Chevrolet Corvette 1982 C3

1982 marked the end of the road for the third-generation Corvette, and Chevrolet sent it off with two genuine firsts. This Collector Edition introduced Cross-Fire fuel injection, the first time injection had appeared on a Corvette since 1965, and became the first Corvette ever priced above $20,000. Only 6,759 were built, each with a distinctive frameless glass hatch and turbine-style wheels. Here’s what made this quiet-looking Corvette such a significant final act for the C3.

Collectors Edition .. Cross-Fire Injection .. You Like it?

1982 should have been a quiet, unremarkable final chapter for a Corvette generation that had already been around for nearly two decades — instead, it ended with two genuine firsts that most casual fans have completely forgotten about. This Collector Edition wears a badge that, for the first time in Corvette history, cost more than $20,000 straight off the showroom floor. Under the hood sits an equally unusual first: a fuel injection system that hadn't appeared on a Corvette since the mechanical Ram Jet system disappeared back in 1965. So what exactly made this the most expensive, and arguably most technologically important, C3 Corvette Chevrolet ever built?

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The Fuel Injection Comeback Nobody Saw Coming

Under the hood, the Collector Edition's 350 cubic inch small block used twin throttle-body injectors, a system Chevrolet called Cross-Fire Injection, producing 200 horsepower through the era's sole available transmission: a new four-speed automatic with overdrive. It marked the first time fuel injection had returned to a production Corvette since 1965, ending a 17-year run of exclusively carbureted engines and signaling where GM's engine technology was headed for the rest of the decade.

Why This Was The Priciest C3 Ever Built

Chevrolet limited Collector Edition production to just 6,759 units, dressing each one in Silver Beige Metallic paint with graduated decals, turbine-style aluminum wheels reminiscent of the mid-year Corvette's classic knock-offs, and a functional frameless glass hatch — a genuine first for the model. All of that exclusivity came at a price: a base cost of $22,537.59, making it the first Corvette in history to cross the $20,000 threshold and a fitting send-off for the third-generation body style before the all-new C4 arrived.

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