By the time the 1996 Corvettes hit the showrooms, the word was already buzzing about the new C5 Corvette, due to replace the 1984-96 C4s for 1997. Magazines like Motor Trend and Car & Driver had already published artist renderings and spy photos of the swoopy C5, and the niche magazines like Corvette Fever and Vette were linked directly into all the Chevrolet gossip about the C5’s higher horsepower rating, better handling, and tighter overall package. For anyone contemplating the purchase of a new Corvette in 1996, there was a tremendous and logical temptation to squelch the urge until the new and improved ’97 C5s were introduced.
Chevrolet certainly recognized the quandary of maintaining current-year sales while hyping the new ’97 at the same time. So to add excitement to ’96, an LT4 engine, with 30 more horsepower than the standard LT1,