1988 Chevrolet Beretta GT coupe

“A car with performance that fulfills the promise offered by its exterior appearance.”

I always liked the Chevrolet Beretta’s styling. It was among the purest executions of the wedge in the 1980s (along with the Bertone/Fiat X1/9, the Pontiac Fiero, and the Triumph TR8).

For its debut year in 1988, there were two kinds of Berettas available—the base coupe and the GT. The Beretta GT came standard with the LB6 130 bhp 2.8 liter/173 ci multi-port fuel injected V6: a notable step up from the LQ5 90 bhp 2.5 liter/151 ci throttle body fuel injected inline four that came standard with the coupe. 0-60 mph came in a little over 9 seconds with the five-speed manual transmission and the V6—not that bad, but not certainly not stunningly fast either. Fuel economy with the same powertrain combination was 19 city/29 highway by the standards of the day (17/27 by today’s standards). With a 13.5-gallon gas tank, a GT owner could expect a range of 265 to 290 miles with a 10% fuel reserve.

Standard equipment on the $11,851 GT (approximately $23,700 in today’s dollars) included dual sport mirrors, power brakes, and P205/70R14 tires (a size still readily available) on 14-inch wheels. Inside, the Custom interior, tachometer, and an AM/FM stereo radio were all standard.

The Beretta was one of the early examples of General Motors’ move to option packages as the preferred way to reduce the number of possible equipment combinations. The GT‘s option packages were:

1. Air conditioning
2. Floor mats, tilt steering wheel, cruise control, intermittent wipers
3. Auxiliary lighting, power door locks, power trunk opener, power windows, AM/FM stereo cassette with digital clock

Optional equipment included the GT-only Z51 Performance Handling Package ($153 for larger stabilizer bars, firmer bushings, tuned struts and shocks, and Goodyear Eagle GT + 4 P205/60R15 tires on 15-inch styled steel wheels), rear window defogger ($145), electronic instrumentation ($156), two-tone paint ($123), and AM/FM stereo cassette with digital clock and graphic equalizer.

Not a lot of folks seem to be collecting Berettas, at least not yet. I have not seen one on the road in a few years. Berettas are rarely seen in the Hemming’s Motor News classifieds and on eBay Motors.

Make mine Maroon Metallic, please.