1984-1996 Chevrolet Corvette Badge Spotter's Guide

Looking back, it's easy to see why the fourth-generation Corvette was heralded as a revolutionary machine. The heavy ladder frame and steel underpinnings of the C3 had given way to a lightweight structure and totally redesigned suspension components. Although meaningful leaps in horsepower were a few years away, the new car's basic cosmetic and mechanical elements would serve the Corvette marque well for the next 13 years. In keeping with the car's groundbreaking image, the C4 era would also witness an assortment of bold, new badge designs.

'84-'96 Nose Badge Crossed flags had been on the nose of the Corvette since the beginning, and the C4 was no different. The new nose badge picked up the checkered flag and bowtie graphic elements in a simplified design. Since the badge sat on the center hood/nose crease, it had a slight angle in the middle that mimicked the front grille openings. This badge design would carry through the entire C4 generation.	'84-'96 Gas-Cap-Door Badge Prior to 1963, the Corvette's gas-cap door was on the left-rear fender. The '63 Sting Ray began a tradition of placing the door on the rear deck. The C4 continued this placement, adorning it with the same stylized flag design used on the car's nose. But instead of the central graphic elements angling up from the middle, this version had a straight-across orientation.	'84-'90 Rear-Bumper Badge Just in case drivers didn't recognize the blur that just passed them, the '84-'90 Vettes featured bold "Corvette" lettering on their rear bumper cover. Most cars had black lettering with body-colored surrounds, but some of the white ones featured white lettering with black surrounds.
'88 35th Anniversary Badge The 35th Anniversary Edition Corvettes featured the most complex of all the C4 badges. The left side of the badge used the '53-'55 nose design, the center used the '84-'96 nose/gas-cap design, and the right side had a raised "35."	'89 LT5 Badge During the late '80s, the auto-motive press was abuzz with reports of a new, DOHC "Super Vette." The project name for the car's Lotus-designed, Mercury Marine-built engine was LT5. This engine was part of a new ZR-1 performance package slated for release on the '89 model. Although developmental snags pushed the car's release back to 1990, a total of 84 ZR-1s were built in 1989. No one-aside from Chief Engineer Dave McLellan and his crew-knows for sure what happened to them.	'90-'95 ZR-1 Badge With the possible exception of the C6 Z06, the '90-'95 ZR-1 reigns as the most technologically advanced production Corvette ever built. But aside from its stretched rear bodywork and a set of understated ZR-1 badges, the car was virtually indistinguishable from its base-model stablemates. For a $27,000-plus option, many felt that the difference should have been more pronounced.
'91-'96 Rear-Bumper Badge Instead of having a separate badge applied to its rear-bumper cover, the '91 Corvette's cover had lettering inscribed into it, giving the back end a cleaner look. The script itself was similar to that used on the '84-'90 model, but featured rounded edges on most of the letters.	'93 40th Anniversary ZR-1 Badge Aside from its incorporation of the ZR-1 script at the right-hand side, the badge used on the 40th Anniversary Z was identical to that of the car's base-model counterpart. These Ruby Red ZR-1s turned out to be some of the rarest-and most expensive-Corvettes ever.	'93 40th Anniversary Badge The '93 40th Anniversary Package, affectionately known as "Ruby Red," came with an option-specific front-fender badge. The badge's design took the center graphic used on the nose and gas-cap badges and laid it atop a large number 40.
'96 Collector Edition Badge With the C4 Corvette on the brink of retirement, Chevy made sure to send the car out in style. The company developed two special-edition Vettes for '96, including the gorgeous, Sebring Silver-painted Collector Edition. Like other limited-run C4s before it, the Collector Edition used a special, option-specific emblem that blended the basic C4 badge design with its own unique model signifier.	'96 Grand Sport Badge It had been 33 years since Zora Arkus-Duntov secretly built five lightweight Corvette racers to do some serious Cobra butt-kicking in 1963. Although the '96 Grand Sport was no lightweight racer, it was a terrific salute and a great way to close the book on the C4 generation. All Grand Sports used the latest version of the Chevy small-block, the 330hp LT4. The paint scheme combined an Admiral Blue base with a wide white center stripe and a pair of red hash marks on the left-front fender. Rear-fender flares were used to accommodate the car's wide, ZR-1-spec wheels and tires. While the look was unmistakable, all Grand Sport cars also received a stylish fender badge that harked back to their spiritual forebears.