“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).
Chevrolet soft-launched the Beretta as a 1987 model, selling it to rental car agencies. In its first full year of general availability in 1988, there were two Beretta models—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 “Iron Duke” 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 certainly not stunningly fast either. Fuel economy with the same powertrain combination was 19 city/29 highway by the day’s standards (17/27 by today’s measures). 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 exterior and mechanical equipment on the $11,851 GT (approximately $33,300 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.
Packages & Options
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:
- Air conditioning
- Floor mats, tilt steering wheel, cruise control, intermittent wipers
- 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.
Midway through the model year, Chevrolet added a Beretta GTU package for $2,500. Designed to reflect the Berretta’s involvement in the IMSA GTU racing series, the GT-based GTU featured a front wraparound chin spoiler, a body color grille and body side moldings, lower rocker panel extensions, breakaway mirrors, a rear valance panel extension, a rear decklid spoiler, GTU graphics, and Goodyear Gatorback P205/55VR-16 tires on 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels.
The View From 2025
Not a lot of folks are collecting Berettas, but there are enthusiast sites. I have not seen one on the road in over a decade. Berettas are rarely seen in the Hemming’s Motor News classifieds or on eBay Motors, but Bring a Trailer has sold six over the last five years.
Make mine Maroon Metallic, please.
Other Chevrolet coupes from the second half of the eighties that I have written about include the 1985 Celebrity Eurosport, the 1986 Cavalier Z24, and the 1988 Corvette 35th Anniversary Edition.
Last updated October 2025.
Eighties Cars 
Thanks for thiis blog post