Special Editions: 2008 Corvette Indianapolis 500 Pace Car Replica
As far as the “real” 2008 Pace Cars used to pace the race, there were (2) Z-06 E-85 “Gold Rush” Green (PPG color) “Official Corvettes”, ane of which started the 2008 Indy 500 (driven by the Pace Car driver Emerson Fittipaldi), and (3) Official Pace Cars equipped with strobe lights. (Coupe and 2 Convertibles). The Speedway retained the Coupe, Chevrolet got back the 2 Convertibles.
Each of the three Pace cars had three sets of tires. They were shipped with Goodyear, displayed with Firestone Firehawks, and then change to Bridgestone Potenza’s for use in the Race.
Total Production for the 2008 Indy Pace Car replicas sold to the public was 500. The first replica rolled off the production line approximately March 4th, and the last was June 6th. There were 61 Corvettes built in early March, however only 60 cars shipped to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway to be used as rack” and “festival committee” vehicles which were distributed to their lucky drivers on April 9th and in use thru May 31st. Build Sequence # 3 was actually a *special” early customer order, and that coupe was sent directly to the seling dealer in Florida at the owners request. All of the Black and Silver Corvettes used at the ‘Speedway had the Six speed “Paddle Shift automatic transmissions. There were 17 Coupes, and 43 Convertibles at the Speedway.
When these cars arrived at the Speedway, a Silver “Chevrolet* windshield header decal and assigned track car numbers / license plate (to match the build sequence numbers) were added. The Chevrolet windshield header will not be on the replicas sold as normal “dealer” cars that were not used at the track. Another item was that this was the first occasion where a Corvette Pace Car, which offered replicas to the public, was available in either a Convertible or a Coupe version
Chevrolet was able to make their claim good of having Pace Car replicas in dealer show rooms prior to the race, but a small amount of the remainder of the production run occurred just after the Indianapolis 500 was completed, the first week of June. One surprise item on the Convertible builds was that the last 44 Convertibles built were given Black convertible tops!
We have it on good authority that it was planned late in the build cycle that all Convertibles built AFTER the Indianapolis 500 race would have Black tops. This was not a supply issue as some may think, they “Just wanted to do something different”. The intention may have also been to help Dealers who expected them prior to the race move them off of their lots, but it may have had an unexpected response from those who ordered the cars expecting a Gray top.
This Pace Car was truly a world wide offering, with a total of fifty one cars leaving the US. Twenty five cars were destined for Europe, five for the Middle East, and twenty one went to Canada. This year the Pace Car package RPO-Z4Z was a great value! Retail for the Coupe or Convertible 3LT package was $6,940 but when you factor in the items that are included, the actual “Pace Car replica” package is only an additional $1,505. Emerson Fittipaldi, the driver for this year’s race has his autograph on the rear quarter decal as well as an authentic autograph and build sequence number on the inside of the center console.
- Z51 Suspension ($1,695)
- Two tone Seas (8695)
- QOV Chrome Wheels ($1,850)
- NPP Exhaust ($1,195)
- The Indy 500 graphics package consists of the Indy Wing and Wheel Emblem on the front lower. fenders (except on export cars where a larger decal was substituted) and embroidered Indianapolis Motor Speedway logos on the headrests, outside decal package, and unique wheel center caps.
Additionally, a first, you have your choice of Convertible or Coupe. You could also select transmission type, National Corvette Museum delivery, and some other options – we know of at least one car that was but without the Navigation system.
Here are some summary stats for the 2008 Pace car model build:
- Body Style
- 234 Coupe
- 266 Convertible
- Transmission
- 148 Manual (77 coupes, 71 convertible)
- 352 Automatic (157 coupes, 195 convertible)
- Convertible Top Color
- 222 Gray
- 44 Black
- Destination
- 449 USA domestic
- 51 Export
- 21 Canada
- 25 Europe
- 5 Middle East
There was one more special Pace Car Replica built. That was the car that was given to the Pace Car driver, Emerson Fittipaldi. It was the only Z06 model built in the Pace car colors, shown below making a quick move into one of the Pace Car garages immediately following the Media day event at the Speedway. Most of the graphics were hand painted like the “real” Pace Cars, although it did wear just a few “decals”, such as the event door logo.
