If you have your sights on a low-mileage sports car that has been garage-kept and pampered, then you should be looking in the classifieds for a Corvette.  Specifically, a commemorative or pace car edition of some sort.  Why?  The type of folks who shell out thousands extra over the base price of a Corvette to be able to show off their special version look at these cars as investments and treat them accordingly.  If you are looking for an exceptionally well-cared-for C4, you might consider this 1995 Chevrolet Corvette Indy Pace Car for sale on Craigslist in Henderson, Nevada.  This limited-edition Corvette convertible is number 419 of 527 built with this option package.  With 66,623 documented miles, is this exceptionally flashy sports car worth the $23,000 asking price?  Thanks to Numskal for this pace car find!

Before any of you start busting out the jean shorts and New Balance tennis shoe jokes, let’s all agree that the C4 Corvette was quite the sports car in its day.  Introduced in the 1984 model year after a one-year hiatus, the all-new but the engine Corvette for that year was a display of just what General Motors was capable of.  This fourth generation of the Corvette was the equal to most of the upper-tier sports cars of the time.  Special versions such as the Calloway Twin Turbo and the ZR-1 even flirted with supercar numbers in terms of performance.

During its long production run, the C4 Corvette was host to several special edition variants.  The first was the 1986 convertible version, which was offered with an Indy 500 Pace Car sticker package for the doors.  Then there was a Polo White 35th-anniversary car that was complete with a black roll bar and white interior and wheels in tribute to the 1953 models.  For the 40th anniversary, the factory produced a Ruby Red car with Ruby Red leather seats.  To assist in the celebration of the first running of NASCAR’s Brickyard 400, 25 Corvette convertibles were provided to parade around drivers and dignitaries.  After that very limited edition, the Corvette was selected to again be the official pace car for the Indy 500 in 1995.  Before the lights went out on C4 production, Chevrolet offered two more specials.  One, in 1995 and 1996, was a tribute to the legendary Grand Sport race cars of the sixties, and the other was a silver-painted Collector Edition in 1996.

It was during this era that the Corvette got its reputation for being a car for folks nearing retirement.  The reason why was simply Corvettes got more expensive during this era, and that demographic continued the people who could afford them.  Cutting-edge technology and performance costs money, and the buyers of these Corvettes were very much like Harley-Davidson buyers of the same era.  Having a Corvette was no longer about tire-shredding performance.  For a lot of people, it was a hobby, for others, it became a lifestyle.  There is nothing wrong with that, especially if you are a fan of these cars today.  There are an inordinate number of Corvettes out there that have been well cared for in comparison to those numbers on the Mustang or Camaro side.

This 1995 Chevrolet Corvette convertible is a great example of the care that these cars got, especially the “specials.”  Wearing an eye-catching dark purple over white paint scheme with several Indy 500-themed decals, this Corvette is certainly an attention-getter.  Inside, the seats were covered in black leather with purple leather inserts to match the theme.  According to the seller, this Corvette was equipped with 17″ five-spoke alloy wheels, a limited-slip differential, and a four-speed automatic transmission.  It was also built with fog lights, power-adjustable sport seats, a Delco/Bose stereo system capable of playing both cassettes and CDs, and automatic climate control.

Looking at the pictures, it is obvious that this Corvette has received the best of care over the years.  It has remained in stock condition except for the aftermarket side pipe setup, and it shows no signs of abuse.  The seller tells us that the title is clean, and it will also come with a clean CarFax report.  While it does have 66,633 miles on the odometer, you can bet those were rather sedate miles in good weather conditions.  In all, this is the stereotypical Corvette that one would see at Corvette club functions back in the day.  These cars were always squeaky clean and polished to a high shine.  If C4s in bright paint schemes with a lot of decals are your thing, then you might want to call the seller.  The ad lists the price at $23,000 or best offer.  It doesn’t hurt to make an offer…