lucc10

is worth more then twice what a no mile non-dealer prepped c4 zr-1 is? At Mecum 5 no mile zr-1's sold for a high price os $70,000. An 11 mile GS sold for $140,000. I don't get how a car that is so easily faked is worth twice what a car that can't be faked is. With the records that the zr-1 set, the performance it injected back into corvette, and the almost endless list of parts designed just for the zr-1....how is the GS worth that much more?
Sarkari job

SpedRacr93

It's only worth what someone is willing to pay for it.

If you want to play the numbers game... GM made almost 7,000 ZR-1s over a 5 year run. GM made exactly 1,000 Grand Sports over a 1 year run.

Atari_Prime

No. A C4 Grand Sport w/ under 1k miles is worth approx. $35-38k at the moment. A 95' ZR-1 w/ under 1k miles is worth approx. $42-46k at the moment. Rare colors in the ZR-1 might get you a bump as well.

Can you cite which Mecum show and lot number? We can then take a look and try to understand a little better.

Tom400CFI

I can't.. The GS was a paint and decal car....I recognized it as a lame attempt to garner interest way back in '95 when I read about it in Motor Trend. "Lame", I thought to myself. Now, people love 'em....I have no idea why.

1985 Corvette

I believe it also has to do with it having its own special serialization along with the paint scheme and badge that help bolster real world market value. Car auctions aren’t the best place to check the temp of the actual market. All it takes is a few guys with FU money to get into a pissing contest and a car is past six figures. I’d love to have one next to the ZR-1 in the garage in a few years.

ccmano

It has always amazed me how the Corvette crowd has fallen for these paint/interior and decal packages over the years. Willing to pay thousands more for a "limited production" package when essentially the car is nothing special. All the manufacturers do it, but Corvette has had particular success. I guess if people are willing to be that gullible more power to them. In the end what they do with their money is their business.
H

Tom400CFI

It's like the '92 "heritage addition" Camaro. Paint and stripes. Except w/the 'Vette there is the additional, tacky, after thought fender flares....when they already had the ZR-1 fender tooling!

Z51JEFF

It's easy,the difference between auction prices and reality is night and day.

zr1fred

The C4 Grand Sport is one of those things that is famous for being famous.

Z51JEFF

Something I've always thought about,just how close did the GS come to having ZR-1 body panels.

Daniel_Mc

Jeff,

From what I have heard from various sources over the years it was considered however some in GM did not want to take away from the uniqueness of the ZR-1 cars. Being that the ZR-1's were still so new GM did not want to upset the owners. Not sure how accurate or true this is just passing it along. Early on instead of the GS scheme GM was considering doing the Purple Smash paint as a final or "special edition" C4; once the "Purple Smash" was ruled out for the 96 year they moved forward with the GS idea. Several GM guys over the years remember seeing the mule car for the GS as far back as 92 or 93 at BG assembly, this was a white car with blue mustache stripe. It was late in the game for the GS cars when someone in GM corporate sent word down that the car would be blue instead of white.

I for one am glad the GS cars did not get the ZR-1 body treatment. I like the uniqueness specific to the ZR-1 and I am a fan of the fender flares on the GS coupes - I think it looks good.

-Daniel

1985 Corvette

What I had in one of my old Vette books.

Atari_Prime

Gotta love the internet. Original Question, why does X cost more than Y?

A small number of responses actually commented on and posed answers to the question. The rest are not responsive and negative.

The Grand Sport is rare. It is also iconic as a last hurrah for the C4. It's generally not more valuable than a ZR-1, but there are always exceptions. Also, you can't 'fake' a Grand Sport, the VIN will reveal the truth. Much like many ZR-1s, the Grand Sport was tucked away with the idea that it will one day be valuable. As a result, Grand Sports are not only unique, they are often some of the lowest mileage C4s available. All things considered, this results in higher values overall. It is hard to imagine that their long term value will be over the moon, but car valuation can often be unpredictable and uniqueness you can see when you look at the car versus uniqueness under the hood is a hard battle to fight.

DRM500RUBYZR-1

Explains why you are still looking rather than driving one for years now.
Anyone who parts with a sub 1k 95 for those prices is way out of touch.
Thinking one could get that car for those prices is true dreamland unless the car was put away and never re-awakened properly and requires 10k in maintenance.
The Grand Sport is a very special car in its own right but for reasons different than the ZR-1, and their prices are stronger than you cite as well..
Marty

ZR-71

The GS’s also had the LT4 engines, which were an option on other ‘96 Vettes. One thing I wonder is why the Auto trans wasn’t available for LT4’s
But I agree that because of the paint and decals, those GS’s were unique.

ccmano

You realize there is no correct answer here. We all value different things. Some us value technical advancement, cutting edge engineering, breakthrough technology and corporate management resolve to bring all this to market. Others value limited production paint jobs, decals and serial numbers conjured up by the corporate marketing department. Who am I to say which has greater value. Based on market values the later may have the edge. Lol...
H


PS... you realize we're discussing this on a ZR-1 Forum! I suspect the conversation might be different on the GS Forum.

Atari_Prime

Ok, you disagree. No reason to be rude about it. I welcome your efforts to prove your case. Post some sale prices, not advertised, and we'll discuss.

fxkenny

Gotta' love it Marty.
My money is in your court when it comes to actually knowing the market.
Cheers !!

RichS

GM did not want to spend the money to have the A4/LT4 emission/CAFE certified. Also first year of OBD2. I forget what the cost was, and think they would have had to built one and do crash tests. Wasn't worth it for one year.
The GS registry had a seminar at the anniversary diner at Carlisle years ago that the speaker told the thought process Gm had with the sendoff for the C4 and they were only allowed to use stuff out of the parts bin. Like the export rear fender flares.

cv67

GS guys are all about that low production # and VIn.
The GS is going to be easier to own service and repair lets face it. I know everyone says parts arent a problem with the Z but really...how often is someone going to Napa and buying parts for them?
GM shoulda made a last yr Z with the GS paint scheme. I cant believe someone would pay anywhere 6 figures for a C4.