June was something special-the first-ever Ladies Issue, and the ZR1 proved its durability by finishing 4th and 6th in the 1991 24 Hours at Daytona. July recalled the limited-edition 1980 ACI Duntov Turbo, the Corvette that Zora later hated. August had not only the Silver Salute to the '66, but also a how-to installation of a Chisenhall air conditioning system on any older Vette. In September, Indy 500 winner and Cart champion Rick Mears and Larry Schinoda teamed up to create a unique Williams and Marlboro ZR-1. October brought the first driving impressions of the new-for-'92, 300hp, LT1-powered Vette, while Zora continued describing the performance changes for the '56 Corvette, and VETTE compared a '72 ZR-1 with its explosive performance to a fully-loaded '91 ZR-1. Both were hailed as winners. Things got quite interesting in December, as VETTE featured a '69 roadster that was claimed to be one of seven, not two, ZL-1 aluminum 427 Corvettes. What's more, owner John Maher claimed to have bought it new with a Turbo 400 automatic!
1992 No change in direction for 1992. In February, Associate Editor James Resnick put a '91 L98 through the paces at Bobby Rahal's TrackTime High Performance Driving School. D. Randy evaluated the '92 LT1 coupe in real world, everyday conditions and liked the performance, revised FX3 ride control, and styling, but was still critical of interior design, and had some gripes about fit, finish, and rude noises. March 1992 was the last issue to feature Marty Schorr's column Retrospect. While his name would remain in the staff box as Founding Editor until the end of VETTE's CSK days, it would be Schorr's last appearance until December 2001. Kim Baker was added as new Motorsports Editor. One of March's most significant articles was the story of Ed Cole, acknowledged as "the Father of the Small-Block," and how Chevy's magnificent V-8 was created. The other was a compilation of the seven most underrated Corvettes of all time and why they were significant despite common belief. June featured a useful text on what the NCRS performance verification process is like, and how to pass it. July reaches the thickest that VETTE has ever been, at 100 pages including covers. Articles of note included an interview with Corvette Development Manager/Corvette racer/Corvette fanatic John Heinricy, and Jim Campisano's report on Chevrolet's 600ci, 665hp 12-cylinder C4 testbed. August brought, again, the annual Silver Salute, this year to a genuine icon: the '67 Sting Ray, and September contained the Annual Salute to Corvette Ladies. In October, we had a preliminary report on '93 Corvettes, and highlighted the 1,000,000th Corvette to roll down the assembly line. It was an Arctic White convertible, and the Godfather of the Corvette himself drove it out of the Bowling Green plant on July 2, 1992. The big news in November was that Touring Instrument Services, Inc. could now provide for all Corvette clock needs-from rebuilding the original clock or replacing it with a NOS/ factory-reconditioned unit, to converting it to quartz movement-for any model year.
1993Vol. 17, No. 1 (the January 1993 issue) celebrated 40 years of the Corvette by looking back at some of the car's memorable most points over the past four decades, while Corvette insiders like Dave McLellan and John Cafaro assessed the meaning, influence, and future of the Vette. That issue also introduced the run-flat tire. In March, VETTE gave a positive evaluation to the 1993 LT1 40th Anniversary Edition coupe, and Zora Arkus-Duntov told the story of changing the early Corvette's image to represent more power. In April, contributor Hib Halverson announced, in Part 9 of his "Project Big Block From Hell," that the series was halfway complete, and readers were given a survey to evaluate the magazine in terms of readership interests. In May, we announced that General Motors had offered Dave McLellan early retirement, and he grabbed the opportunity for a rest. In McLellan's place, Dave Hill would guide the Corvette into the next century as just its third Chief Engineer.