According to the National Corvette Museum, General Motors intended to only build 300 pace cars for the Indianapolis 500 in 1978. However, the final tally ended up being 6,502 vehicles — one for each Chevrolet dealership in the U.S. and Canada at the time. One of those cars is featured on AutoHunter. It’s a 46,214-mile 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car listed for sale by a dealer in Oregon.
The year 1978 marked the 25th anniversary for the Corvette, and General Motors supplied a pace car at the Indianapolis 500 in May of that year. A replica of the “official” pace car was also engineered for public consumption, and the assembly lines started cranking them out. All 1978 pace car replicas were painted two-tone Tuxedo Black and Silver Metallic with red accent striping. Features for this one include retractable quad headlights, sport side mirrors, and removable glass T-top panels.
The two-seat cockpit is trimmed in Silver leather and features bucket seats, power windows, power steering, tilt steering column, center console, cruise control, AM/FM radio, air conditioning, and floor mats.
Under the hood is a numbers-matching L-82 350ci V-8 that was rated at 220 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque. A Muncie M21 four-speed manual transmission and Positraction rear end get the power delivered to the rear set of Goodyear Eagle white-letter tires. The car’s odometer shows just 46,214 miles, with the selling dealer noting that a tune-up and fluid service have been performed within the last 500 miles.
If the car’s low mileage reading and unmodified condition weren’t enough to pique your interest, perhaps you’d also like to know that it comes with a Corvette-branded jacket, roof panel storage bags, uninstalled pace car graphics, build sheet, and all the requisite manuals. (Check out this video where the seller thumbs through a three-ring binder of some off the supporting documentation.)
This package deal could be an enthusiast’s dream come true. Imagine showing up to your next cars & coffee event wearing a jacket that matches your limited-edition C3. Stylin’!
The auction for this 1978 Chevrolet Corvette Indy 500 Pace Car ends Monday, April 20, 2026, at 11:30 a.m. (PDT).
Visit the AutoHunter listing for more information and a photo gallery
