The True Story Of How The Corvette Was Banned For Being Too Fast – SlashGear

Upon its debut in 1984, the C4 Corvette hit racetracks and streets alike with all the impact of its namesake explosive. Its wheelhouse was SCCA Showroom Stock GT racing, where it dominated every race it entered. Hagerty quotes racing school owner John Powell: “The Corvette beat Porsche 29–0 from 1985 to 1987.”

At that point, for lack of a more charitable way of putting it, Porsche and other carmakers threatened to take their proverbial ball and go home. Most were well-established racing marques in Europe and elsewhere. They didn’t need American stock-car racing as part of their business model, least of all with an American thoroughbred blowing them off the podium (via Yahoo Autos).

In fairness to Porsche and the rest, the threatened withdrawal may have been bad sportsmanship, but it was smart business. As Hagerty notes, crowd size was down and advertisers were less interested in SCCA races — all because one model was virtually guaranteed to win. In response to those pressures, SCCA removed the C4 Corvette from competition after the 1987 series.

All was not lost for fans of the ‘Vette, however. The race sponsor found a happy medium with one of its winningest models when the team behind the C4 founded the Corvette Challenge, a race that was entirely C4s. SCCA signed on, sponsors bought in, and two seasons of Vette-only competition ensued. The Corvette Challenge even ran on ESPN for a time, supporting big-ticket Trans-Am and CART races.