, AC3 6-Way Power Driver Seat, UU8 Delco-Bose Stereo, Z6A Side Window and Side Mirror Defog System and 24S Blue Tint Glass Removable Roof Panel. The Corvette Challenge cars differed only in color and, since Bowling Green built Corvettes in batches of the same color, the Corvette Challenge Cars did not have sequential chassis numbers.
Protofab in Wixom, Michigan was selected by Corvette Challenge series organizer Powell Motorsports to race and prepare the cars. Each received the same complement of race equipment consisting of a full roll cage, onboard fire extinguisher system, racing seats, Bilstein shock absorbers and special wheels along with other detail changes to meet the demands of highly competitive racing through a nice race season. In addition to the $33,043 price of a Corvette Challenge car, entrants paid Powell Motorsports $15,000 for the cost of Protofab’s race prep and the season’s entry fee.
During the 1988 season Corvette provided the Challenge cars with replacement engines with equalized performance which were factory sealed to maintain the series’ focus on competition among essentially equal cars.
The 1988 Corvette Challenge cars had a unique option code from the factory, it was “B9P”. The documentation from GM clearly indicates that the cars were produced for the express purpose of racing in the SCCA Corvette Challenge Series. There is documentation that identifies by serial number, all Corvettes produced with these option codes. Therefore, it is relatively easy to validate the authenticity of any Challenge car.
This article was first published at showyourcorvette.com. Image course: Mecum
