Hey, im in an arguement with someone about the diffrent top options on the C5. On the c4, all the hard tops where targa tops. Besides the z06, is that true on the C5 as well?

 

Coupes which are targas, Verts and FRC/ZO6 which are hardtops!

 

is that true 100%? is there any such thing as a hardtop coupe that is not removable?
in other words, not a z06, and the top is permenant?

 

From the factory:

Coupe (targa)...


Convertible....


Fixed Roof Coupe ('99-'00 FRCs were not Z06s)


After that your wallet is the limit. Convertibles with hardtops, power tops, Z06s that are convertibles, FRCs with targa tops etc etc. The aftermarket will do whatever you can afford.

 

so, what was the standerd option, the coupe (targa) or the FRC (non targa) in the years 99-00? Which one was cheaper? Why did they make the FRC? Was it a limited edition, or racing version?

 

Not from the factory in C5 form. The new C6 Z06 will be though...and it's mighty fine too.

 

They both were. Each had it's own option packages plus the add-ons. The FRC was a few hundred cheaper than the coupe but if both base packages were broken down by components the FRC would've cost more.

The FRC was only offered those two years and then morphed into the very popular Z06. The FRC concept was to be a lighter, no-frills performance version intended for the performance crowd. Came standard with all the go-fast goodies at that time (z51, six-speed, 3.42 rear end, power steering cooler and so on). The car didn't go over too well at the time because the price ended up being much higher than GM had led the public to believe and many at that time wanted more cushy options that were available in the coupe. Late model '99s and most of the '00s had pretty good options made available but it was too late to stop the sales slide.

However, today the FRC has really developed a cult following and are in steady demand. You could say that they were "limited production" as in the fact that a little over 4,000 were produced in '99 and a couple of thousand in '00. In my case, there were only 311 Arctic White FRCs made in '99. My particular car was built late in the run and has a complete option package of everything that was offered...including the HUD. Hope that helps a little.

 

i read on another website FRC stands for factory race car, not fixed roof coupe. True or false?

 

You are messin' with us, right? Aaaaaaand the other website would be? "Ricers R Us"? or "Saki Rockets Weekly"?

To C5 guys, FRC means "Fixed Roof Coupe". An FRC is also known as a "Hardtop".
BTW, all Z06's are "Hardtops", but none of the FRC's were Z06's. Capeche?

 

Originally GM had created the FRC to make a cheap, practically optionless, car... their original plan was to strip down the coupe, make it lighter and stiffer, and cheaper, they even considered making the FRC with less power, with a 4.8 or a 5.2l, only automatic, smaller tires and wheels, manual mirrors... stripped to the bones.. which was to boost sales of the corvette at that time, as promised to the upper managment of GM... but the idea was dropped at the last minute..

They decided to make it a performance version, still stripped of most of the options that the coupe had, but the Z51 suspension and manual transmission only..

then it morphed into the Z06 in 2001...

If you want more info, there is about 10 really good Corvette books out there... I have about 6, some of them are just about the history of the C5, with lots of great tid bits and pictures... good toily reading!

Hope I helped

 

except for the ghey front end...