Welcome back the convertible in 1986, the first since 1975. The convertible Corvette was the pace car for the 70th annual Indy 500. All convertibles were designated Indy pace car replicas. The cars were shipped with the graphics in the trunk so the buyer could designate whether the graphics were applied or not. New aluminum cylinder heads were produced and added 5 horsepower to the engine but due to cracking they had to be re-designed. Only the last 8,594 cars were believed to have the aluminum heads, this included all the pace car convertibles. A new center brake light was added above the hatch to comply with new safety laws. A new ABS (anti-lock brake system) was standard, this prevented wheel lockup during heavy braking. The instrument cluster was tilted this year to prevent glare. The VATS security system became standard this year, this codes each key with an id that the car reads electronically to be sure it is the correct key before the engine will start. The sport seat is now the standard seat.

Total 1986 Coupes - 27,794
Total 1986 Convertibles - 7,315

The "Vehicle Identification Number" (also VIN or serial number) is stamped on a plate on the inner vertical surface of the left windshield pillar visible through the windshield.

1986 Corvette engines have the last six digits of the VIN stamped on the block after the engine number. The date code the engine was manufactured was also cast into the block. The engine serial number includes a production sequence number starting with 0001001 and one of the suffixes below.

Interior options for exterior colors are suggested by Chevrolet. Any combination could be ordered.