1972 Corvette Illustrated Series No.47

Despite the storm clouds that loomed over Detroit's performance cars, the 1972 Corvette was thriving, at least in sales. The base price of the '72 Corvette was $5,533, up only $37 from the '71 model. But sales went from 21,801 in '71, to 27,004 in '72 an increase of 5,203 units. Not bad for a limited use sports car with a high ticket price and sky-high insurance premiums. Chevrolet must have been doing something right.

However, on paper, things looked bleak. There were now only three engine options; the base 350 small-block ZQ-3, with 200 horsepower, the 350 small-block LT-1, with 255 horsepower, and the 454 big-block LS5, with 270 horsepower. By the numbers, these power figures look bad, but keep in mind, these are "net" not "gross" power ratings. Due to cars now using lead-free gas, compression and power rates were down, but not as much as it might have seemed.

Magazine tests still raved about the '72 Corvette, especially the LT-1. One writer referred to the LT-1 as a "real tiger." With 3.70 gears the LT-1 was a solid low 14-second car. With 4.11 gears, high 13s were possible. The only complaint was a lack of torque under 3,500 rpm but from there up to the 7,000 rpm, the LT-1 was heavenly.

The performance dilemma was this: for $483.45, the LT-1 was a fast, balanced car. The LS5 made 15 more horses for only $294.90, but the car seemed heavy and sluggish. Chevrolet was doing its best to make the Corvette a true GT car. There was a custom interior trim option, and air conditioning was now available with the LT-1, but with a lower redline of "only" 5,600 rpm, in order to keep the A/C belts from flying off. Also, the close-ratio four-speed and three-speed automatic were standard.

1972 was also the last year for several items; the removable rear window, the windshield wiper closet, and bias-ply tires. The LS5 454 was not emissions certified in California, and an alarm system replaced the fiber-optic, lighting monitoring system. Also, this was the last year for the nearly unstreetable, $1,010.05 ZR-1 option, which provided a base car for racers.

In spite of all the changes and reductions, the '72 Corvette did surprisingly well. But challenges were on the horizon that no one anticipated. Ultimately, the Corvette was developed into a much better performance car, even if it took almost 12 years to make it so.