1973 Chevrolet Corvette 'Targa' Coupe (RHD)

Description

Chevrolet's third generation Corvette, dubbed the C3, was announced in 1968 and its curvaceous, 'Coke bottle' lines were clearly influenced by Larry Shinoda's stunning Mako Shark show car. Underneath that shapely bodywork the chassis was a revised version of the C2's, with reworked suspension geometry at the rear about the only major change. The C3 Corvette's styling was largely left untouched for the first few years of production and this was no bad thing, as the Stingray's original shape needed no improvement, being beautiful and aggressive in equal measure. Sold in two body styles, the Corvette was available either as a full convertible or a coupe, the latter featuring a versatile targa-type roof arrangement with a pair of removable panels and removable rear window. By 1971, the Corvette's interior had come in for some revision, the bodywork was made by a new resin process and some minor changes to the mechanical specification - mainly a small reduction in the compression ratio to allow for lower octane fuels. Few changes were made in 1972 but for 1973 the big news was a body-coloured integral front bumper (designed to meet new impact rules) and domed bonnet, lending the Stingray a cleaner, more up to the minute appearance. The 1973 Corvette came with a 350-cid V8 developing 190 hp at 4400 rpm as standard, with a choice of either the Turbo-Hydra-Matic or four-speed manual gearbox. Included in the standard equipment list were vinyl upholstery, centre console and full instrumentation including tacho and an electric clock, disc brakes front and rear, a dual exhaust and tinted glass. Optional engine packages were restricted to the L82 350/250hp or the big-block LS4 454/275hp. One big improvement introduced in 1973 was the adoption of radial tyres on all models, giving much improved road holding. The full convertible was still available but ragtop sales continued to decline, falling to just 4,943 units compared with just over 25,000 of the versatile T-top coupé version. But 1973 was the best year yet for America's only real sports car, with sales exceeding 30,000 for the first time in the model's twenty year history.