This 1998 Corvette Convertible Indy 500 Pace Car turns heads everywhere it goes with its “Radar Blue” paint, yellow wheels, and yellow and black seats. This eye-catching color scheme and graphics were chosen to commemorate the fourth time a Corvette was selected to pace the Indianapolis 500. With only 1,163 pace cars made, this is a rare bird.
This Corvette may be 18 years old, but it appears to be brand-new, only traveling 3,000 miles since it left the factory in Bowling Green. Everything on this car 100% factory original except the oil filter and battery. The owner has included the original factory battery, car cover, and a briefcase full of documentation of the vehicle’s history and original marketing materials including booklets, brochures, and VHS tapes.
The condition of this car is impeccable. This car was always in the garage and has never seen rain or snow. For the past few years it was only driven once a year to get the oil changed at Sun Chevrolet. The paint has no sign of defects anywhere and the plastic lenses and trim pieces appear to be like it left the factory yesterday.
The interior is in excellent condition too. All the components work as they should. The only defect is the leather seats have started to wrinkle from age. The Z4Z Pace Car package costs the original owner $5,039 over a base corvette convertible. It came with a number of desirable features such as the upgraded stereo with Bose speakers, dual zone climate control, power adjustable seats with a memory setting, and limited edition floor mats.
Also included with the Z4Z package was the “Active Handling” package which allowed the car to sense a loss of traction and can apply brakes to each individual wheel to ensure you make it through the corner. Also included is a performance-ratio 4 speed automatic transmission and a 5.7 liter LS1 V8 with 345 horsepower. Because the stock Corvette was quick enough, the pace car replicas were mechanically identical to the actual pace car, with exception of the top mounted strobe lights.
This would make a fine piece for a collector looking for a rare C5 corvette, or it would make for an excellent show car. This vehicle is held on consignment and is not owned by Fort Pitt Classic Cars.
