The Corvette’s thirty-fifth birthday was marked by a special anniversary edition (RPO Z01). 2,050 coupes were painted white, with black roof panels. Special emblems, white interior, and special interior trim set the special edition cars apart from their standard counterparts.

The 1988 Corvette was the first Corvette with 17 inch wheels. These were available as part of the Z51 and Z52 packages. The Corvette braking system was also revised in 1988, with dual-piston front brakes, and a parking brake which engaged the rear pads instead of a small drum brake.The front suspension was totally redesigned, and the new zero-scrub radius greatly improved the handling characteristics of the Corvette. The Z52 Sport Handling Package was installed on 16,017 out of the total 22,789 Corvettes produced for the 1988 model year, but only 4,282 cars were equipped with the final edition of the Doug Nash “4+3” manual transmission.

The ‘88 Corvette only saw 125 owners opt for the B2K Callaway Twin Turbo option, which, for on $25,895 on top of the $29,489 (coupe) base price, gave Corvette owners 382 hp and 562 lb.-ft. of torque.