Nash 4+3 manual transmission with overdrive.
     Chevrolet put up a million dollar purse for the series, along with Goodyear, Exxon and Mid America Designs. Mark Dismore won the first ever Challenge race at Dallas on may 1, 1988, and at the end of the 10-race series, Stu Hayner, a former Showroom Stock racer, emerged as champion, earning $142,000.
     For the 1989 series, thirty Corvette Challenge cars were built on the Bowling Green assembly line, all being shipped to Powell Development America in Wixom, Michigan, for race preparation. This time the cars were less stock with roll cages - complete with side bars - installed and free-flowing racing exhaust added with exits in the rear fenders which created a more racer-like sound. The ‘89 cars also benefited from the fine ZF 6-speed transmission, which were new that year. This time Bill Cooper, another Showroom Stock graduate, won the championship, earning $167,000 in 12 races. The high cost of promoting the Corvette Challenge caused Chevrolet to drop the series after the 1989 season.