Retro Review: 1969 L88 Corvette

Limited Production

The L88 Corvette was an ambitious and passionate project that resulted in producing one of the greatest, and rarest, Corvettes of all time. It was, in essence, a factory racing package. The package was only available in extremely limited production and was restricted to only 1967, 1968, and 1969. During these years, Chevrolet only sold 20, 80, 116 respectively, with a combined total of only 216, making this quite a rarity indeed.

Photos courtesy of Barrett-Jackson

Specialized Factory Options

The L88 was, in fact, an option package offered directly from the dealer, and it was allowed only if the right boxes were checked first. RPO L88 was only allowed to be selected if other performance upgrades were couped along with it. These included RPO M22 heavy-duty close-ratio four-speed manual trans, RPO J50 vacuum power brakes, RPO J56 heavy-duty disc brakes, RPO F41 upgraded suspension, RPO K66 transistor ignition, and RPO G81 positraction rear axle. The RPO L88 was rumored to actually produce something along the lines of 540-580 hp, despite its extremely conservative factory power rating of only 435 hp. RPO L88 also came with the iconic bulge hood. Some luxury options were available, such as leather trim, rear window defogger, and tilt steering wheel. Fitting of a true race car, air conditioning, heating, power steering, and radio were not available with the addition of the RPO L88 package.

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Track Ambitions

These were serious track focused machines. The engine gurgled at idle and was known to frequently die if left in gear (in the automatics) and required constant throttle blips to keep it alive. With the optional side exit exhausts, the sound was even closer to your head, enhancing the already loud exhaust note.

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Rough on the Street

Driving the car on the street is not the easiest task. You are driving off the lot in a race car. As I stated before, the engine was tuned so high strung it barely could sit at idle. The reworked suspension rode rough, and the stiff chassis transmitted every bump, crack, and imperfection directly into your spine. The brakes had to be run hot and hard to even get them set on the initial bite. This wasn’t the car you would get if you want to impress Jim in accounting. This was the car you got if you had a hankering of scaring the crap out of yourself.

The high octane fuel was expensive and hard to come by, the lack any true comfort features and the harshness of the ride kept these from becoming daily drivers. On the other hand, on the open road, these were absolute beasts and struck fear into the hearts of the competition.

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Race Ready Machine

The limited production was partly intended to control the sale of the cars by discouraging ordinary customers and encouraging sales to race teams and customers intending to use them on the track.

The L88s did see a significant amount of track time and were quite successful in competition. They competed in world-class events such as the 12 Hours of Sebring and the 24 Hours of Daytona as well as various other events across the country. These track monsters made a name for themselves as an off the shelf race-ready machine.

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