Even though the 1984 Corvette was said to be the best handling Corvette ever, many drivers complained that the ride was too harsh, so in 1985, GM softened the suspension and beefed up the sway bars. The driver received his softer ride, but he was still able to toss his car around a track with minimal body roll. To further improve performance, the 1985 Corvette shipped with a plastic roof panel instead of fiberglass.

The Corvette of 1982 and 1984 was equipped the the Crossfire throttle-body injection system. Much-maligned, it was replaced in 1985 with a tuned-port injection system built by Bosch. The new L98 engine generated 230 hp and 330 lb.-ft. of torque. These performance gains were accompanied by an 11% increase in fuel economy, although the EPA rating remained the same due to the testing system. More significant than the fuel economy increase was the Corvette’s new status as the fastest production car in America. Car and Driver reported that the Corvette exceeded all expectations by easily achieving speeds of 150 mph - something no other American car did in 1985.

Buyers of the 1985 Corvette could choose either the manual or automatic transmission, but approximately 30,100 cars were shipped with the automatic. Cloth seats and AM/FM stereo were standard equipment, but leather and sport seats were also available. The 1985 Corvette, with its base retail price of $24,403, was also the first American car to utilize a plastic brake booster.