Chevy Honors Prince With A Classic Little Red Corvette

With the loss of artist Prince on April 22, the music industry – and the world at large – lost a seriously talented, influential, and innovative trendsetter with notable influence in everything from music to fashion and, for a time, even cars. Thanks to Prince’s 1983 song “Little Red Corvette,” Chevy owners always had a good idea of which color best suited their prized Corvette vehicles, while the rest of the world was left to dream of owning such an iconic piece of American motor power. Thanks to Prince, the red Chevy Corvette became an enduring symbol of American freedom and young love – and with the passing of such a great artist, Chevy has decided to return the favor.

In a tribute first released on Chevy’s official Twitter page the day after the artist’s passing, Chevy honored the late Prince with an image of the classic third-generation Corvette – in red, of course – framed by the song’s lyric “Baby, that was much too fast.” Perhaps no tribute is more fitting to such an iconic figure in the music industry, and few vehicles owe more of their enormous popularity to Prince than the classic Corvette. In fact, although rumors have persisted that Prince was actually inspired to write the song by a pink Ford Edsel, even he recognized the undeniably American feeling of a classic Corvette and changed the song to reflect it – which probably made rhyming a little easier as well.

By 1983, the Corvette had already solidified itself as the poster child of a new generation of muscle cars. Built to be sleek, fast, and stylishly low-profile on the road, the third-generation Corvette took its styling cues from the classic Mako II concept car and was the first to feature a removable T-top roof panel for total convertible driving pleasure. The classic Corvette symbolized the power and carefree fun of the American sports car at a time when foreign models were beginning to garner serious ground in the marketplace, revitalizing the industry and solidifying the Corvette’s place in the annals of our collective social history.

This moving tribute from Chevy garnered thousands of likes and praise from supporters of Prince and Chevy fans alike, and according to Ad Week even ran in print in newspapers including USA Today, Detroit News/Free Press, The Los Angeles Times, Minneapolis Star Tribune and The New York Times. For a company that owes so much to such an inspiring artist, it might be hard to find a more moving and fitting tribute to honor Prince’s legacy.

Thanks to Prince’s classic tribute to this iconic sports car, the “little red Corvette” will be forever implanted in our minds as the pinnacle of American sports cars. Corvette owners will always know what color to choose for their beloved racers, and it’s all thanks to this innovative and inspiring late artist. And although few may be able to replicate exactly what made Prince such a groundbreaking artist, there’s no doubt as to what we’ll be thinking about – and listening to – as we cruise down the streets in our beloved little red Corvettes.