CORVETTE COLORS
Gold Corvette: Every Year, Code and How Many Were Built
Gold Metallic on the Chevrolet Corvette, 1982–1987: 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 · C3 · C4 · Related · Paint Codes · More Gold · FAQs
The Basics
The Color: Gold metallic, the early-C4 gold
GM Codes: 56, 53
Years Offered: 1982–1987 (5 model years)
Generations: C3 (1968–82), C4 (1984–96)
Built: 5,663 with GM counts
Best Year: 1984, 2,430 cars (4.7% of the year)
Color Family: Gold (every gold Corvette color)
Also Called: Code 56 (1982), 53 (1984–87)
Paint Codes: 1982: WA7418; 1984–1987: WA7725 / PPG 3609 / DuPont B8327
Pictures: 5 picture posts on the site, one per model year
The Overview
Gold Metallic was offered on the Corvette in 1982–1987: 5 model years across the C3, C4 generations. GM’s color counts put 5,663 Gold Corvettes on the road, 2,430 of them in 1984 alone.
Gold metallic, the early-C4 gold. Its share of a year’s production ran from 1 to 5 percent. It was a no-cost color. The interiors most often paired with it were Charcoal, Graphite, Saddle. 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 Gold 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 Gold Corvettes page lists every gold the factory ever sprayed, and Corvette Colors by Year has the full chart for each model year.
The Story of Gold
Gold Metallic was on the last C3 chart for 1982 (648 cars) and on the C4’s from 1984 to 1987, with 2,430 in the launch year. It is a true metallic gold, not a beige, and it was usually paired with the Saddle interior.
It is the last gold Corvette: after 1987 the nearest colors were the bronzes of 2020 and 2022. The 1955 Harvest Gold, 1958 Inca Gold, 1969 Riverside Gold and 1998 Aztec Gold are on the Gold family page.
The Gold Cars to Know
1984 Gold Metallic (2,430); 1982 Gold Metallic coupes; 1987 Gold Metallic (397, the last).
MORE: THE MOST POPULAR COLORS BY GENERATION / 70 YEARS OF LEAST & MOST POPULAR COLORS / ALL GOLD CORVETTES
Gold by Generation
Gold 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 C3 HUB / THE C4 HUB
| GENERATION | YEARS | CODE(S) | BUILT | BEST YEAR | INTERIORS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C3 Corvette | 1982 | 56 | 648 | 1982 (648) | Charcoal |
| C4 Corvette | 1984–1987 | 53 | 5,015 | 1984 (2,430) | Graphite, Saddle |
Gold by Year: How Many Were Built
GM’s production counts for Gold in every year it was offered. The peak was 1984 at 2,430 cars; the full table for each year, with codes, shares and interiors, is in the generation sections below.
Gold on the C3 Corvette (1968–82)
Gold on the C3 (1968–82): offered 1982 as code 56. 648 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 C3 HUB / THE 1982 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C3 COLOR POSTS / ALL C3 COLORS
Gold C3 Corvettes: The Pictures
The site’s picture post for each year Gold was offered on the C3: real cars in the real color, which no swatch shows properly.
Gold on the C4 Corvette (1984–96)
Gold on the C4 (1984–96): offered 1984–1987 as code 53. 5,015 cars by GM’s count, the best year 1984 with 2,430. 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 C4 HUB / THE 1984 RESEARCH PAGE / ALL C4 COLOR POSTS / ALL C4 COLORS
Colors Related to Gold
The colors that came before and after Gold, 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 GOLD CORVETTE COLOR / ALL CORVETTE COLORS / COLORS BY YEAR
| COLOR | YEARS | BUILT | FAMILY | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Silver Beige | 1982, 1986–1987 | 9,142 | Brown | See the Silver Beige page |
| Dark Bronze | 1981, 1984–1985 | 2,833 | Brown | See the Dark Bronze page |
| Harvest Gold | 1955 | 120 | Gold | On the Gold Corvettes page |
| Riverside Gold | 1969 | no counts | Gold | On the Gold Corvettes page |
Gold Paint Codes: GM, WA, PPG and DuPont
The codes a body shop or a judge needs for Gold: 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | 56 | WA7418 | — | — | Gold metallic (C3). (confidence: medium) |
| 1984–1987 | 53 | WA7725 | 3609 | B8327 | Gold metallic. |
FAQs
What years was the Corvette offered in Gold?
1982–1987: 5 model years on the C3, C4. Gold Metallic was on the last C3 chart for 1982 (648 cars) and on the C4’s from 1984 to 1987, with 2,430 in the launch year.
What is the GM paint code for Gold?
GM used 56, 53 across the years; the code changed when GM changed its coding system, not the paint. The paint-shop codes are 1982: WA7418; 1984–1987: WA7725 / PPG 3609 / DuPont B8327.
How many Gold Corvettes were built?
5,663 by GM’s counts (2,430 in 1984, the biggest year).
Which Corvette models and editions came in Gold?
1984 Gold Metallic (2,430); 1982 Gold Metallic coupes; 1987 Gold Metallic (397, the last). 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 Gold a metallic, a tintcoat or a solid color?
Gold metallic, the early-C4 gold. It was a no-cost color in every year it was offered.
What was the most popular year for Gold?
1984, with 2,430 cars, 4.7% of that year’s production.
What colors are similar to Gold?
Silver Beige, Dark Bronze, Harvest Gold, Riverside Gold. The Gold Corvettes page has every gold the factory offered, with the years and counts side by side.
Where can I see pictures of Gold Corvettes?
The site has a picture post for each year Gold was offered — real cars photographed in the real color — linked from the year tables above and in the picture grids on this page; the Gold Corvettes page and the wallpaper collection have more.
How does the Gold 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.
