Grunty’s Goodbye: ‘83 Custom Corvette Convertible
What do you do when possibly a fan favorite retires? Well, you may be a little disappointed, but you say “goodbye” regardless. This is exactly what happens in this scenario. On today’s installment of Grunty’s Goodbye, we take a look back at the ‘83 Custom Corvette Convertible... and talk about it.
Designed by Jerry Palmer under Dave McLellan’s supervision, the C4 Corvette was produced from 1983 to 1996. Representing a clean break from the C3 designed by Zora Arkus-Duntov, the bumpers were made from molding plastics and was also the first Corvette to have a glass hatchback. Engines from the L89 to the LT1 V8 were available, all in 350 ci (5.7L). The last C4 Corvette rolled off the production line on 20 June 1996.
Now that we’ve gotten all that out of the way let’s talk about the reason why you’re here; the history of the Custom Corvette Convertible.
The Custom Corvette Convertible was originally introduced in 1989 in this paintscheme in the Speed Fleet series, along such cars like the ‘80s Corvette and Ferrari F40. Designed by Larry Wood, this casting depicted a C4 Corvette Convertible, but with flared fenders and a lower front bumper.
An interesting detail is the license plate; it reads “ZR-1”.
The base reads “83’ CUSTOM CORVETTE” (sic); it appears to have been changed to “CORVETTE STINGRAY” at some point.
Another base variation exists, where “CUSTOM CORVETTE” is written instead.
Other notable releases included the California Customs series with the extremely unique TWs (Turbo Wheels) only used for this series...
The car from the Revealers series...
From the Corvette 5-Pack...
A cereal promo...
And even in gold chrome to celebrate the one billionth Hot Wheels car. However, all good things must come to an end, and the same applies in this case, because in 1999, this casting was thrown into the Final Run Series.
The Final Run Series started in 1999 and acted as what I would consider a very glorified funeral for a casting; Hot Wheels would give these cars special tires and paint, in exchange for vowing to never produce them again by cutting their toolings in half. The Corvette was unfortunately one of the castings to fall victim to the Final Run Series, and even though it was one of the more popular castings at the time, it was still retired regardless. As the first batch of cars to be Final Run, having been introduced in the 1999 series, the Wildcat will never be seen again in the Hot Wheels lineup unless a new tool and die is created for it, which I believe is highly unlikely. The Final Run Series itself has been on hiatus since 2006. In total, the Custom Corvette Convertible had forty releases.
Fitted with a highly detailed rear and a Pro Circuit 6-spokes, this was a fine sendoff for a casting that would never be seen again... except it was.
Because sometime in 2000, a mysterious release of the Custom Corvette Convertible appeared in Mexico; this release has had no context whatsoever and was essentially identical to the 1998 Tropicool release, sans tampos.
Any wording on the card was also mysteriously absent.
This variant is still being researched on. And here is the original Tropicool version just for comparison. That mysterious release was the true last release of the Custom Corvette Convertible.
Because of its flat sides with loads of space, the Corvette Convertible was the recipient of lots of graphics. It’s a shame that this casting had to be retired, because I kind of want a C4 Corvette Convertible to return to the mainline.
I hope this has given you a better idea of the history of the Hot Wheels Custom Corvette Convertible. As usual, I’d do it again any day.
- Grunty