CORVETTE COLORS
Magnetic Red Corvette: Every Year, Code and How Many Were Built
Magnetic Red Metallic II tintcoat on the Chevrolet Corvette, 1999–2002, 2004–2005: what the color is, the GM paint code in every year, how many were built and what share of the year that was, the interiors it came with, a picture gallery for each year, the chart of its run and the colors that came before and after it.
Quick Nav: The Story · By Generation · Chart · C5 · C6 · Related · Paint Codes · More Red · Wallpapers · FAQs
The Basics
The Color: Deep metallic red tintcoat, extra cost, the C5’s dark red
GM Codes: 86
Years Offered: 1999–2002, 2004–2005 (6 model years)
Generations: C5 (1997–2004), C6 (2005–13)
Built: 19,294 with GM counts
Best Year: 2004, 3,596 cars (10.6% of the year)
Color Family: Red (every red Corvette color)
Also Called: Magnetic Red Metallic tintcoat 86 (1999–2002), Magnetic Red Metallic II 86 (2004–05); not offered in 2003
Extra Cost: $500, $600, $750 (a tintcoat or premium paint in those years)
Paint Codes: 1999–2000: WA127B / PPG 4999/00 / DuPont B9542/49; 2001–2005: WA379E / PPG 5402/03 / DuPont B9803/04
Pictures: 7 picture posts on the site, one per model year
The Overview
Magnetic Red Metallic II tintcoat was offered on the Corvette in 1999–2002, 2004–2005: 6 model years across the C5, C6 generations. GM’s color counts put 19,294 Magnetic Red Corvettes on the road, 3,596 of them in 2004 alone.
Deep metallic red tintcoat, extra cost, the C5’s dark red. Its share of a year’s production ran from 8 to 11 percent. It was an extra-cost paint ($500, $600, $750). The interiors most often paired with it were Black, Ebony. The chart below shows the run year by year; the generation sections carry every year’s code, count, share, interiors and picture.
This page has every year Magnetic Red was offered with its GM code, how many were built, its share of the year and the interiors it came with, the site’s picture gallery for each year, a chart of the run, the related colors, and the FAQs. It is one of 77 color pages on CorvSport; the Red Corvettes page lists every red the factory ever sprayed, and Corvette Colors by Year has the full chart for each model year.
The Story of Magnetic Red
Magnetic Red Metallic was the first extra-cost tintcoat on a Corvette, $500 when it arrived for 1999 and $600 by 2001. It was the deep red beside Torch Red on the C5, about 3,000 cars a year, and it skipped 2003 — the 50th Anniversary year had Anniversary Red instead — before returning as Magnetic Red II for 2004 and the first C6 year at $750.
Monterey Red replaced it for 2006 and Crystal Red for 2008; every deep metallic Corvette red since follows the Magnetic Red formula of a metallic base under a tinted clear.
The Magnetic Red Cars to Know
1999 Magnetic Red C5 (the first tintcoat); 2001–02 Z06s in Magnetic Red; 2005 C6 in Magnetic Red II.
MORE: THE MOST POPULAR COLORS BY GENERATION / 70 YEARS OF LEAST & MOST POPULAR COLORS / ALL RED CORVETTES
Magnetic Red by Generation
Magnetic Red across the 2 generations it was offered on: the years, the GM paint code each generation used, how many were built with GM’s counts, the biggest year and the interiors most often paired with it. Each generation has its own section below with every year.
MORE: THE C5 HUB / THE C6 HUB
| GENERATION | YEARS | CODE(S) | BUILT | BEST YEAR | INTERIORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C5 Corvette | 1999–2002, 2004 | 86 | 15,890 | 2004 (3,596) | Black |
| C6 Corvette | 2005 | 86 | 3,404 | 2005 (3,404) | Ebony |
Magnetic Red by Year: How Many Were Built
GM’s production counts for Magnetic Red in every year it was offered. The peak was 2004 at 3,596 cars; the full table for each year, with codes, shares and interiors, is in the generation sections below.
Magnetic Red on the C5 Corvette (1997–2004)
Magnetic Red on the C5 (1997–2004): offered 1999–2002, 2004 as code 86. 15,890 cars by GM’s count, the best year 2004 with 3,596. Every year links to its research page (the full color chart, options and prices for that year) and to the site’s picture post for the color.
MORE: THE C5 HUB / THE 2004 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C5 COLOR POSTS / ALL C5 COLORS
| YEAR | CODE | BUILT | SHARE | INTERIORS | PICTURES | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 86 | 2,733 | 8.2%, #6 of 8 | Black, Light Gray, Light Oak | Pictures | Coupe 1,569; Convertible 1,164; new that year, $500.00 |
| 2000 | 86 | 2,941 | 8.7%, #5 of 11 | Black, Light Gray, Light Oak | Pictures | Coupe 1,726; Convertible 1,215; $500.00 |
| 2001 | 86 | 3,322 | 9.3%, #6 of 9 | Black, Light Gray, Light Oak | Pictures | Coupe 1,836; Convertible 1,486; $600.00 |
| 2002 | 86 | 3,298 | 9.2%, #6 of 8 | Black, Light Gray, Light Oak | Pictures | Coupe 1,609; Convertible 1,689; $600.00 |
| 2004 | 86 | 3,596 | 10.6%, #5 of 8 | Black, Light Gray, Light Oak | Pictures | Coupe 1,948; Convertible 1,648; $750.00 |
Magnetic Red on the C6 Corvette (2005–13)
Magnetic Red on the C6 (2005–13): offered 2005 as code 86. 3,404 cars by GM’s count. Every year links to its research page (the full color chart, options and prices for that year) and to the site’s picture post for the color.
MORE: THE C6 HUB / THE 2005 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C6 COLOR POSTS / ALL C6 COLORS
Magnetic Red C6 Corvettes: The Pictures
The site’s picture post for each year Magnetic Red was offered on the C6: real cars in the real color, which no swatch shows properly.
Colors Related to Magnetic Red
The colors that came before and after Magnetic Red, the ones it is confused with and the ones that shared its slot on the chart. Each has its own page or a line on its family page.
MORE: EVERY RED CORVETTE COLOR / ALL CORVETTE COLORS / COLORS BY YEAR
| COLOR | YEARS | BUILT | FAMILY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Torch Red | 1993–2005, 2010–2027 | 138,514 | Red | See the Torch Red page |
| Crystal Red | 2008–2015 | 18,128 | Red | See the Crystal Red page |
| Monterey Red | 2005–2007 | 10,792 | Red | On the Red Corvettes page |
| Dark Red | 1975, 1977, 1979, 1986–1995 | 31,728 | Red | See the Dark Red page |
| Long Beach Red | 2016–2020 | 9,292 | Red | See the Long Beach Red page |
Magnetic Red Paint Codes: GM, WA, PPG and DuPont
The codes a body shop or a judge needs for Magnetic Red: the GM order code on the trim tag or service parts label, GM’s WA formula number and the PPG / Ditzler and DuPont mixing codes where they are documented. Where a code is blank the sources did not list one; the notes say where a source disagreed.
MORE: THE RPO CODES LIBRARY / THE VIN DECODER
| YEARS | GM CODE | WA | PPG / DITZLER | DUPONT | NOTES |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999–2000 | 86U | WA127B | 4999/00 | B9542/49 | Red pearl tri-coat (extra-cost). Listed by CAC as 'Red Pearl Tri-coat'. (confidence: medium) |
| 2001–2005 | 86U | WA379E | 5402/03 | B9803/04 | Red tint tri-coat (extra-cost). Listed by CAC as 'Red Tint Tri-coat'. CAC's C5 chart shows WA379E for 1999–2002 and 2004 as well, so the 1999/2000 split between WA127B and WA379E is uncertain. (confidence: medium) |
Red Corvette Wallpapers
Desktop and phone wallpapers of red Corvettes from the site’s wallpaper collections.
Red Corvette Wallpapers — the color collection
All Corvette Wallpapers — by generation and by color
FAQs
What years was the Corvette offered in Magnetic Red?
1999–2002, 2004–2005: 6 model years on the C5, C6. Magnetic Red Metallic was the first extra-cost tintcoat on a Corvette, $500 when it arrived for 1999 and $600 by 2001.
What is the GM paint code for Magnetic Red?
Code 86. The paint-shop codes are 1999–2000: WA127B / PPG 4999/00 / DuPont B9542/49; 2001–2005: WA379E / PPG 5402/03 / DuPont B9803/04.
How many Magnetic Red Corvettes were built?
19,294 by GM’s counts (3,596 in 2004, the biggest year).
Which Corvette models and editions came in Magnetic Red?
1999 Magnetic Red C5 (the first tintcoat); 2001–02 Z06s in Magnetic Red; 2005 C6 in Magnetic Red II. In its years it was available on every body style and model unless the year’s note says otherwise; the year tables above say which.
Is Magnetic Red a metallic, a tintcoat or a solid color?
Deep metallic red tintcoat, extra cost, the C5’s dark red. It was an extra-cost paint in some years ($500, $600, $750), which is what the tintcoat or tri-coat label means: a base coat under a tinted clear and a clear, deeper to look at and harder to touch up.
What was the most popular year for Magnetic Red?
2004, with 3,596 cars, 10.6% of that year’s production.
What colors are similar to Magnetic Red?
Torch Red, Crystal Red, Monterey Red, Dark Red. The Red Corvettes page has every red the factory offered, with the years and counts side by side.
Where can I see pictures of Magnetic Red Corvettes?
The site has a picture post for each year Magnetic Red was offered — real cars photographed in the real color — linked from the year tables above and in the picture grids on this page; the Red Corvettes page and the wallpaper collection have more.
How does the Magnetic Red page fit with the rest of the Corvette colors research?
Every model year has a research page with the full color chart (codes, counts, interiors and soft tops), the Colors by Year page indexes them, every color with three or more years has a page like this one, and the twelve family pages (Red, Blue, Black, White, Silver, Yellow, Gray, Green, Orange, Purple, Gold, Brown) list every shade ever offered.
